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 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Penny’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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.
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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