Olla Wine Bar
This restaurant is closed!
Contact Info:
Address: 7204 Third Avenue
City: Brooklyn, NY
Zip: 11209
map: View the Map
Phone: (718) 138-1110
Hours: Dinner
Tue-Thu: 4pm-12am
Fri-Sat: 4pm-1am
Sunday: 4pm-10pm
Brunch
Sat-Sun: 11am- 4pm
Food Info:
Menu: View the Menu
Chef:
Gianluca Deiana Abis
Cuisine:
French
2nd Cuisine:
Italian
Reservations:
Click for reservations
Payment:
Amex Visa Mastercard Discover
Cititour Review:
A new wine bar has emerged that is truly worth seeking out. It’s called Olla and it’s located in the space that formerly housed the Bistro Café 72.
The space itself is beautiful with exposed brick, tray ceilings and even a fireplace. A wine rack divides the bar up front from the main dining area which includes a large sharing table. Dark brown banquettes and bulky wooden tables are nicely spaced, although it appears most people prefer to congregate at the bar. Candles give the restaurant a warm glow with jazz music providing the perfect beat. The chef-owner, Gianluca Deiana Abis, is quite charming and the staff is extremely friendly and accommodating.
It’s a nice departure from the sports bar scene that tends to dominate this strip of Third Avenue in Bay Ridge. But lately that’s been changing with the addition of places like The Burger Bistro serving up design-your-own burgers, Los Pollitos, known for its fantastic Peruvian-style chicken, the Latin bistro Logan's and Glow, a new Thai restaurant nearby.
What impressed us most about Olla is the food. The restaurant is offering up a mix of French, Spanish and Italian dishes (One of the chefs is from Sardinia). Everything we tried during out two visits was wonderful beginning with the basket of warm bread. There is French onion soup ($8) topped with a thick layer of melted Gruyere that could easily serve as a light meal. Also try the clam chowder ($6) if offered. It’s rich and chock full of clams and bits of smoky bacon.
Appetizers include a terrific mushroom tart ($9); the earthiness of the mushrooms mixing with melted brie in a puff pastry shell. It's as nice to look at as it is eat. Blushing pink langostines are served alongside cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls with a light vinaigrette dressing ($14). Polpo had a nice char fresh off the grill ($13), although the octopus could have been a bit more tender.
Main courses tend to lean French. On our first visit, slices of hanger steak ($21) arrived perfectly rare in a tasty red wine reduction served with roasted potatoes, while the steak frites, a shell steak, was accompanied by a batch of addictively-crispy fries ($19). On our second visit, the Bronzino ($24), served whole, was grilled to perfection with a moist layer of meat lying beneath its crispy skin. A special of tender duck breast ($25) also hit the spot. It was served with a delicious mushroom gratin and fresh asparagus spears.
All in all, Olla appears to be a winner, straight down to the lava cake bursting with molten chocolate that had us wanting to lick our plate.
Review By: Thomas Rafael
Comments:
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