We go to The Fly in Bed-Stuy for wine and roast chicken. To nearby Hart’s for date nights featuring pork milanese, and to Cervo’s to drink vermouth and people-watch while sitting out on the corner of Canal and Ludlow. From the same team as these highly specific, highly satisfying restaurants, Eel Bar has big shoes to fill—and it steps right in. This Lower East Side spot is the place to visit for olive oil-soaked snacky plates and uncomplicated cocktails, whenever you can’t quite decide if you want dinner, drinks, or something in between.

More than a bar, and somewhat less than a full-fledged restaurant, Eel Bar feels like a tavern with textured glass windows and a touch of downtown scene, courtesy of pink and blue neon ceiling lights. There are enough kitten heels clicking across the forest green floors to open a very specialized shoe store. A smooth green bar usually has space for walk-ins, and a standing room-only ledge is just the right size for a plate of gildas and a Filthy Martini. 

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

photo credit: Kate Previte

You can have a full, coursed-out meal here, or make a meal of the city’s funkiest, anchovy-draped burger, hunched over that bar. But we like Eel Bar best for a long and winding snack parade. Sit in a wooden booth in the back dining room, and spend several hours gossiping over a hunk of potato salad glittering with trout roe, or piquillo peppers overflowing with cold crab, which tastes like tuna salad that won the lottery. 

Add a few bites of that burger, passed around amongst friends, a forkful of black rice dragged through aioli, or a fried mussel so shatteringly crisp that your mind will wander back to them every time you eat a potato chip. Sip on vermouth with rum and olives, or a mezcal margarita, or a white wine from Basque Country. And finally, get the vermouth-drowned sponge cake. This too is covered in olive oil.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Kate Previte

Shrimp & Egg Gildas

There are regular gildas too, which are dependably olive-oil soaked, but try this variety, which swap the buttery anchovy for a cold shrimp, and have an expertly boiled egg with a big dollop of aioli.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Potato Salad with Trout Roe

Picture this: you show up to your great aunt’s annual July 4th barbecue, and she's decided to put trout roe on her famous potato salad this year. You are pleasantly surprised. This is that potato salad.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Fried Mussels on the Half Shell

Each mussel is removed, breaded and fried, and then placed back in the shell like it never left. The result is crispy-crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and so easy to eat that you should just get two orders.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Black Rice a la Plancha

This is one of the least interesting-sounding menu items. But it’s one of the very best things you can eat here. Squid ink-stained rice is formed into patties, fried on the flattop, and then plated with a lemon squeeze and a little olive oil (of course). Plus a casual swoosh of aioli, which isn't needed, but always welcome. The final product has a hardened crust and a custard-like interior. It’s hard to believe this is just rice.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Meatballs & Fries

Smoky, tomato-saucy meatballs under a blanket of fries. Delightful. The fries are thicker than the ones at Cervo’s or The Fly, which is sad, because the thinner ones are better. But we'll let it slide.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Rainbow Trout Pil Pil

This piece of fish can easily accommodate four forks at once, so order it for the table. Just know that you’ll need an order of fries or bread to sop up the velvety sauce.

photo credit: Kate Previte

Grass-Fed Beef Burger with Anchovies and Roquefort

As expected from the team who makes an iconic lamb burger over at Cervo’s, their foray into beef is a punchy flavored success. In some bites the roquefort borders on too overpowering—you can't even taste the similarly-funky anchovies—but mostly the cheesy, fishy burger with a slice of raw onion is just overpowering enough. Like it knows it's going to give you bad breath, and doesn't care. You shouldn’t care either.

Tarta San Marcos

The internet is full of articles about this sponge cake, which has supposedly been around for 1,000 years (cool!). Eel Bar’s boozy beauty is soaked in vermouth, filled with chocolate mousse, and topped with a loose pile of whipped cream. It’s the perfect pairing for those last few sips of wine.