ZipPicks Awards
Best Chef's Table Restaurants in Upper East Side
Master Critic Review
Bar Vivant
8.0
Bar Vivant is an intimate Carnegie Hill wine bar, opened in 2024, where the two-chef ownership team builds a changing menu of small plates meant to be tasted in sequence with their European-leaning wine list. With fewer seats and a menu that reads like a chef’s notebook—octopus, tartares, croquettes—it works like a casual chef’s table built around grazing rather than a formal tasting menu.
Must-Try Dishes:
Mushroom croquettes, Grilled octopus with seasonal garnishes, Steak tartare with house condiments
Scores:
Value: 7
Service: 8.4
Consistency: 7.8
Food Quality: 8.5
Atmosphere: 9
Cultural Relevance: 7.2
What makes it special: A chef-owned wine bar where the short menu of seasonal plates is built to be shared course by course with thoughtful pours.
Who should go: Pairs or trios who like grazing on inventive small plates with wine.
When to visit: Evenings after 6:30pm when the room fills but you can still snag a two-top.
What to order: Start with mushroom croquettes, follow with octopus, then split steak tartare.
Insider tip: Sit at the bar, let the team choose a flight of wines, and ask them to send plates in waves so it eats like a mini tasting menu.