There is no absinthe served at Absinthe Wine Bar, the three-month-old East Village restaurant from Atlas Café owner Walid Hammami, Angelina Café owner Rafik Bouzgarrou and executive chef Nelson German (Gramercy Park Hotel). But that doesn’t keep the 50-seat Mediterranean boite from offering a memorable experience.

The restaurant has the long, slender space shared by many eateries on lower First Avenue, and touts its Parisian influence with a mural of Toulouse-Lautrec’s work taking up the one wall that doesn’t feature exposed brick. The space, which used to be a deli, opens up in the back and features views into the small kitchen as well as an outdoor patio (which opened this weekend) that keep things from feeling too closed in. Even when the room is crowded, as it was during a recent weeknight visit, there’s an airy feel to the space that puts it a notch above the average let’s-all-sit-on-top-of-one-another bistro below 14th Street.

Small-but-surprising seems to be a theme throughout everything the restaurant does. While it specializes in small plates— inventive petite plats according to its press materials—the execution of most of the dishes goes over in a big way. Take the Baked Stuffed Mussels appetizer ($7/$11), which takes a few of the mollusks, which normally require savory broth and cone of frites to make a meal of, and with the addition of chorizo breadcrumbs and toasted garlic, turns them into a hearty starter. Even the “Snacks” on the menu, at $3 each, pack a whollop: The tomato crostini, not unlike bruschetta, was tasty and satisfying and exactly the type of thing one might nibble on at a Mediterranean café somewhere near the actual sea. Similarly, appetizers like grilled merguez ($7) and a chopped vegetable salad with feta and dill ($7) capture the spirit that the restaurant intends.

Main courses work well but lack the charming variety of a meal composed of small dishes. A white vegetable lasagna ($10) would be a deliciously welcome addition to any menu in town, but it’s sloppy to share and ruins the fun of picking at a starter and guzzling a glass of wine—there are over 70 bottles on the list—like the restaurant makes you want to. The most successful main course is the one that seems most like an appetizer: Lamb Three Ways ($16), a baby chop, merguez and shoulder confit, offers three succulent takes on lamb and is also deliciously easy to share. German, whose other entrees include a chick-pea crusted salmon ($13) and a popular lamb burger with feta, tomato confit and red pepper aioli ($11), should shrink the whole menu—salmon fritters and lamb sliders, anyone?—and lose the bulky mains to create a smoother, more enjoyable dining experience.

Desserts are also classically clunky. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Black Chai Tea Panna Cotta ($7) or Amaretto Bread Pudding ($7), but for the restaurant to really shine, it should embrace the small plate theme throughout. A board of imported cheeses with quince preserve, boozy poached figs and honey comb ($7) and a plate of truffles ($5) both do the job nicely.

There’s nothing wrong with Absinthe Wine Bar as it is. The atmosphere is charming and the food—including, surely, the recently launched brunch—is above average. In order to stand out from the crowd, though, the restaurant should focus on what it does so well and drive its menu in that direction. And nob

Absinthe Wine Bar
111 First Ave. (at E. 7th St.)
212-777-0440