Tokyo discipline meets Burgundy obsession in Midtown
Midtown Manhattan · New York · Japanese
Reviewed April 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Nama lands with the same quiet confidence as the food — no flash, just weight. You're looking at 350 to 500 bottles anchored by serious French and Italian heavy hitters, curated by a three-person sommelier team that actually knows what they're talking about. This is not a list built to impress Instagram; it's built to impress people who grew up reading wine maps.
Champagne and Burgundy are the clear obsessions here — Krug and Salon anchor the sparkling section while Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Henri Jayer make appearances that will either thrill you or give you an invoice-induced panic attack. Bordeaux holds its own with Château Pétrus in the mix, and the California contingent — Screaming Eagle, Opus One — plays to the Midtown crowd without overwhelming the French backbone. Tuscany punches in via Sassicaia and Masseto, rounding out a list that reads more like a collector's cellar than a restaurant inventory. The gaps are minor: more depth in Germany, Spain, and the Southern Hemisphere would push this from great to genuinely exhaustive.
Twenty to thirty-five options by the glass is generous for a room this focused on the bottle — and at $15 to $40 a pour, the range covers both a quick pre-dinner Champagne and something more serious to sip through a multi-course omakase. We'd expect the sommelier team to rotate the program thoughtfully, though hard data on how often the BTG list actually changes is limited. Ask Slim or Ellie what's open — they'll steer you somewhere smart.
Salon Blanc de Blancs — $40 (by the glass, estimated)
Salon by the glass at a Japanese restaurant in Midtown is genuinely rare. If it's available as a pour, that's the move — the laser-focused Chardonnay acidity is made for raw fish, and you're accessing one of Champagne's most celebrated houses without committing to a full bottle.
Domaine Leflaive
Most eyes at this table go straight to DRC and Pétrus, but Leflaive's whites — if they're on — are the quiet overachievers. Puligny-Montrachet from this producer alongside a course of uni or yellowtail sashimi is a combination most diners at Nama will walk right past. Their loss.
Opus One
Opus One is a technically solid wine and a serious brand, but at Midtown Manhattan markups alongside a Japanese omakase menu, it's a mismatch of both price and culture. You're paying a premium for a California Cabernet-heavy blend that fights the delicate flavors on the plate. The list has better options at every price point.
Krug Champagne + Omakase sushi selection
Krug's toasty complexity and relentless bubbles cut through the fat of nigiri and keep every bite feeling fresh. It's one of the few wines that can hold its own across an entire omakase progression without clashing — course after course, it just works.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Nama earned its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and you'll feel exactly why the moment you open the list. The markup is real and the occasion needs to match, but for a proper celebration dinner where the wine is as serious as the food, this is one of the better rooms in the city.
Midtown West · New York · Russian-American
The Russian Tea Room treats wine as an afterthought dressed up in Champagne flutes — five famous labels at punishing prices with no range, no by-the-glass program, and no apparent curiosity about wine beyond what looks impressive on a table. Go for the spectacle, order the caviar, but don't come here expecting a wine list.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
David Burke Tavern's list is a Chardonnay lover's comfort zone with a solid sparkling section propping up the top — but the narrow focus and steep pricing mean you're paying for familiarity, not discovery. Send a friend here if they want California whites and a glass of Champagne; send them somewhere else if they want to explore.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· New York · Restaurant
Corima's wine list is proof that ten well-chosen bottles beat a hundred thoughtless ones every time. If you care about what's in your glass, this place is worth your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Village · New York · American
Cecchi's is first and foremost a bar, but the wine list is more serious than the neon and noise suggest. Steep markups are the main ding — but if you know what to order, there's real pleasure here.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Acceptable
SoHo · New York · Steak House, Small Plates
The Corner Store is a reliable, well-credentialed wine list doing exactly what a good SoHo steakhouse should — France and California, done with intention, in a room that makes you want to order another bottle. Just watch the markup on the big Bordeaux names and let the Rhône or Burgundy side show you a better time.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Tribeca · New York · American
Farra is punching above its weight class for a neighborhood wine bar, and the Wine Spectator nod is earned — just know that the serious bottles come with serious prices, and the no-sommelier setup means you're doing some of the navigating yourself. Worth it for anyone who knows what they want; potentially overwhelming for those who don't.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
North Arlington · Arlington · Japanese
If you're here for the hibachi, order a sake and move on — the wine list is an afterthought dressed up as a menu section. The Japanese beverage offerings are the only reason we're not telling you to just drink water.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Bowery · New York · Japanese
Sake No Hana is the rare spot where the wine list outpunches the concept — a focused, France-first program with serious bottles in a room that's more scene than cellar. If you're going anyway, let Michael Wyant point you toward something worth drinking.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Greenwich Village · New York · Japanese
Kappo Sono is a genuinely unusual thing — a French wine list that actually makes sense at a Japanese counter — and it pulls it off. If you're going for the food, order wine here; it's clearly not an afterthought.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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