On Resy, there’s a gem of a dining experience by the name of Niche Niche. It appears to be a higher-end West Village restaurant from the outside, but it’s actually a unique dining experience styled in the form of a dinner party with a kickass wine selection.
The doors are actually locked until your reservation time, making the experience that much more exclusive. You can instead peer at the selection of wine in the window while you wait.
Then, at 6pm, the door opens. The hosts greet you with a glass of wine (boy, do they know hospitality) and you are invited to choose your seat for the evening. The decor makes you feel like you’re entering someone’s stylish living room. My friend and I found a 2-seater nook with extremely comfortable bucket chairs.
We started out with a nice charcuterie board before moving to a main course of lamb.
As for the wines, the emphasis was on trying ones that you have likely never sampled before, including two varieties from Lebanon. (I was also a huge fan of our host’s colorful shirt.)
The theme was “vines that struggle”, which ensured a rich hearty flavor throughout. Each selection (there were five total) paired extraordinary well with our food, but I have to say that the best pairing was the port-like Banyuls with dessert. A sip after a bite of our crème brûlée-like treat gave a delicious rich flavor that rested nicely on the tongue and make it taste like a whole new dessert.
Overall, Niche Niche was very well executed. Each wine was introduced in a very down-to-earth way with fun hosts and good food, which is what really made this experience unique.
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