An Imbiber’s Guide to the Best New York City Wine Bars

If there’s ever been a better time to drink wine in New York City, I haven’t seen it. While Manhattan has long had expense-account-worthy restaurants with deep cellars, in recent years, the wine scene has diversified to bring more people and bottles to the table. Swing through Chinatown to sip cult Champagne on low-slung couches, or sample Japanese Pinot Noir on an outdoor table next to a historic dim sum joint. Head to Harlem to drink a minerally white wine from Alsace alongside sweet-and-spicy grilled shrimp, or block out an entire evening to take a natural wine bar crawl through North Brooklyn.

No matter your budget, or what you’re craving in your glass, there’s a New York City wine bar to try. Here are 12 of my favorites. 

Aldo Sohm

Opened by (and named for) Le Bernardin’s superstar sommelier, Aldo Sohm Wine Bar is a respite of calm amid the skyscraping intensity of Midtown Manhattan. The list includes investment-worthy Grand Cru Burgundy as well as by-the-glass pours starting at $13. All are served in crystal glassware and sipped by navy-suited power players, bar and restaurant professionals, and well-heeled regulars. Open from lunch through dinner, Aldo Sohm’s full kitchen serves warm duck and arugula salads, black truffle arancini, and an elegantly crustless Croque Monsieur with Parisian ham and melted gruyere.

The Four Horsemen

Home to what many consider one of the best natural wine collections in New York City — if not the world — this Williamsburg bar and restaurant opened in 2015 and still feels cutting edge. The epic list of crowd-pleasing bottles and deep cuts hail from the Jura, Champagne, Beaujolais, Slovakia, Croatia, and beyond. Even if you don’t arrive hungry, the menu of seasonal dishes like razor clams with lime vinaigrette and heirloom tomato-topped chicken schnitzel might convince you to stay for dinner. Reservations in the 40-seat space go fast. But you can often claim one of the 10 bar seats if you walk in on the early side. 

La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels

Don’t let the Gallic name fool you. There are independent and small-production bottles from around the world at both La Compagnie locations. The SoHo space has a 1,000-bottle list plus warm service, ample bar seating, and candlelit tables. Check the online schedule online to join popular hour-long classes like Wine Bootcamp and His Majesty, Pinot Noir. The second outpost of La Compagnie opened in Flatiron in 2024. It features creamy banquettes, the type of lighting that flatters everyone, a full kitchen, and impressive nonalcoholic wine list alongside hundreds of bottles from Champagne, South Africa, Armenia, and more.

Lei

Whether it’s the best babka or worst subway line, it’s rare for New Yorkers to reach a consensus on pretty much any topic. And yet, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t rave about Lei. Opened in June 2025 by 2026 Imbibe 75er Annie Shi, the Chinatown bar has a destination-worthy list of wines by the glass and bottle, homestyle Chinese cooking, and knowledgeable, snobbery-free service. Reservations are hard to come by. But the team always saves space for walk-ins and goes out of their way to make everyone feel welcome. Don’t sleep on the chilled celtuce, a tangy, scarlet-hued appetizer that inspires most diners to grab their chopsticks with one hand and aim their phone’s camera with the other.

Lise & Vito

Opened in 2023, this natural wine bar brings fun, freewheeling energy to Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. Owner Brittany Myrick is an alum of Roberta’s, the groundbreaking pizzeria-turned-Bushwick institution. And the bar is named for two of her longtime regulars. Come early to sip a small-production Pét-Nat at the bar. Or pop in on the later side, when revelers crowd Lise & Vito’s lime-hued banquettes and pink bar, and an impromptu dance party feels all but inevitable. 

Musette

Like its next-door sibling, the bottle shop Pompette, this expertly curated Harlem wine bar has something for everyone. The $10 happy hour pours include racy Loire Valley Chenin and crowd-pleasing Prosecco. Meanwhile the full list spans skin-contact Alsatian wines, Willamette Valley Pinot from sommelier-winemaker Andre Mack, an array of off-dry and fortified wines, plus beer and a full bar. Turn drinks into dinner with an order of hot or honey wings, ahi tuna tartare, or a skirt steak topped with shallots and herbs.

Parcelle

With its low-slung emerald couches and casually chic servers, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the Chinatown location of this hybrid wine bar-retailer for a Parisian salon. The list skews natural and small-production, with cult producers like Italy’s Radikon alongside the family-run Austrian Meinklang. A second Parcelle opened in Greenwich Village in 2024. It has more of a restaurant feel with gleaming wooden tables and seasonally driven menu. Try the rigatoni with Calabrian chili, just-caught yellowfin or hamachi tartare, excellent charcuterie, and unforgettable crispy cornbread.

Place des Fêtes 

Natural-leaning wines from Spain and France headline this buzzy neighborhood bar and restaurant in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill. Opened by the team from Oxalis, another local favorite, Place des Fêtes has a smart selection of wines, sherries, and vermouths by the glass and bottle; and a full bar with creative versions of classic cocktails, such as a Martini with tomatoes and Manzanilla sherry, or a quince Sidecar. The seafood-focused menu includes grilled Spanish mackerel and sardine toast with smoked butter. But don’t leave without trying at least one dessert. (My vote is for the financier with dates and paw paws.)

Rude Mouth

Williamsburg has no shortage of stylish spaces, but an evening at Rude Mouth always feels special. Unpretentious servers pour a smart list of natural wines as well as craft spirits, amari, beer, cider, and nonalcoholic drinks. The short but sweet menu includes small plates like little gem salads, marinated olives, and kabocha-topped ricotta toasts. Thanks to the warm, neighborhood feel, it’s easy to settle onto a bar seat with a book or gather a group of friends in a booth or at a wooden table in the leafy backyard. Rude Mouth also hosts book launches, collaborations with chefs from beloved NYC restaurants like Sunni’s, deejay sets, and Queer Tuesday parties and pop-ups.

Ruffian

This slim East Village institution has been pouring an exceptional array of minimal-intervention and natural wines since 2016. The 250-bottle list features wines from Eastern Europe as well as ancient regions like Greece and Georgia. Tee-shirt-wearing sommeliers can walk you through whether that Hungarian Harslevelu or Slovenian sparkler would better complement your meal or vibe. Ruffian has been awarded Michelin Bib Gourmand every year since 2020, and it’s easy to see why. Sustain your evening with a la carte stunners like sunflower sourdough and kimchi-squash dumplings. Or try a four-course vegetarian or omnivore $65 tasting menu.

Stars

Opened in 2025 by the team behind beloved Greenwich Village restaurants Claud and Penny, Stars is an industry darling that lives up to its hype. The tiny cedar-wrapped space takes a democratic approach to wine: by-the-glass pours start at $11, and the 1,000-bottle list includes a stellar collection of 88 bottles under $88. (In a town where cocktails regularly climb above $20, these prices feel like a revelation.) The 12 seats around Stars’ zinc bar fill quickly, so arrive early to nab yours and tuck into griddled shrimp toast alongside a chilled Cinsault or minerally Jura Chardonnay.

With Others

With its twinkling backyard, candlelit tables, and well-priced wine and small plates, this Williamsburg spot delivers style and substance. Knowledgeable staffers are happy to chat about carbonic maceration and field blends with you, or leave you and your tablemates alone with a hunk of sourdough, seasonal charcuterie, and bottle of chilled red. Each month, charismatic owner Shanna Nasiri and other drinks pros (James Sligh, Ryan Goydos) host hour-long classes on low-intervention European winemaking, blind tasting, and more. Check the site for the schedule to book in advance.