Paris Met Madrid, and the Wine Won
Upper East Side · New York · French, Spanish · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed April 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Chez Fifi’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walk into Chez Fifi and the wine list lands like a quiet flex — no flashy cover, just serious depth waiting inside. The intimate townhouse setting on 74th Street sets the tone: this is a place where someone thought hard about what goes in the cellar. Wine Spectator handed them a Best of Award of Excellence in 2025, and one glance at the list tells you why.
Four to six hundred bottles is a serious commitment, and this one earns its pages. Burgundy is the backbone — we're talking Domaine Leroy and Henri Jayer territory, which means this isn't a list padding its prestige with one trophy bottle. Champagne is equally strong with Krug and Salon both present, while Spain gets real love through Vega Sicilia Unico and Álvaro Palacios L'Ermita — a nod to the French-Spanish kitchen running upstairs. Loire shows up with Domaine Huet Vouvray, the Rhône with Guigal's La Mouline, and California chips in with Ridge Monte Bello and Screaming Eagle; the range is genuinely eclectic, not just a Bordeaux vanity project.
Twenty to thirty-five pours is an ambitious by-the-glass program for a restaurant this size, and at $12–$25 a glass, there's real range to work with across an evening. We'd expect the glass list to mirror the cellar's French-Spanish strengths, so Rhône and Loire should be well-represented alongside whatever Champagne they're pouring. The staff — Ramon Manglano and Jirka Jireh are both on the floor — know this list cold, which means asking for a recommendation isn't a gamble.
Domaine Huet Vouvray — $60–$90 (bottle range estimate)
Huet Vouvray punches well above its typical shelf price in terms of complexity and ageability — on a list where Pétrus and DRC are the gravitational center, this is where the actual value hides. Chenin Blanc this good gets overlooked every time.
E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline
La Mouline is one of the great Syrahs on the planet, but it gets consistently overshadowed on lists where Burgundy hogs all the oxygen. At a table eating Basque-style clams or a pepper-crusted filet, this Northern Rhône stunner is the move most people miss.
Screaming Eagle
Look, it's not a bad wine — but on a list with this much French depth, paying Screaming Eagle prices is just buying a brand name. The markup on California cult cabernet in a Parisian-leaning UES restaurant is never going to feel like a deal, and there are far more interesting bottles at a fraction of the price right here on the same list.
Álvaro Palacios L'Ermita + Rice and Clam (Basque-style little neck clams with bomba rice and homemade clam stock)
L'Ermita is a Priorat Grenache with enough concentration to stand up to the briny, umami-rich clam stock and the weight of bomba rice, while its earthy minerality ties back to the Spanish soul of the dish. It's the one bottle on this list that makes the French-Spanish kitchen concept click into place.
The Bottom Line
Chez Fifi is a genuine rager dressed in quiet Parisian clothes — a 400–600 bottle cellar with real ambition, knowledgeable staff who'll actually help you navigate it, and a kitchen that gives the wine somewhere interesting to go. The markups are UES-steep, but if you know where to look, this list rewards you.
Midtown · New York · French Brasserie
La Grande Boucherie earns its place as a reliable stop for wine in Midtown, especially if you're leaning French. The glass list is genuinely wide and has some smart picks buried in it — the Fleurie and the Wiemer Riesling both punch above their price points. Markups trend steep as you climb the bottle list, so your money works hardest in the by-the-glass section. If you're here for the brasserie experience, the wine program holds up its end of the deal.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Steakhouse
BLT Prime's wine program is glass-only, which limits your options if you came for a big bottle moment, but the pricing is honest and the selection is more thoughtful than most steakhouses bother with. If you're keeping it casual and ordering by the glass, you can drink well here without feeling taken advantage of — and that's not nothing in this city.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
The Palm Midtown is not where you'd expect to find Puzelat and Ruth Lewandowski sitting next to each other on a wine list — which is exactly what makes it worth a second look. Six bottles is a short menu, but all six are defensible picks at prices that don't insult you. If you're in the mood to trust the list and not overthink it, this works.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Murray Hill · New York · Classic American Steakhouse
Wolfgang's is a reliable steakhouse wine experience in the sense that you know exactly what you're getting: a list built around the bottle you already know, priced for the room you're sitting in. If you're here to close a deal over a Porterhouse for Two, the wine list will do its job without embarrassing anyone — but it's not going to surprise you, and it's almost certainly going to cost more than it should. Go in with eyes open and a strong second-choice red in mind.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Mediterranean
Zaytinya's wine list is a rare thing in New York: a focused, regionally coherent program that commits hard to Greek and Eastern Mediterranean varieties without making you feel like you need a flashcard to order. The by-the-glass selection alone — 18 options, all under $18, featuring producers most wine lists wouldn't touch — makes this worth visiting even before the food arrives. If you eat here and order a Cabernet, that's on you.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Italian
A long bottle list with Italian, Burgundy and Champagne sections, fronted by a 22-wine glass page. For a glass, try the Skerk Orange Wine from Friuli at 25/95, and for a bottle on a lighter budget, the Volpaia Vermentino at 60; upstairs in the café, the labeled list pours Palistorti di Valgiano's orange Tuscan blend at Glass $22. Confirm prices before you order, because the site's Upstairs Café dinner menu and the beverage PDF do not match. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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