When visiting New York for NYFW, I made it a priority to visit the many vibrant restaurants found in New York City. For Day 1, I had the pleasure of visiting Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar for lunch, and I will admit that I had a fantastic time and the food was so enjoyable.
I will never say that I am a food critic, but I do know food. When it comes to the food I eat, I am very picky and opinionated. If I don’t like something, then I will refuse to eat it. But with Ayza Wine and ChocolateBar I didn’t have that problem. I ate everything, and another great facet about the restaurant is that the wait staff and overall aesthetic is exactly what you’re looking for when it you need that New York City feel.
I visited the Ayza location in Midtown with my fellow Philly blogger – Guru from Modaninja. Since we were in the city for NYFW, we were looking for a restaurant that not only served delicious food but gave us the stylish feel that we needed for NYFW.
When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by the wait staff and the restaurant manager. Our reservation was promptly looked into and we were offered the option of sitting in the closed in and heated outside area or at table inside. And though the outside was well heated, we opted to sit at a table inside near the bar only because we get cold pretty easily and didn’t want to take too much of a risk of getting cold even through the heat.
After being seated at one of the quaint tables near the bar, our waitress Ana came by to take our orders and provide us with some menu suggestions and details. Taking her suggestions, I received a malt wine to drink (one of their specialties) and Guru received a very flowery and sweet white wine – just what she wanted.
The drinks did not disappoint. The warm malt wine was just what I needed to get through the cold weather, but what was even better was the lunch menu items that we received. Now, I can’t speak for Guru’s food experience but the BBQ Pulled Pork Panini that I ordered was absolutely delicious.
It was a perfect combination of meat and BBQ flavor and the bread did not soup up too much of the juice from the meat, but did keep it balanced. The fresh salad with a light vinaigrette dressing went nicely with the panini – making this meal a perfect NYFW Day 1 lunch.
But that wasn’t the end of my meal. Of course I couldn’t leave without my dessert. After listening to some suggestions from Ana, our waitress, I decided to choose the Chocolate Lava Cake and Guru order the Dark Chocolate Fondue. The desserts arrived to our table warm and smelling of rich chocolate.
We ate the desserts faster than our meals. There was no talking as we experienced the delicious chocolate desserts from Ayza, and though we didn’t order the desserts recommended such as the Chocolate Pizza, I will admit that I think any of the desserts would have been a great choice.
Overall, I had an amazing experience at the Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar in Midtown. It is definitely a restaurant that I will be planning to visit when I come back to the NY whether it be for next season of NYFW or when I take a few trips for bridal shopping this upcoming summer.
So if you are ever in NY or if you are a NY native, make sure to stop by Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar at the Midtown location or in West Village. Their food is exactly what you need to keep yourself filled and to make your taste buds happy. For all of my fashion bloggers and press who will be in NY for future NYFW events, make sure to look up Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar and let them know that Iesha from LivingLesh sent you!
