Ayza has been running the same good idea since 2007 — wine, chocolate, and a room designed to make both feel like the point — and it still works. The ceiling alone justifies the reservation: thirty-three handmade iridescent light fixtures, arranged like constellations, installed by a commissioned artist. It reads like a small planetarium that got a liquor license.
The Vibe
The indoor room fits around twenty at tables and booths, rustic-chic in the way that means dark wood and low light, not reclaimed barn doors. The outdoor sunroom is enclosed and heated year-round, strung with fairy lights, and has a vintage trolley parked in it — which is either charming or a lot, depending on how you're feeling. Early in the week it's quiet enough to actually talk. Weekends push louder; the music can take over a corner or two, so pick your seat.
What to Order
- Wine and chocolate pairing flight — the Milky Way and Dark Magic flights are the reason to come. Three pours, matched chocolates from Jacques Torres, something to work through together for an hour.
- Cheese and charcuterie board — a solid thing to order alongside the flight so the table has somewhere to put its hands between pours.
- Skip the chocolate pizza — it lands closer to Nutella on bread than to anything the menu makes it sound like. The martinis are the chocolate delivery system worth trusting.
When to Come
Tuesday or Wednesday evening, when the room is quiet and service has room to breathe. Make a reservation — the indoor room fills fast on weekends and the hosts enforce the clock. Happy hour runs all day Sunday and Monday, then Tuesday–Friday 4–6pm, and is worth arriving for.
The Bottom Line
If the idea of a wine-and-chocolate pairing flight sounds good to you, Ayza executes it better than anywhere else in the city — just don't expect the Midtown block outside to set any mood on the way in.