Where the list is the point · 2026

Best Wine Bars Worldwide

The modern wine bar is one of the best things to happen to dining — serious bottles, sharp small plates and none of the formality. These are the wine bars worth seeking out in 2026, from a Michelin-starred Brooklyn room to Paris cave-à-manger originals, ranked with what to drink.

The best wine bars treat the list as the menu, not an afterthought. The rooms here built their reputations on what is in the cellar — often natural, low-intervention and impossible to find elsewhere — backed by food good enough to stand up to it. A great wine bar makes discovery easy and pretension impossible.

What makes a great wine bar

The list leads. A point of view in the cellar — natural, low-intervention or a deep region — and staff who can guide you to a bottle you'd never have found alone.
By-the-glass depth. A serious by-the-glass program, often with rare bottles open, so you can taste widely without committing to a full bottle.
Food that matches. Small plates built to drink with, from charcuterie to a daily blackboard, never an afterthought.
No pretension. The best wine bars make great wine feel casual — counter seats, fair markups and a room that rewards curiosity.

The Ranking

Open any to read the full profile and book.

New York

The Four Horsemen

Natural Wine Bar & Small Plates$$$

The Williamsburg Michelin-starred wine bar co-owned by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, a famous natural list and seriously good small plates. The benchmark New York wine bar.

40 Maltby Street

Wine Warehouse Dining$$$

The Bermondsey railway-arch bar from importer Gergovie, a daily-changing blackboard and natural wines you cannot get anywhere else. London's cult wine bar.

Septime La Cave

Natural Wine Bar$$$

The tiny standing wine bar from the Septime team, natural bottles and snacks in a Paris back street. The best primer on French natural wine.

Le Verre Volé

Natural Wine Bar$$$

The Canal Saint-Martin original, a wine shop you can drink in, charcuterie and natural bottles. A Paris institution that helped start the movement.

Le Baratin

French$$$

Raquel Carena's Belleville bistro hides a legendary cellar and is a chefs' favourite. Best for serious wine alongside real bistro cooking.

Wildair

New American (natural-wine small plates)$$$

The Lower East Side sibling of Contra, an inventive small-plates wine bar with a daring, ever-changing list. Best for adventurous wine and food together.

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Answered

What makes a good wine bar?

A good wine bar has a clear point of view in the cellar — often natural or low-intervention wine — a deep by-the-glass list so you can taste widely, food built to drink with, and staff who guide rather than lecture. The list, not the kitchen, is the main event, though the best back it with excellent small plates.

What is the best wine bar in the world?

The Four Horsemen in Brooklyn is the most celebrated — a Michelin-starred natural-wine bar with a cult following. In London, 40 Maltby Street; in Paris, Septime La Cave and Le Verre Volé are the originals of the natural-wine movement. Each is a destination for drinkers, not just diners.

What is natural wine?

Natural wine is made with minimal intervention — organic or biodynamic grapes, native yeasts, little or no added sulphur and no fining or filtering. It can taste livelier, funkier and more variable than conventional wine. Most of the bars on this list built their reputations on championing it.

Do you need a reservation at a wine bar?

It varies. The Four Horsemen and Le Baratin take bookings and fill fast; the cave-à-manger style bars like Septime La Cave and 40 Maltby Street are walk-in and counter-led, so go early or off-peak. Either way, sitting at the counter usually means the best access to the staff and the open bottles.

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