Aria Wine Bar

Patrick Heig

Contributor

Dim as a 15th century tavern and decorated to look like one--thick wood beams, crumbling brick, hocks of ham hanging from the wall--this Venice-themed wine bar's an after-work hangout for chatty gaggles of West Village women that turns into a romantic date spot later in the evening. It is light, for a wine bar, on wine, with just 14 mostly Italian varieties available by the glass, though the prices (average: $6 and $40, respectively) more than make up for it. The list works well with the menu of sharable plates, which has too little seafood and too much goat cheese to be Venetian but is…