Fifty Henry
50 Henry St at Cranberry St, Brooklyn Heights
The Place: A cute, quiet wine bar with a live jazz trio.
The Time: Thursday July 14, 7:30pm. I recently read Pete Wells’ review of a place called Inga’s Bar in Brooklyn Heights and have been wanting to go. So I took a walk all the way up Hicks Street, only to find a sign on the door saying they’re closed for COVID exposure. Womp, womp. After my long trek, I’m pretty hungry, so I head one block over to Henry Street and go into the first place I see, which is Fifty Henry wine bar.
A glass of gewurztraminer at Fifty Henry
The Vibe: There are some people sitting outside but I go inside to sit at the bar. It’s small, with some tables to the left, a hightop table by the window and a jazz trio playing in the corner. The bar top is that diner-style (at least I associate it with diners) black and brown marble swirl. It’s a small back bar, and I can see into the kitchen on the left. There are only a few bar seats, so I take one toward the middle. The A/C is blowing directly on me, which feels very nice at first, and then becomes kind of chilly. There’s one guy sitting at the corner of the bar who looks like he’s in love with the bassist. A couple is at the hightop, probably on a first or second date. It’s pretty slow, so I hear the staff chatting about the difference between rosé and orange wine. At one point, the guy at the bar interrupts the couple on the date by saying “sorry, it’s rare I hear anyone discussing linear algebra” and they all laugh. Everyone applauds the band after each song. This is the part of Brooklyn Heights that feels like the Upper West Side but I’m happy to be in this kind of chill, sophisticated environment, especially after my experience in Charleston (yes, I’m a snob, I know).
The Bartender: A very nice woman who shares in my disappointment when she tells me they’re out of the albariño.
Pasta moonlighting as a salad!
The Drank: As my second choice, I choose the gewurztraminer. I’ve reached a point in my wine journey (read: SNOB) where I know what grapes I like so wine lists are easier to navigate. And summer screams white wine to me. I ate pasta for lunch so I can’t eat pasta for dinner, even though I COULD eat pasta for every meal. But since I’m trying to be “healthy” I go for a salad of tomatoes, stracciatella, string beans and watercress with a side of focaccia. So basically, pasta in salad form. It’s fine, nothing to write home about, but it’s the kind of light meal I’m looking for. My one slight qualm is that the utensil roll up is tied by a rubber band? So I just have a random rubber band near me while I’m eating. But there definitely could be worse things to have near me while I’m eating.
Was I Hit On?: Nope. There’s a guy who comes in, sits at the bar, orders a beer, then turns around and immediately starts filming the jazz trio. So the musicians are obviously the hot commodity around here.
Should You Drink Here Alone?: No reason not to. Fifty Henry isn’t extraordinary or particularly special, but it’s a lovely place to grab a glass of wine and a bite if you’re in the neighborhood. The jazz trio is only on Thursdays though, so you might have some competition if you try to vie for their hearts.
* UPDATE * Fifty Henry is now closed