Remember watching games at The Windsor, on the corner of West 4th and West 10th? Us, too. Well, now that space has been transformed into Perla Cafe, a new concept from Mr. West Village himself, Gabriel Stulman.
We checked out Perla Cafe recently to see the transformation, and to speak with Nick Grenier, Perla Cafe’s Somm, about some of their new cocktails and the wine list.
You might remember Perla from it’s original location on Minetta Lane, and if you frequented the Windsor, like myself, the space is almost unrecognizable. The moved the location of the bar and now can actually open the windows to the restaurant.
Perla Cafe is the latest addition to the Happy Cooking Hospitality portfolio that includes some Thirsty faves like Jeffrey’s Grocery, Joseph Leonard, Fedora and Bar Sardine (both which are conveniently located on the same block as the new Perla Cafe – and all of which have killer drinks).
Perla Cafe’s focus when opening was to be more than a restaurant for celebration dinners and special events, but a neighborhood hangout with a variety of dishes, a few favorite beer options and cocktails and delicious wine.
Perla Cafe Beverage Program
The current cocktail program consists of just three cocktails: Next Episode, a classically prepared Negroni, and Lost in the Woods, with Scarlet Ibis Trinidad rum, Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, Campari and Amaro. And while the offerings are limited, they are all interesting blends. Of course, we tried them all.
Classic Negroni
Ingredients: Gin, Campari and Sweet Vermouth
Next Episode
Ingredients: Rittenhouse, Cappelletti, Peychauda and garnished with Rosemary.
The Wine at Perla Cafe
Nick explained that he works to balance the wine menu with some recognizable names along with some less known wines that will keep the regulars from getting bored while challenging them to also taste outside of their comfort zone. The other challenge that Nick has seemed to solve is creating a wine list that is versatile enough to have something for those frequent visitors as well as for those groups that are looking to celebrate a bit.
There are at any time three to four sparkling, white and red wines as well as rosé that are available for purchase by the glass.
If you are looking for a little bit more then look to the bottle menu that starts at $45 for a bottle and goes up in increments of $5.00 with a large selection of red & whites over 100.00.
Perla Cafe Half Bottles of Wine and Magnums
They also have approximately six half bottles on the menu at anyone time that range from $35.00 to $70.00.
Looking to celebrate, then turn to the list of magnum bottles.
PERLA CAFE DETAILS
234 West 4th Street,
New York, NY 10014
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