Bar Rêve

Bar Rêve arrived on Smith Street in Cobble Hill with the confidence of a place that knows lighting is a flavor. Step inside and you get a Belle Époque daydream translated into Brooklyn: deep red walls, warm lamps, a proper fireplace, and a room scaled for conversation rather than performance. 

The bar is compact by New York standards, about 1,500 square feet, roughly 65 guests, with a 10 seat counter that keeps you close to the stirring and the small talk.  Founders Alexander Buchholz and Victor Triebel lean into a playful art concept: the opening cocktail list riffs on Impressionism, with a bound, book like menu and drinks priced around the twenty dollar mark.  If you order from their “Volume 1: Impressionnisme” you will see that the names are part of the joke, part invitation: Over the Bridge, Citronnade, Boat Party.  Come for a cocktail, stay for the snacks, including tiny croque monsieurs and fries with togarashi aioli, which feel perfectly suited to a second round.