Eel Bar
Basque restaurant · Lower East Side
252 Broome St, New York, NY 10002
11 Postcards
Highlights
Eel Bar is a sultry Lower East Side haunt serving up Basque-inspired bites and killer cocktails, all wrapped in a stylish, neon-lit setting.
11 Postcards
Eel Bar is a sultry Lower East Side haunt serving up Basque-inspired bites and killer cocktails, all wrapped in a stylish, neon-lit setting.
"It’s no surprise that Eel Bar is sexy — that’s because it comes from the team from nearby Cervo’s. Is Eel Bar a bar or a restaurant? It doesn’t matter, either way: It’s a good night out. A tapas menu includes items like potato salad with roe, shrimp gildas, fried mussels, and a plain but delicious dish of meatballs. Seating is in the bar or the dining room, and, charmingly, you can look from one into the other." - Emma Orlow, Eater Staff
"From the team behind the Fly, Cervo’s, and Hart’s comes Eel Bar. While Cervo’s nods to Portugal, Eel Bar takes its cue from Basque influences, with boquerones and tinned fish from the group’s Minnow brand, along with dishes like rainbow trout with pil-pil, or meatballs with fries." - Eater Staff
"Reservations are released two weeks in advance. Walk-ins are accepted in the dining room as well as at the 13-seat bar. When we arrived around 5pm on a Tuesday, we had no trouble getting a table, and there were a good number of seats that seemed to be open throughout the night." - Willa Moore
"Do you like strong flavors? Eel Bar’s burger is probably the most intense, and for lovers of pungency that’s a good thing. A thick patty of grass-fed beef is cooked to medium rare, and topped with anchovies and Roquefort, that aggressive blue cheese from southern France made with sheep’s milk and aged in caves. The beef has a strong flavor, too, so the three flavors meld in interesting ways, making a union of sea and earth." - Robert Sietsema, Eater Staff
"Look around you. The city is full of Cervo’s lovers who appreciate a summer evening, sitting outside at the Lower East Side seafood spot with a plate of fried shrimp heads. Eel Bar—also on the LES—is a new spot from the same team, and its tavern-like booths, neon pink and blue touches, and olive oil-soaked gildas will surely amass a fan following of their own. Come for the trout-roe studded potato salad and martinis in funky glassware that you may briefly consider stealing. If their vermouth-soaked sponge cake is available, do yourself a favor and order one for dessert. One per person. " - molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman
