Best New York wine bars: 15 great venues to visit

New York wine bars: Something for every palate

New York wine bars are part of the city's bustling food and drink scene, with something to offer every palate preference out there – from die-hard natural wine lovers to fans of the classics alike.

However, with a plethora of options to choose from, as well as the constant rise and fall of existing places, knowing where to go is key.

Here is a round up of the best places to drink wine in New York (Manhattan), with an added five bonus places in Brooklyn – yes, the trek is worth it, we promise.

Whether you're a local, in town for Decanter's Fine Wine Encounter New York, or visiting on holiday, check out 15 of our go-to spots below.

Best New York wine bars: The list

Lei

Best overall

15-17 Doyers St, New York, NY 10013

Tucked away on Chinatown’s colourful Doyers Street, Lei has already made waves across the industry in the short year it’s been open. Founded by beloved industry veteran Annie Shi, this jewel-box wine bar seats just 28 people, and is known for its impeccably curated wine list paired with homemade Chinese small plates.

Shi, who oversees the 25-page list, focuses selections on low-intervention wines from prestigious and up-and-coming areas alike, including Burgundy, Champagne, and China's Ningxia region.

The spot’s cozy ambiance and 'snacky' bites make it the perfect place for stopping before or after a neighbourhood dinner reservation, though cobbling a meal together at one of the space’s coveted tables is easier than you may think—hand-rolled cat’s ear noodle with lamb or Chinese omelette with aged white jade radish and scallion oil, anyone?

Grab a bottle of Grower Champagne (Dhondt-Grellet, La Rogerie, or Suenen, to name a few options) and let the evening take its course.

Aldo Sohm Wine Bar

Best for the classics

151 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019

When looking for a place to pop something delicious, Midtown Manhattan is generally one of the last neighbourhoods we’d seek out.

Thankfully, Aldo Sohm Wine Bar provides a wine-soaked reprieve from the many surrounding theatre bars. Named after the bar’s eponymous founder, globally-renowned and Best Sommelier in the World winner (2008) Aldo Sohm, the bar’s welcoming and laid-back vibe caters to a variety of wine drinkers.

Inspired by the design of Aldo’s own living room, the bar’s relaxed-yet-elevated approach to tasty food and wine is undeniably the best in the neighbourhood.

Expect small, tapas-style plates such as harissa-roasted carrots, cheese boards, and more, served up alongside a rotating selection of over 40 wines by the glass/200 bottle selections (as well as an ever-changing monthly wine flight programme).

Ruffian

Best for natural wine

125 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

Natural wine lovers seeking impeccable food, service, and wine in their glass will find themselves regulars at Ruffian.

Tucked away in New York’s East Village, the bar’s natural-focused list highlights producers from both classic and off-the-beaten path regions, ranging from Mallorca to Western Georgia to the islands of Greece and beyond. Over ten orange/skin-contact selections are offered regularly, alongside a handful of by-the-glass red, white, rosé, and sparkling pours.

The bar’s food offerings are mostly vegetarian and are served à la carte. Although the inside of the bar is rather cosy, Ruffian extended their seating post-COVID to include a handful of outdoor high tops.

Given the amount of success the team has found in the three short years it’s been open, we’d say the future looks bright.

Terroir

Best by-the-glass programme

24 Harrison St, New York, NY 10013

Terroir has been finding its way onto Best Wine Bar and Best Wine List round-ups for years now, and the reason we’re still including it speaks volumes to its consistent level of excellence and hospitality.

Spearheaded by eclectic sommelier (and bona fide Riesling lover) Paul Grieco, this unconventional wine bar offers an impressive 80+ wines by the glass at all times, 30 of which are Riesling. For those looking to taste through a variety of wines while learning from a highly knowledgeable team of sommeliers, grab a seat at the bar and allow them to lead the way.

Terroir’s food offerings are equally extensive, with a menu boasting oysters and blistered shishito peppers to burrata, Korean fried chicken, wiener schnitzel, and more.

Terroir also opens its Main Room for private events from 12pm until midnight for seated, structured dinners, and wine tastings for parties of 10 to 90 guests.

St. Jardim

Best ambiance

183 W 10th St, New York, NY 10014

Situated in the heart of the West Village, St. Jardim brings a fresh new take to the all-day café turned wine bar model. Come evening, laptops and lattés are swapped out for bar bites and by-the-glass pours, with a tight yet well-curated dinner menu also available.

This list leans natural, with cult favorites from Wasenhaus, Frank Cornelissen, and Dard & Ribo available by the bottle. For those looking for a quick fix, around 15 picks are poured by the glass at all times, including bubbly, rosé, and orange options.

Beyond the snacks and sips, it’s the lively, sun-drenched ambiance—and wraparound outdoor seating perfect for people watching—that keeps the locals coming back for more.

Chambers

Best for rare and back-vintage pours

94 Chambers St #1, New York, NY 10007

Pascaline Lepeltier knows a thing or two about wine – and a quick flip through her impeccably curated list at Chambers is proof.

A Master Sommelier, Meilleure Ouvrière (MOF), and Best Sommelier of France title holder, Lepeltier is also a partner / the beverage director at this FiDi-based establishment, which opened its doors in the former Racines NY space back in 2022.

While more of a restaurant than full-blown wine bar, we’d be remiss not to shout out this relaxed-meets-vibey downtown space. In the spirit of Lepeltier’s passion for sustainability and low-intervention winemaking, the majority of the 85-page list comprises organic and biodynamic wines, with ample back-vintage, rare, and off-the-beaten-path bottles included—along with a full-page dedicated to unique Chartreuse pours.

Grab a bottle of La Grange Tiphaine Les Epinays or Dandelion Hautes-Côtes Aligoté—or best of all, simply share your preferences and let Lepeltier and her expert team lead the way.

Cellar 36

Best for happy hour

36 Market St, New York, NY 10002

Great happy hours are few and far between in Manhattan, though Cellar 36 fills the much-needed niche – and overdelivers, at that.

Open from 5PM daily, this hole-in-the-wall space in the city’s Two Bridges neighbourhood offers $1 oysters and $20 carafes from 5 – 7PM, along with a handful of cheeses, small plates, and seasonal bites.

Founded by the team behind The Ten Bells, it’s no surprise that the list veers natural, featuring over 700 bottles from Europe and North America, along with rare finds from Georgia, Japan, and beyond.

Above all, it’s a great place to grab a snack and glass prior to heading to dinner, though with just 12 barstools, limited standing room, and a walk-in only policy, we recommend planning accordingly.

La Compagnie Flatiron

Best for French wine

6 W 24th St, New York, NY 10010

Situated around the corner from the city’s iconic Flatiron Building, La Compagnie Flatiron marks the second New York wine outpost from the Experimental Group.

Following in the footsteps of its wildly successful Centre Street location, La Compagnie Flatiron brings the same warm and welcoming atmosphere to the heart of Flatiron.

The space’s chic-meets-cozy ambiance, designed by Dorothée Meilichzon, features velvet banquettes and dark wood accents, along with a large marble bar perfect for savoring a bottle at.

The bar’s impressive design is matched by its equally show-stopping wine list, known for its robust French offerings from Champagne, Burgundy, Jura, and the Loire Valley.

Pro tip: For those looking to end the night with something a bit stronger, head to Experimental Cocktail Club, located just downstairs from La Compagnie Wine Bar.

Stars

Best new to the scene

139 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003

From beloved New York restaurateurs Chase Sinzer and Joshua Pinsky – the brains behind Penny and Claud – comes Stars, a 12-seat wine bar in the heart of the city’s East Village neighbourhood.

Opened in December 2025, this Parisian-inspired wine spot serves an authentic French bar-à-vin vibes, focusing solely on good wine, small plates, and a signature sultry ambiance to boot.

Stars’ 50-page wine list is curated by wine director Julia Schwartz and Sinzer, who feature a wide range of organic, low-intervention bottles from France, Spain, Germany, the USA, and beyond.

However, one of the list’s most enticing features is its first three pages, which are dedicated exclusively to bottles under $100—a rarity amongst New York’s continuously rising prices.

For a warm spot for pre- or post-meal drinks, look no further than this new treasure (walk-in only, no reservations).

Arvine

Best for unique grape varieties

19 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10014

Opened in late October 2025, Arvine serves up seasonal bar bites and well-curated wines in the heart of the West Village.

Helmed by Chef Joe Anthony (formerly of Daniel, Union Square Café, and The Modern) and Adrien Falcon (past Bouley, Minetta Tavern, Balthazar, and Morandi), the pair focuses on a small-yet-structured wine list, highlighting extensive picks from France, the USA, and Portugal.

An equally strong emphasis is placed on indigenous and off-the-beaten path grape varieties, as seen with Cascina Baricchi Timorasso, Pepe Raventos Malvasia de Sitges, and Foradori Nosiola, an ancient red variety found in Italy’s northerly Trentino region.

A full dining room is available for sit-down meals, though we recommend posting up at the bar for easy access to chatting with Falcon and his team.

Top five Brooklyn wine bars

With Others BK

Best for casual sipping

340 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

With Others BK has brought new life to Williamsburg’s wine eclectic bar scene.

Founded by Shanna Nasiri in March 2024, this Bedford Avenue-based natural wine spot highlights small-production wines and thoughtful small plates, which are prepared by a regularly rotating list of resident chefs.

Beyond low-intervention bottlings, Nasiri puts a strong focus on female winemakers and off-the-beaten-path regions, with bites and larger dishes erring on the vegetable-forward side of things.

In addition to the bar, With Others has become known for their Sunday Wine School classes, which feature deep dives into various regions and styles (and also come with a curated cheese pairing to boot).

Plus de Vin

Best for bubbles

445 Graham Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Straddling the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Plus de Vin (PdV) brings a fun and fresh take to Brooklyn’s burgeoning natural wine bar lineup.

Helmed by Chad Carey and sommeliers Carenn and Max Mackinnon (Carenn formerly of Estela and Frenchette, Max chef and partner at Libertine) this neighbourhood watering hole is beloved for its French-heavy list and covered backyard, making it the perfect place to post up with a group of friends.

More than 500 reasonably priced bottles are available to choose from, with solid deals to be found in the Burgundy and Champagne sections.

For those looking to up their tasting skills, PdV offers ‘Flight Night’ Tuesdays, featuring four blind pours selected by the team.

Liar Liar

Best for ambience

285 Nevins St, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Liar Liar emerged on Brooklyn’s wine scene in early 2025, and has since become one of the borough’s greatest successes.

Known for its sultry ambiance – think long bar, cozy booths, and vibey music played on vinyl – this chic-meets-casual wine bar offers extensive by-the-glass pours and a well-curated list, served up alongside small bites and heavier main dishes alike.

While the bottle and BTG pours lean natural, there are plenty of options that seamlessly mesh low-intervention winemaking with classically-styled palates; in short, there’s really something for everyone here.

Best of all, the bar offers an ongoing $69 deal of steak frites and a bottle of red, as well as a lineup of collaborations, pop-ups, and on-site events.

The Four Horsemen

Best for natural wine

295 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Brooklyn dwellers with an affinity for natural wine know that The Four Horsemen is basically mecca. Located just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Williamsburg’s Metropolitan Avenue stop, this bustling wine bar promises more than just tasty pours.

Expect a small yet meticulously crafted menu of shareable small plates, most of which focus around fish, though vegetarian options are available – think razor clams, yellowfin tuna, smoked eel fritters, and celery salad.

The bar’s welcoming and hospitality-driven staff ensure a seamless experience with the natural-focused list, and if you’re lucky, you might even run into partial-owner James Murphy (yes, that James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem).

In terms of ambiance, the joint is half bar, half dining room, with a new outfitted patio space curbside. However, we can’t promise you won’t wait – though trust us, it’s worth it.

Frog

Best for wine al fresco

358 Marcus Garvey Blvd, Brooklyn, NY 11221

Tucked in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighbourhood, Frog perfectly embodies the natural wine outpost meets dive bar ambiance.

Founded by Alexandra McCown and Charles Gerbier, this low-key neighbourhood haunt highlights approachable and and accessibly priced natural wines, along with limited small bites, a charming backyard, and an in-house pool table.

Aptly named, Frog is also the sister bar to neighbouring Tadpole, also by McCown and Gerbier, which is known for its live music, DJ sets, and wine-focused menu.

Our recommendation? Make a full night out of it and hit both – you really can’t go wrong.

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