The East Village raw bar that drinks serious
East Village · New York · Raw bar and seafood · Visit Website ↗
Updated April 2026
Reviewed March 23, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Penny hits differently than you'd expect from a walk-in seafood counter in the East Village. It reads like it was built by someone who actually loves wine — because it was: Chase Sinzer, who took home a Michelin sommelier award, is behind this thing. Expect Jura, Sherry, Burgundy, and Champagne doing the heavy lifting alongside your oysters.
Penny runs a 100-175 bottle list that punches well above its weight class for a neighborhood raw bar. The Jura section alone — with Ganevat and Labet both represented — is enough to make a wine nerd do a double take. There's serious Burgundy (Dominique Lafon), a compelling Rhône presence with Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph, and a Spain section that actually ventures somewhere interesting, with Ramiro Ibáñez's Cota 45 Palomino from Jerez sitting next to Angela Piedra Verdejo from Rueda. The throughline is a preference for producers who farm carefully and make wines that work with food — and specifically with raw, briny, oceanic food.
With 18-28 options by the glass, this is one of the stronger BTG programs in the city for a restaurant of this size and format. The rotation skews toward high-acid, mineral-driven whites that flatter shellfish, which is exactly what you want when you're working through a plate of East Coast oysters. Don't expect to find the same pour twice in a month — this list moves.
Angela Piedra Verdejo (Rueda) — null
Verdejo from Rueda is chronically underpriced relative to what it delivers — clean citrus, a saline snap, and enough texture to hold up to a lobster roll. At a list like Penny's, it's almost certainly the most food-friendly bottle you'll find for under $60, and it belongs in more hands.
Cota 45 Palomino (Ramiro Ibáñez, Jerez)
Most people see Palomino on a list and assume it's a sherry — it's not, or at least not in the fortified sense. Ramiro Ibáñez is making still, unfortified Palomino that's electric with raw seafood. It's salty, oxidative in the best possible way, and pairs with a plate of clams like they were made for each other. Most tables will skip it. That's their loss.
Generic Champagne producers (various)
The Champagne section, while present, is the one spot on the list where the pricing feels a bit reflexive rather than curated — big-house bottles at restaurant markup rates that you can find anywhere. The rest of the list does more interesting work for your money. If you want bubbles, ask the staff what's pouring by the glass instead.
Labet (Jura) + Oysters
Labet's wines from the Jura carry an almost oceanic salinity and a oxidative depth that mirrors the brine of a cold East Coast oyster without steamrolling it. It's one of those rare pairings where both the wine and the food taste more like themselves.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Penny is the rare seafood counter where the wine list is the reason to go, not an afterthought. If you're anywhere near the East Village and you care even a little about what's in your glass, make the reservation.
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