West Village's Most Serious Wine Bar
West Village · New York · Mediterranean, Small Plates · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed April 8, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Lelabar’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Lelabar on Hudson Street feels like finding a secret — dim lighting, exposed brick, and a wine list that means serious business. This is not a place that threw 40 bottles on a menu and called it a wine bar. The Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator (held since 2017) is earned, and you sense it before you even sit down.
The 400-600 bottle list is anchored hard in Burgundy and France, with Domaine Leroy, Domaine Leflaive, and Domaine Dujac sitting alongside Italy's Gaja and Antinori — names that would be at home in any serious restaurant cellar in the city. California gets a strong showing too, with Kistler and Opus One representing the high end of the American side. The range spans everyday-accessible to full collector territory, which means both a first-date bottle and a special-occasion splurge are genuinely possible from the same list. The only gripe: retail pricing data isn't transparent, so you're taking the restaurant's word on value across much of the list.
Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is generous for a room this size, and the range tracks the strengths of the bottle list — expect Burgundian whites, Italian reds, and California representation to cycle through. Monday's half-price wine night is the real headline here; that program is active and intentional, not a dusty promotion nobody updates.
Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara Chardonnay 2021 — $95
In a list full of three-figure Burgundy, Au Bon Climat's Santa Barbara Chardonnay is the honest, delicious outlier. Jim Clendenen's legacy wine is serious Chardonnay at a price that won't make you wince when you reorder.
Domaine Dujac Burgundy
Dujac gets overshadowed by the DRC and Leroy names on a list like this, but Jeremy Seysses is making some of the most compelling Pinot Noir in the Côte de Nuits. Most tables walk past it chasing the bigger names — don't.
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
At $2,850 a bottle, Screaming Eagle is a flex purchase, not a wine purchase. The trophy tax on cult Napa Cab at restaurant markup makes this a monument to status anxiety. The wine is extraordinary; the price in this context is not.
Gaja Barbaresco 2018 + Octopus carpaccio
Gaja's Barbaresco has enough structure and acidity to cut through the oceanic richness of the carpaccio, while the wine's earthy, dried rose character mirrors the char and brine of the dish without bulldozing it.
Monday — Half-price wine night every Monday — applies to bottle selections and makes the list genuinely accessible at the top end.
The Bottom Line
Lelabar is the real thing — a West Village wine bar with the depth, staff, and program to back up its reputation. Yes, the high end gets pricey, but Monday nights and a smart by-the-glass rotation mean you can drink very well here without selling anything.
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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