PHOTOS COURTESY OF BARCELONA WINE BAR

It was a cold and rainy night Downtown as my girlfriend and I stepped into the warmth of Barcelona Wine Bar. Shadows danced around the dimly lit room. I tipped my black hat to the hostess, who sat us in a booth by the front window. Over the murmur of strangers’ conversations, we made a toast and clinked glasses. 

Then we proceeded to eat a ton of cheese.  

This new date-night spot will make you feel like a dark and mysterious character in a noir film. 

Barcelona Wine Bar opened earlier in January in the former Sharp Edge Bistro at 922 Penn Ave. Thanks to its extensive charcuterie and tapas menu, it’s also a great place for commitment-phobic foodies who’d rather sample a little bit of everything than devote themselves to one meal. 

The menu features Spanish, South American and Mediterranean cuisine and more than 400 wines by the glass and bottle. The selection can be slightly overwhelming, but our server was friendly and knowledgeable.

We settled on an aperitivo board loaded with all kinds of snacks selected by chef David Lee. The pickled veggies and olives paired perfectly with the Jamón Serrano (a type of thinly sliced cured ham), Fuet pork sausage and aged Manchego and Mahón cheeses. 

After erasing the board we plunged into our tapas selections: roasted sweet potatoes, spiced beef empanadas, house-made focaccia and chorizo with sweet-and-sour figs in a balsamic reduction. Note to management: please bottle that fig liquid and sell it by the gallon! I want to drizzle it on everything! 

Well, maybe not the Olive Oil Cake; it comes sprinkled with sea salt. Sharing is caring, especially when you’re in a relationship, but let’s just say it was hard for me to split this dessert because it was so moist and delicious.

If you’re more of a traditionalist when it comes to dining out, there are salads and large meals available, including various paella dishes. The full bar can also whip up a fancy cocktail or mocktail if wine isn’t your jam.

The first Barcelona Wine Bar opened in Connecticut in 1996 and now has locations in Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, DC. There’s one in Philadelphia, too.

At more than 5,000 square feet, the place is large but it feels intimate. Plus, the only recognizable thing from the Sharp Edge is the red ceiling. 

You might find yourself rubbing elbows with other folks at the crowded bar, but you’ll feel like you’re in your own world, or at the very least, your own movie. Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.