La Vita Buona

Although it dabbles in coffee and cocktails, La Vita Buona is definitely a haven for wine lovers. The bar hosts wine courses on Monday nights and features a wall mounted glass bottle-keep for vino enthusiasts who want their purchases name-labeled and retrievable at each visit. And it may take quite a few visits to work through the very generous wine list - a wine list so extensive that it has its own index arranged under grape type for the 500 labels of white, red, rose, dessert, fortified and digestif whose sources vary from Italy France, Australia, Austria, Spain, Portugal and Greece. La Vita Buona doubles as a retail cellar where all bottled wines are up for sale, as well as thirty labels available for trial by the glass or in 500 mil giraffes that are ideal for a party of two.

A small selection of cocktails is crowned by the signature Life's Good (Averna, Lillet Rouge, Citrus Twist, crushed ice and chinotto), a play on the venues name, La Vita Buona, which translates from the Italian as 'the good life'. The wine-dining menu ranges from cafe fare to drinking snacks like pistachio nuts, marinated olive, croutons and cured meats. The custard date tart paired with fortified white port from Quinta La Rosa orchards is a perfect finish to the long lunch or late night.