Local Date Night Spots: Nouveau Monde Wine Bar in Sandy Hook

This past weekend, my husband and I had the opportunity for an impromptu date. It was great, because we don’t get to go out that often without the kids.

Since we were given this opportunity, we wanted to make sure we went somewhere good. There's nothing worse than wasting one of the few date nights you get at a bad place. My mom suggested that we try the new wine bar that opened in Sandy Hook Center, and I am so glad we did.

The wine bar is in a new building in Sandy Hook Center and it is very nice. Walking to the back entrance, we saw their big back porch that offers lots of seating, and there is also another porch on the side with additional outdoor seating.

Inside, there are various seating options. They have couches, big chairs, chairs and tables, and seating at the bar. They also have an upstairs with more seating and the kitchen is upstairs.

I loved all the old pictures they have around the restaurant, the old corkscrews, the books with the covers taken off, the lighting fixtures, and the deep blues. I love the decor here.

There was a mix in the way people dressed too. You’re fine dressing casual. You won’t feel out of place, but you’re fine getting dressed up too. All in all, it was a very comfortable environment.

The menu has not only wine choices, but small bites and larger bites as well. We choose a couple of small bites, and then each got a larger bite. The large bites aren’t huge, but they are enough to satisfy an appetite.

Here’s what we ordered:

Both entrees came with salads that had a very light, but good, salad dressing. For dessert I ordered the strawberry-rhubarb empanadas with vanilla ice cream. It was so good. I love strawberry-rhubarb pie and this was just as good as the pie. My husband didn’t want dessert, but he decided to get a beer off their beer menu.

The wine and beer were both very good. I tried a Riesling and a Chardonnay; my husband had a red wine, Zwiegelt, and a Pilsner.

We talked to one of the owners, Peter Chang, while we were there. He was very nice and was happy to answer any questions we had. Rachel took our orders and she was great. She too, was happy to answer our questions and offered suggestions off the menu for us.

Something exciting I read in their press release is that they will eventually hold wine education seminars and wine-pairing dinners. Sign me up! Both owners, Peter and Bill Towne, have extensive wine knowledge, which is shown in the wine selection.

They have only been open for 4 weeks and they were already booked until 9 on Saturday night, so I guess they are doing pretty well. I think people are happy to see something a little different and new in the town. We really liked everything about it. The drinks, food, ambiance, and staff were all great.

I think it’s safe to say we’ll be back. I would definitely call for reservations if you want to dine here though. It seems like they are already pretty popular.

For more info and to see their menu, visit Nouveau Monde Wine Bar online.

Have you been to Nouveau Monde Wine Bar?

Listen to Mr. Morning & Liz weekdays from 6:00-10AM on 105.5 FM, online at kicks1055.com/listen-live/ or by downloading the radioPup app for your mobile. You can follow us on Instagram and Twitter too!