Ibérico Opens in Fort Greene, NYC: A Spanish and Portuguese Wine and Tapas Bar on DeKalb Avenue

Ibérico, a wine and tapas bar pouring only Spanish and Portuguese bottles, opened on November 5 at 258 DeKalb Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

It comes from wine director Tamy Rofe and chef Felipe Donnelly, the husband-and-wife team behind the nearby Latin American restaurant Colonia Verde. The idea grew out of the years the couple spent living in Portugal and the relationships they built with winemakers there. They describe a room that channels the lively neighborhood bars of Madrid, adapted to Fort Greene's relaxed, unpretentious character rather than copied outright.

The wine list is limited to Spanish and Portuguese producers, and it is joined by a selection of vermouths from around the world. Alatz Ortega, formerly of The Ten Bells, built the cocktail menu and sourced the vermouths.

The food is tapas. The menu includes pan con tomate, boquerones and a Tortilla Española de Betanzos, the Galician-style potato omelet. The most distinctive item is rissóis de leitão, traditional Portuguese half-moon pastries filled with shredded roast suckling pig.

The space was put together largely by people from the couple's own circle. Camila Forero, head chef of Colonia Verde's catering arm Compartí, led the design and build-out. Brooklyn furniture designer John Sorensen-Jolink of Coil & Drift contributed lighting from his new collection, and the Brooklyn studio Polonsky & Friends created the visual identity.

Donnelly is a Colombian chef born in Madrid, so the Iberian theme draws on his own history as well. Colonia Verde, at 219 DeKalb Avenue, opened in 2014 and earned a James Beard nomination. Donnelly also runs Cosmico Wine Bar, Disco Tacos and Compartí. Ibérico now sits a short distance along the same avenue.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by WhatNow, DiningOut, Feast of Reason.)