Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar

Tiny place, very hard to get around or find a seat. Drinks were not bad or great. I did like the fact it’s relatively low key and easy to talk. They also seem to have a kitchen, maybe next time I should try some bites too, some looks pretty good.

Cozy bar with a captivating wine list, and interesting liquor offerings. Caught up with an old classmate here for a drink before heading to dinner. Very accommodating bartenders, small but tasty sounding menu.

Still a great and dependable brunch. Get here by 1000 – 1030 and have your pick of window seats. Great service, good burger, large variety of poached eggs and other breakfast fare. Fresh bread baked down the street. Worth a visit

Blue Ribbon Downing Street bar is a cozy intimate cocktail/​wine spot in the West Village and the perfect spot to come for a date /​catch up time. I liked this place so much the first time I visited that I came here two weekends in a row. The service here is amazing and the bartender who helped us both nights (I must get his name) was spot on with his recommendations based on what we were looking for! The first time I went, I discovered a new cheese and red wine that I adore — the scharfe maxx which paired perfectly with the half bottle of dei-​vino nobile di montepulciano (2004). This time around, we ordered small plates and I particularly liked the decadent smoked duck and foie gras toast. Will swing in here for nibbles and drinks again when I’m in the village! Tip: the best seats in the house are at the bar by the windows.

Very small, homey feeling bar tucked away in the middle of the block. You’d walk right past it if you weren’t looking for it. Came here on a Sunday night with two of my other buddies. It was a very low ambience over here, music was pretty low, kind of felt uncomfortable at times or maybe it was just me. The drinks here are well made. Definitely a place to come if you’d want to spend a lowkey night or somewhere intimate with your s/​o.

Low key, small and straight to the point. Nicely decorated for it’s size and it seats about 16 people. We ordered some cocktails off the list and they were poured strong but balanced well. French bread pizza was solid and they had several small plates on the menu that sounded really good.

Came here on a whim an hour before closing time, and damn, have I been dying to come back!
The place is small but super cozy, and I love how the delicious scents from the kitchen wafted over to us. They had relaxing, jazzy music playing, which the couple beside us seemed to really get into (ha!).
We got a peach drink and a hibiscus one. They were a little on the expensive side for the amount, but really delicious!
What made me want to review this place, though, was the dessert. We went in there to have a chocolate cake thing my boyfriend had had before, but ended up ordering the chocolate chip bread pudding, which the waiter said was the most popular. Believe the hype and order that. It was so delicious and creamy I wanted to lick the plate!

Solid neighborhood bar to get a good cocktail, and share a conversation with the locals and bartender. The environment is warm and inviting. Didn’t try the food, but the cocktail was great :)

Really subpar experience. My party of 3 only got 2 seats because an adjacent party of two was «about to leave». In hindsight, they weren’t about to leave, and that was an incredibly rude and disrespectful way to try and flush out customers. So there we were, pinned in the bar, unable to leave without asking people to move. Like a half drunk movie theater. We ordered around $ 200 of bar food and drink for our group when this couple starts a fight and starts screaming at each other about hitting each other. This goes on for WAY too long before the service asks them to leave. So after getting packed into a domestic dispute, paying over a hundred dollars for single bottle of wine, do I get comped anything? Or apologized to for ruining my experience? Of course not. I get my groups plates and glasses removed before we can decide on round 2.

A nice cozy little bar. The drinks were all well made. The place seemed to have a very large wine selection but the liquor not as much. The staff were friendly, a good place for a chill drink

A beautifully designed, relaxed and homey wine bar tucked away in the West Village. The Bromberg brothers clearly knew what they were doing, with a wonderfully varied and well-​rounded wine list and an intelligent menu of well-​executed, delicious small plates. The bar tenders introduce each wine with its region and flavor profile, and are more than accommodating when it comes to finding a wine within your individual taste preference.
The cocktails here are amazing as well — I recommend Perry’s Spritz and the Velvet Sour. As for the cheeses, I can’t get enough of the Coupole and Scharfe Maxx with flatbread and honey. Seriously, the Coupole is life-​changing.
A great place for some intimate conversation, excellent service, and of course, wine! I love to come here after work to unwind on a week day and will continue to come back for more.

Ok. My driver picked me up. And on the way downtown I told him I needed a drink. I asked him if he could stop at the nearest bar to our location. I also asked him if he could get me a beer. He said no problem. So he ended up stopping here.
I didn’t get out of the car. He got my drink for me. My review is based on my drivers experience. He said it was very nice. He also said he could see dropping me off here to meet friends in the future. The beer was normal priced. My driver did tell the bartender it was for somebody else and he was kind of hesitant to give my driver the drink. Other than that if I’m down in the village I could def see myself coming here for a drink it’s not a bad spot I just have only one or two friends maybe in the village everybody else is on the upper Eastside.
Overall I will stick to what I know is not a bad spot I guess if you come and get a drink from what my driver recommended.

This place is super cool.
I have walked past this place so many times and wondered about it because it always looked empty from the outside, but finally after eating dinner here the other night, I realized I was wrong. A lot of places in the West Village when you sit you feel a little snug with the person next to you, not the case here. You have space at your table and can actually have a conversation without competing against other people’s convo’s next to you.
The service here is amazing. EVERYONE is attentive, you will never hear a server say, «I’ll tell your server» here, they all want to make sure you have everything you want to enjoy your experience.
The menu is not huge but delivers a lot of variety. Its kind of pricey but the food is WORTH it. They bring you the cutest mini roll of that really good Vermont Butter with bread that is warm, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
I had the endive salad to start with pears walnuts and blue cheese, topped with what I think was watercress, it was GREAT. I also had to try the beet and goat cheese salad, which was also awesome. The goat cheese was warmed on top of golden beets and surrounded with red beets. The goat cheese was yummy soft and creamy, very mild and scrumptious. I then ventured to the fried chicken, way too much food for me but I had to try it. It was so good. Super crunchy on the outside and very moist inside. The sauce was a great addition also, like a sweet savory gravy. Once again I stuffed myself beyond being able to try desert… next time

Went to their first wine tasting and class. Totally gave me a new perspective on this bar. While ive never been employed in the wine industry, I have been able to attend classes presented by the Court of Master Sommeliers and been involved with Trader Joe’s wine department. Growing up in California it’s impossible to avoid California wines. I favor California wines, but this class gave me insight into why they are choosing the wines they have in inventory. I still don’t like old world style or wines from Oceania. But I was impressed with Sam’s knowledge and it was a nice way to get to know people in the neighborhood

As you may have noticed from the hundreds of other reviews, this place is an institution. Pricey, but that’s to be expected.
We stopped in here on a rainy Wednesday night and it was surprisingly crowded. As you’ve read, this place is known for the fried chicken and I assure you it was damn good. Perfect crispy crust yet moist chicken inside. The mashed potatoes were ok. I also tried the cheese plate which was delicious. Great options. Beer wise they had a pretty good list of craft drafts and some bottles as well.
Don’t let the inside fool you, there are more tables in the basement for larger parties. It also puts you right next to the bakery which will keep your mouth watering. I’d imagine it gets a little hot down there in the summer, but it was fine the other night.
The service was very good and were quick to clean up and refresh your drinks.
I would definitely return.

This place is so simple and intimate but that is what makes it so perfect. It is like the perfect first date spot.
There is a locals vibe and it is in the romantic West Village, after all. Really classy and beautiful crowd, especially some of the women, who were so stunning it made me wonder if they were industry, though they were all on dates and well-​dressed (the little black dress is ubiquitous here). I wouldn’t really classify this as a pick-​up spot but more the kind of place to take someone you have already «picked up» so to speak. I saw some people here alone and I loved that. It was just so intimate like someone’s living room party where it didn’t look odd the guy I saw alone but just like he rolled in from next door.
The lighting is golden, the wines are all lined up, and the menu dishes to accompany the wine are all yummy. I loved the duck foie gras, though the steak tartare and hummus were also delicious as well. Everything is just good. We were also told the bread was from the Blue Ribbon Bakery across the street and baked in a wood oven. You could feasibly eat a full meal here, replete with salad and dessert, but most seemed to be opting for tapas style to accompany their drinks.
I confess I only had the lemonade but my date had like four custom drinks. The bartenders were nice, accommodating and don’t rush you in the least.
I don’t know if I’ll ever live in the West Village again, but man I’m just glad I live close enough to come on dates to places like this. I can see why as several people told me this is one of their favorite spots.

My original rating was about this location but appear in the bakery location which is across the street.
This is not just a bar — it’s great restaurant with a nice little bar. Fried chicken or whatever the special of the day is a good rule of thumb. The menu is inventive.
The space is tight on the main floor. Larger parties are seated in the sub-​terrain.
Last time here was Thanksgiving dinner and it was special.

A tiny place tucked away on Downing Street, with space at the bar for about 10 people. With golden wood panels, a high ceiling to temper claustrophobia, and a rolling ladder, it could be Brandy Library’s baby sister.
I sampled 3 – 4 red wines and didn’t really love any of them. I described to the bartender what I liked and he provided suggestions, none too enthusiastically. We just may have diverging taste, or perhaps he was more of their cocktail guy. He did look like Orlando Bloom, so all is forgiven.
I did really enjoy their duck and foie gras toast. Decadent, served on quarters of a piece of toast. Perfect to split with your friend or date, as a few bites is all you need to fill up and move on to your second or third glass of okay wine. My friend did enjoy her glass white wine, so perhaps one should stick with white wine or cocktails here.
I’ve been informed their bread pudding is the best around, so perhaps this will be due for a revision after sampling some of that and the cocktails.

This place is tiny… but we went on a Tuesday night, so we were able to get seats. The bartenders are very knowledgeable about the wine. When I said I liked viognier, they suggested something else that was similarly delicious. Plus, they’re very generous with tastings, which I appreciate because I hate getting stuck with a big $ 17 glass of wine that I don’t even like.
As for food — all I can say is that the smoked duck and foie gras sandwich is out of this world. Get it.
Come here if you want to impress your date or if you want to catch up with a friend one-​on-​one. It’s one of my favorite wine bars in NYC.

Loved this place! Very swanky and upscale. Sophisticated yet chill. Great place for a date or just to catch up with friends. We tried 2 desserts — the chocolate Bruno and the strawberry toasts. Both were good. I had a glass of Viognier white wine, and my friends had the honey tequila cocktail and the gingerman cocktail. Everyone seemed to enjoy their drinks. Definitely would recommend this place for the lovely ambience, décor, and atmosphere.