Vino and Victuals

Springfield welcomes (another) tapas bar.

Remember Ross and Rachel from that little ’90s show, Friends? Remember that coffee bar where they always had their totally zany conversations? Now imagine them canoodling at a wine bar instead of a java joint, and you’ve got Ophelia’s Tapas & Wine Bar, which opened late in 2006 in downtown’s Wilhoit Plaza.

That’s not to say Ophelia’s is a façade; far from it, though some people may think it’s a façade until they manage to find the front door. Hint: You won’t find an entrance to Ophelia’s on Pershing Street, which runs between Wilhoit Plaza and the Downtown Y. Try parking in the lot at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Elm Street for the quickest route to the door, which—and this is also confusing for newbies—sits below parking level.

Once you’re inside, Ophelia’s is an experience new to Springfield—in a good way. The ceilings are high, and there’s a lot of rustic furniture and wood paneling. A fireplace and comfortable sitting area are almost as prominent as the towering drinking bar, which, for anyone shorter than 5'2", my wife remarked, might feel like something that would befuddle a hobbit in a Tolkien novel. Indeed, the whole place has a sort of storybook, tavernish feel with a fireplace, a secluded entrance and wine shelves reaching impossibly high on the walls. Only two super-sharp flatscreen TVs (one on the wall, one behind the bar) mess with that image. I suppose owners are willing to risk a blip on the classiness-o-meter if it means keeping Cardinals fans happy during the summer.

Thankfully, the menu’s mission is more focused than the décor’s: Ophelia’s is a tapas and wine bar; nothing on the menu would, in and of itself, qualify as a meal. Although, that’s not to say the chefs are stingy. Anything but, actually, and the prices are equally impressive. Example: At a recent happy hour the Mrs. and I split a huge order of hummus ($2), an order of grilled tomato bread ($4) and a lamb-meat pincho (a smallish serving of skewered, seasoned lamb meat, $4) and walked out satisfied. All the food was good, but the hummus especially impressed us with its freshness.

But enough talk about interior decorating and food: Ophelia’s is a wine bar, and you want to know about the wine. All I can say is no one will be disappointed. The three-page wine list runs the gamut from cheap house whites to outlandishly expensive reds—I don’t have the liver or the checking account to try even a fraction of them. I can report, however, that most of the Ophelia’s staff is adept at helping you narrow your choices (I, for one, would have great fun recommending the Bitch Red Blend, $6 per glass, to anyone who had a sense of humor). A friend of mine drank the Redemption Zin, which he proclaimed “a little sip of awesomeness.” To help, there is usually a pleasingly extensive “wine special” menu that, in one of the finer touches in the whole restaurant, is etched in painstakingly neat letters on a chalk board behind the bar. Beer- and spirits-drinkers, never fear. Ophelia’s has a number of good brews on tap (such as Stella Artois) and a fully stocked bar.

Like many new bars and restaurants, the service at Ophelia’s has been hit-and-miss over its first few months. For example, one recent non-busy happy hour featured a few hustling employees, frequent drink checks and swift food delivery. A few weeks later, with the same amount of customers, I had to literally force eye contact with one of the seven employees behind the bar before I was asked what I wanted. This seems to have evened out over time.

Finally, for those of you who want a more urban setting than Metropolitan Grill, but are worried about Ophelia’s being a typical “downtown” hangout, you simply have to choose your moments. Yes, Ophelia’s participates in pub crawls and can feature large tables of young twentysomethings on weekends. But the bulk of the day-in, day-out business appears to be middle-aged wine-lovers, who like to keep happy hour as free of theatrics as possible. On second thought, maybe that crowd from Friends wouldn’t like Ophelia’s that much, after all.

Matt Lemmon is editor of GO Magazine.

About reviewing
Reviews are written by our editors as a service to readers, without advertising consideration. Visits are as anonymous as possible, and all expenses are paid by 417 Magazine. New restaurants are allowed four weeks to establish themselves before a first visit. To comment, please e-mail editor@417mag.com.

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