Coffee correspondent Downing Bray brings you another spot to get your daily jolt in style.


v-barV-Bar

225 Sullivan Street (between W. 3rd and Bleecker)

A coffee shop by day and a wine and beer bar by night, Vbar is as mysterious as its name – I cannot for the life of me figure out what the V stands for. Maybe the V refers to vino or vin since it certainly boasts quite an array of European offerings, and furthermore it has an impressive display of vintage bottles lining the shelves along the wall for decoration. Or maybe the V points to the dark blue velvet curtains that adorn the long windows overlooking Sullivan Street (across from Peanut Butter and Company). Velvety, in fact, would be a choice word to describe Vbar. It has an almost medieval, rustic feel, but it’s simultaneously contemporary; as soft, calming music (think Ravi Shankar or Lauryn Hill) plays softly amidst the occasional whirring of a coffee machine or clinking of a wine glass, people reading and tapping away on their laptops sit in near silence at a few small tables and at the larger dark wood communal table in the center of the café, all with bar-style seating. If you need quiet, it’s an ideal place to study, but make sure to go early in the day; around 5:30 the lights dim and the conversations pick up as it transforms to a wine bar—although some people still work away. In addition to wine, beer, tea, and coffee, it has paninis, baked goods and other snacks. For an indication of price range, a small coffee sells $1.25 a cup while a small tea is $1.75. It opens weekdays at 9:00 AM and weekends at 10:00 AM. Closes at 2:00 AM Sun-Wed, and 4:00 AM on Thursday.