There are certain expectations you have when entering any eating establishment or glorified watering hole in North Brooklyn. It will be cute. It will feel charming. It will have clever lighting, it will feel thoughtful, it will make you want to sit, and stay, and have a drink and a small plate, or three. It will be all of these things because if not, honestly, it will never make it. If a place doesn’t feel well thought out and “unique” it will not grab our coveted attention.
And then there are certain places you walk in that you can tell aren’t playing the same game. They’ve subscribed to no algorithm.
They greet you with a warm, genuine, “Buona sera!” even though you are neither Italian nor in Italy. There are photos and wine bottles covering nearly every surface of the walls, enveloping you with a warm history of vintages and memories within these walls. There is a leg of Spanish jamon sitting on the bar, ready and waiting to cure any small plate craving you’ve got.
This feeling is inimitable. It’s genuine. And it surprises me still every time I walk into Have & Meyer. And probably because they aren’t trying to be anything else. They are an Italian wine bar owned by Italians, with only Italian wines on the menu. All available by the glass, because they have no desire for that by-the-bottle-only pretension. They want to invite you into their space, to help you navigate their rather intimidating wine list, to let you try wines until you settle into one that suits you, and to make you feel at home… if home, of course, was a small town nestled in the Tuscan hills and not this concrete jungle of a city.
I should mention, also, that all of the wines on the list are natural or biodynamic. And this is not because they’re trying to be trendy. It’s because they believe in the original, non-industrial method of winemaking, and want to support those winemakers who do the same. And this does come with a bit of a pricetag, but know that that extra $2 is helping an Italian vintner keep his family tradition alive and the wine in your glass alive and well too.
If you need help imagining said farmer, as you sip, take the time to read the stories on the back of the menu. “The Farmers’ wines you are about to relish are not simply made by winemakers that respect. They are made by nonconformist, defiant mavericks that we are proud to call ‘artists’, apostates, and rebels for whom “respect the Earth” is not a marketing claim, but a way of life.” What follows is an evolving list of impactful anecdotes that will make every sip feel more profound, and the pricetag less painful.
Find yourself here on a date or on your own. Trust the friendly Italian staff to help you navigate the menu. My recommendations? Choose a funky orange wine and a portion of jamon for one, or two, or three, regardless of how many you are. Sit and sip and appreciate this untouched and rather hidden gem in the middle of trend-hungry, misguided Williamsburg.
Have & Meyer, you give me something to believe in.
Find them at 103 Havemeyer St.
Follow them at @haveandmeyer
Keep up with their events calendar at haveandmeyer.com
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