Nectar Wine Bar

Sadness… now closed… R.I.P.

Sadly, Harlem’s first wine bar has poured its last glass of wine. Cheers!

I would certainly come back here after my initial visit. By the time I got here, admittedly, I was pretty buzzed from the earlier activities in the evening but I can still recall very good service, relaxed atmosphere and some tasty food.
Our party of 4 arrived around 11:30 or so to find the place only housing about 7 – 10 guests. We easily grabbed a table near the front the proceeded to look over the menu. We started with a bottle of Tempranillo and it went over very well.
I can’t seem to find them on the menu but I remember duck tacos. There were only 3 but I really enjoyed the bright flavor of them. Perhaps it was a special?
We also got the panino of the day and the dates wrapped in speck. All the bites I had here really hit the spot and went beautifully with the wine.
This spot is fun, well laid out, stylish and definitely a place to stop into if you find yourself in the area. It’s worth it just for one drink.

I just got the email last night that 2÷29÷2012 (today!) will be the last day for Nectar Wine Bar!!!
This is a great loss for the Harlem community – Nectar is a great place to unwind, listen to music, laugh, snack, and of course drink some great wine/​cocktails.
Thankfully Harlem Vintage next door is still chugging along… people, go in a buy a bottle (or three) and support this local business!

½ Price Wine night on Mondays (bottles and glasses)-Score!
Came here so randomly on our walk to Shrine.
The music was good (R&B), the crowd was chill, the wine selection was nice.
The appetizer (I think duck spring rolls) were good, yet not memorable.
Service was very friendly.
I’ll be back, probably on Monday ;-)

I want to love this place sooo much and I HATE to have to issue a relatively new restaurant in Harlem a poor review BUT this place has been open for 3 years now so I have the right to have higher standards for it (prime example: a few weeks ago when the Art & Drinks event was announced on their email list-​serv, I called to get more info. before I told my friends to come meet me for happy hour. The hostess answered the phone and said, she had no idea what I was talking about… but that she’s inquiry w/​the events manager and call me back, which she didn’t) AND my experience over the weekend was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I’ve been here on multiple occasions (on dates, with girlfriends, etc.) and there’s def. not much of a scene i.e. usually not a lot of ppl but the ppl who ARE there are well put together. The prices aren’t bad and the wine selection is plentiful but I’d def. come here after dinner (not specifically FOR dinner). A foodie would be disappointed, as was I when I brought a friend from out of town here over the weekend for brunch.
Soo I’ve been anticipating taking advantage of the $ 25 ‘Sweet Deal’ for weeks (your choice of an entrée, muffin basket for the table, coffee, and unlimited mimoasas — WOOP!) but what I paid for was the unlimited mimosas… because I’ve never seen such a sorry serving size of any meal in my life! While ordering the French Toast, I specifically asked the waitress about the serving size b/​c I was hungry lol and didn’t want to make the wrong decision… but it turns out that I would have been better off toasting 2 ego waffles. The plate that the french toast came on was about the size of a standard bread plate at an Italian restaurant (not exaggerating). On top of that, it was inedible! Soggy and literally couldn’t tell whether it was french toast. I had to send it back which is something I rarely do.
Then ordered the spinach quiche, which was much better, but then I couldn’t decide whether it was the store bought frozen kind…
The mimosas were delicious and plentiful. But when we both put our debit cards in the check presenter, we get it back and she charged both of our meals on MY card. Then she voids them both then recharges my card AGAIN. So basically my account was charged over $ 75 for a $ 25 meal and now I have to wait 2 days for the refund to hit my account for her careless mistake (effectively killing my buzz)!
Pathetic PATHETIC brunch they’re peddling. The ONLY saving grace was, again, the mimosas or otherwise this would have been a 1-​star review.
PLEAS PLEASE do better Nectar. I want to love this place so much but I just keep getting my feelings hurt!

So… I don’t usually venture past UWS but a friend who lives in Harlem suggested we try this place late Sat night for drinks. A neighborhood place, not many spots like this in the area, it was nice. Casual, yet cozy ambiance, decent wine section and cheese/​meat choices, reasonably priced. The only problem was the service, it was a bit slow, our waitress who was also the bar tender was sweet but in general it seemed they were a bit understaffed. Other than that, it was fine.

Went to Nectar for the first time last night. It was ok — we may have brought the party with us because there were only a handful of people there upon arrival.
The hostess is the waitress — not as efficient. The wine was good, the food presentation was good… the taste not so much. It was definitely overdone.
All in all it was ok — but i’m not going to be running back and i live in Harlem.

I so wanted to like this place, after reading the reviews. However a friend and I went here on a Saturday night, the place was crowded, but we managed to have to gentlemen give up their seats at the bar.
The service is slow; the hostess is the waitress and the bar tender. The «Cuban» panni was good (but not worth $ 10.00). The glass of Riesling I ordered was nasty.
The prices are too high for the cheap wine, street fare food they serve.

Great gem of a place in Harlem. The wine selection is great. The staff is friendly, warm and inviting. The owner is great.
Good place to come unwind with old friends and meet new friends.

I spent some time here on a Saturday night a few months back. I remember the crowd was both upscale and casual a the same time. No snobby vibes, but people were well dressed. It’s not very big and it’s very white. The ceiling has some kind of funky look going on.
The bartender was really nice. The music was continuously good throughout my stay. When I asked the bartender about it, he said he made the mix. It contained a lot of music I was not familiar with and I’m a big music fan. I’m not even sure how to describe the sound, very mellow beats and just overall very pleasing.
I honestly don’t remember how the prices were, it wasn’t my first stop of the night. The place was clean, comfortable and the service was friendly. If I’m back in my friend’s Harlem neighborhood I would most likely revisit Nectar.

Came for drinks before Amateur Night @ the Apollo on a local’s recommendation. I enjoyed my brief visit; 1 glass of wine and a 1meat and 2 cheese pairing. Nice accompaniments (was that apricot? are those baby gerkins?). Very clean place with a low key vibe. Would return for drinks and apps if in the neighborhood; everyone else’s tapas looked delicious.

A nice upscale wine bar in South Harlem aka «SOHA»
Nice place to come and enjoy a glass of wine with friends. The atmosphere makes one feel like they are downtown until of course you step outside.

Cute little spot. I’m glad I gave it a try; not many places that I would on this area. Very friendly service, staff was very helpful and knowledgeable too. Also so nice, tasty little plates, they could be great for sharing.
Now I know place to go in Harlem for that glass of wine and small bites!

I only wish I’d had the same experience as all these other folks, but, unfortunately, I must give this place a big thumbs-​down!
A first-​timer, I settled up to the mostly empty bar, where I perused an extensive wine list. Ordered a glass of Chardonnay from the jardin region. In the several years that I’ve been living in (and frequenting wine bars) and working in (in various wine bars and restaurants) the city, I’ve never come across such a paltry pour, such a grinch of a pour.
Well, I felt I had to say something, so I inquired about the size of the pour. My question was met with indifference and annoyance: «4 ounces…»
Some women at the bar across from me definitely got a larger pour, maybe 5 – 6 ounces.
When I asked for the check, the bartender said, «oh, I’ll give you a glass of wine on me,» as though she was doing me a big favor. But, I said no, not to worry about it. And that was that.

Went to a bridal shower here this weekend and really had a nice time. Our waitress was a sweetheart and kept on pouring our wine whilst warning the bride-​to-​be that she’ll need to keep drinking in order to deal with being married (this is why I love NYC). We had some awesome snacks; favorite was the hummingbird platter which featured paprika-​toasted almonds, hummus, and some ricotta mascarpone honey wonderfulness. I’d love to come back to Nectar.

Had the worst day ever. Had to work on a Saturday, got stood up by a girl to see a movie, went to the movie by myself, while waiting to go in the theatre my boob popped out and was chilling for a minute before I noticed, I swear the hot guy that was watching the same movie alone saw it, The movie was wack, and when i tried to save face and get the hot guys number anyway, i got shut down. I need a freaking drink!
Started walking toward Mocca Lounge and found this place. i really wanted to go somewhere low key. I was rolling dolo so I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself. (I kow it sounds backwards but thats how i felt) I walked in confidently and sat at the bar. «Nice». Sexy layout. Not too big and gives an intimate feel. I’ll get to the crowd in a minute. The bartendars are sexy dark chocolates. Goes great with wine don’t you think? lol. I ordered one glass of mascato $ 13. It was sooo good. I mean really because I had to really sit and think if it was only good because my horrible day turned me into a alcoholic. But it was.
The crowd was all drinking Sangria. Didn’t try it. Figured that it must be good but wasn’t in the mood to try things. I needed to relax. Glance around the room again and see there is an assortment of cheeses you can order as well. Looked good.
The vibe i got from the crowd (Now it may have been that night) was young african-​american mostly. Well put together. Young professional but maybe one step up from entrée level with a chip on their shoulder if you catch my drift. The «I have no time for internet social networks because I’m so busy. Meanwhile they’re probly still updating their Myspace pages. Whatever) A little artificial for my liking but hey «You must portray an image of success in order to be successful» American Beauty (Love that movie).
I’ll give this place another shot for sure but I must bring my own crowd.

Go here once and I assure you that you’ll be back. This is not just a great addition to Harlem, but a great addition to all wine bars around all of NYC. The selection here is wide ranging and totally price-​worthy. The cheese selection is unique. And the chocolate (yes chocolate) goes well with a lot of the spicy reds this bar has. If you haven’t dined in Harlem yet, this is great place to start. You’ll spend a lot of time in here, without a doubt. The staff is also super friendly and attentive.

One of my best friends had her birthday celebration here in March — and I remember thinking, this is a really cool wine bar that would fit right in Soho (even though it’s really so far uptown). There arent a lot of other «cool» spots around Nectar, so this might be your one and only destination for the evening.
The place is a lil small, and doesnt fit that many, but the atmosphere, the vino and the company made it such a fun experience. I’d definitely go back even though it’s a bit far from me.

We visited Nectar Wine Bar on September 12, 2009. It was about 7:00 PM. Upon entering we were the first customers of the evening. The bartender (a tall, bald, beautiful woman) and a waiter (? I think…) were the only folks in the dining room. They didn’t greet us, and we first started to sit at the bar, but then settled on a table and asked if we could sit at table, the bartender said, «make sure you sit at two top.» Okay, that makes sense, would’ve been nice to be greeted…
Anyway we sat down and the waiter (? again I think he was) brought us menus, sat them in front of us and asked, «What do you want?» We stammered a bit, «I’ll be right back,» he grumbled.
um okay… the wine selection is okay — nothing really of note actually. But it was okay. The waiter returned. We still hadn’t settled on any wine and asked for his recommendations. «What kind of wine do you like?» was his response. Um, okay… I mentioned that I don’t like dry wines and I thought we’d like to do a white wine. «Okay I’ll get you the Riesling.» We agreed, however odd at a Wine Bar the staff has made no attempt to explain their selection, talk about wines they recommend or have tried. He made no attempt to pair the wine with dinner, which we hadn’t ordered yet or discussed. He no attempt to discover our palates… uh, is this a wine bar or a diner?
We ended up ordering panini’s for dinner, which are not the best pairing with Rieslings, however it was clear that we were not welcome nor was our business desired from the attitude of the waiter. The panini’s arrived on white plates, no attempt made to present them. I’ve had better at Charlies in midtown.
We finished dinner, wine, and then languished. The restaurant was not busy, but the bartender nor the waiter returned to our table. Finally after waiting 20+ minutes (in an empty restaurant/​bar), he came by, «Anything else?» Nope… he dropped the check off, we paid and left.
The bartender, a woman, who is stunningly beautiful, came over to us as we were leaving and said she hoped our dinner was good.? — a day late and a dollar short lady.
I give the restaurant only one star, I want to give it two, but why, it was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had. The waiter (? i keep using a question mark because I’m not sure he was the waiter or the bouncer, he was wearing a trackie suit, sunglasses, and kept his arms crossed the entire time), clearly didn’t want us there, maybe because we’re gay maybe something else (we live about two blocks away).
Some G.‘s review reflects a similar experience– though I don’t think he was high on cocaine. He did react very positively to the two pretty girls who came in after us…
I’ll watch the reviews here — but don’t think I’ll go back which is a shame because a great wine bar would be WONDERFUL for Harlem. We left around nine and were only one of two tables on a Saturday night… I probably won’t have to worry about going back because their business can’t/won’t survive such slow business.
If only they had smiled and tried to wait on us we would probably visit a few times monthly. I’ll stick with Native.