Felice Wine Bar 1166 1st Ave. (@ 64th St.)
Upper East Side
212.593.2223
Felice Wine Bar:
Considering the Upper East Side's high concentration of moneyed individuals with too much time on their hands, you'd think it'd be teeming with stylish places for plutocrats to wile away their time and savings. And while certainly there are exceptions, nowadays it seems almost every notable opening occurs below 14th Street. Which is why we're a little surprised that A) Felice Wine Bar is opening on the UES and B) someplace like Felice didn't open sooner in these parts. From the people behind Sant Ambroeus, Felice offers uptown twenty-somethings a suave alternative to a $15 cab ride downtown. The wispy lighting is sexy enough to make Philip Seymour Hoffman look put-together, and a bartop of thick, imported marble works nicely opposite the playful design of a glass wine-jug chandelier. Factor in a competent menu of pastas and small plates (for when you've enjoyed one too many fermented grapes), and you can bet your bottle this place will have the Upper East Side drinking a different tune in no time.
