RFK Rankings · New York City
Best Restaurants for Wine Lists in New York City 2026
Wine lists · New York City · 7 cellars ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 17, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
A great New York wine list is measured in thousands. The city's top cellars run past 1,500 selections and tens of thousands of bottles, with the mature vintages, large formats and allocations that take decades to assemble; more than a dozen New York restaurants hold Wine Spectator's Grand Award, more than any other American city. But depth is only half of it: the lists that matter here also pour well by the glass, build pairings worth taking, and do not punish you on mark-up. This ranking weighs the trophy cellars against how they actually drink, from a seafood temple's 1,600-bottle program to an Italian room's by-the-glass range, not just the size of the book.
1.Le Bernardin — Seafood, Midtown West
Aldo Sohm's 1,600-plus list beside Eric Ripert's seafood is New York's most complete wine-and-food match; book it for a serious night.
Le Bernardin pairs Eric Ripert's seafood with the city's most decorated wine program, run by Aldo Sohm, the 2008 World's Best Sommelier. The list carries around 1,635 selections and more than 15,000 bottles, deep in Burgundy, Bordeaux, Germany, Austria and Champagne, and holds a Wine Spectator Grand Award; the program won a James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Service. What sets it apart is balance, the by-the-glass and pairing options are as considered as the trophy cellar, so you drink well without ordering a first-growth. Midtown West, with tasting menus from the high 290s. Tell the sommelier your budget and let the pairing follow the seafood course by course.
Book direct at le-bernardin.com.
2.Daniel — French, Upper East Side
Daniel Boulud's French temple has held a Grand Award since 2002 on a vast old-world cellar; reserve weeks ahead for it.
Daniel, Daniel Boulud's Upper East Side flagship, has held a Wine Spectator Grand Award continuously since 2002, one of the longest unbroken runs in the city. The cellar runs deep through Bordeaux and Burgundy with serious verticals and large formats, matched to a refined modern-French tasting. The room is the most formal on this list, jackets and all, and the sommelier team is built for a long, claret-led dinner. Tasting menus sit in the high 200s before wine. The strength here is mature vintages: bottles with age that most lists cannot offer. Book well ahead, and ask the team to open the older Bordeaux pages when you sit.
Book direct at danielnyc.com.
3.Per Se — French-American, Columbus Circle
Thomas Keller's Grand Award cellar over Columbus Circle backs a nine-course menu with rare depth; save it for a milestone.
Per Se, Thomas Keller's New York flagship in the Deutsche Bank Center, looks over Columbus Circle and Central Park and pours from a Grand Award cellar built for its nine-course tasting. The list is long and blue-chip, California and Burgundy in particular, with the allocations and large formats that Keller's name pulls in. Service is the most polished in the city, and the pairing is a genuine alternative to choosing bottles. The price is steep, the tasting around $390 before wine, but the occasion matches it. This is a special-occasion cellar rather than an everyday one. Book the moment reservations open and consider the pairing for the full arc.
Book direct at thomaskeller.com.
4.The Grill — American, Midtown
A mid-century Seagram chophouse with a 3,500-bottle Grand Award list and tableside prime rib; go for a grand dinner.
The Grill occupies the landmarked Seagram Building dining room in Midtown, run by Major Food Group as a mid-century American chophouse, tableside prime rib, crab cakes, the famous lemon chiffon cake. Behind it sits one of the largest lists in the city, around 3,515 selections, holding a Wine Spectator Grand Award, strong across California, Bordeaux and Champagne with deep verticals. The room itself, Philip Johnson's design, is part of the draw, and the cellar is built to match the theatre. This is power dining with the wine list to back it. Book an evening table, order the prime rib, and let the sommelier pull a big red to match.
Book direct at thegrillnewyork.com.
5.Gabriel Kreuther — Alsatian, Bryant Park
Aukai Bell's 2,000-bottle list, strong in Alsace and Germany, lifts Kreuther's tasting; seek it out for the Riesling depth.
Gabriel Kreuther faces Bryant Park with a two-Michelin-star Alsatian kitchen and a Grand Award cellar of more than 2,000 wines under wine director Aukai Bell. The list's signature is its Alsace and German Riesling depth, the best place in the city to drink those regions with food built for them, alongside full Burgundy and Champagne sections. The tasting menu runs in the mid-200s, and the pairing leans on the kitchen's central-European backbone. It is the most distinctive cellar on this list rather than the largest, a specialist's room. Book ahead and ask the team to route you through the Alsace and Mosel pages with the tasting.
Book direct at gknyc.com.
6.Ai Fiori — Italian and French Riviera, Fifth Avenue
An Altamarea Grand Award room on Fifth Avenue, deep in Italy and the Rhône beside Riviera pasta; pencil it in.
Ai Fiori, on Fifth Avenue inside the Langham, is the Altamarea Group's Grand Award room, cooking the Italian and French Riviera, handmade pasta and Ligurian seafood. The cellar is strong where the menu points: deep Italian regions, the Rhône and Provence, plus the Champagne and Burgundy expected at this level. It is the rare big-list room that drinks Italian as seriously as French, which suits the food. The setting is calm Midtown luxury rather than a scene. Pasta tasting and a la carte both work with the list. Book ahead and let the sommelier pour the Piedmont and Tuscan pages alongside the pasta.
Book direct at aifiorinyc.com.
7.Marea — Italian seafood, Central Park South
Altamarea's Central Park South seafood room earns a Best of Award of Excellence list; order the fusilli with a Barolo.
Marea, the Altamarea Group's flagship on Central Park South, built its name on Italian seafood, the fusilli with red wine-braised octopus and bone marrow is the signature, and backs it with a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence list. The depth is in Italy, Piedmont and Tuscany especially, the natural match for the kitchen, with strong Champagne and white Burgundy for the crudo. It is a notch below the Grand Award cellars on sheer size but ahead of most rooms on Italian focus and value. The by-the-glass program is unusually good. Book a dinner table, start with crudo and Champagne, and bring a Barolo to the pasta.
Book direct at marea-nyc.com.
Avoid for the wine
Peter Luger — a steak temple, not a cellar
Peter Luger is a temple of dry-aged steak, but the wine list is famously an afterthought, a short, functional page that has never been the point. Come for the porterhouse and a beer or a simple red, and drink seriously somewhere else.
Eleven Madison Park — a great cellar, awkward pairings
Eleven Madison Park still keeps a remarkable cellar, but the all-plant tasting makes the classic big-red pairings awkward, and the room is built around the food now. Book it for the cooking, not for a Bordeaux night.
How to drink well in New York
New York's great cellars reward a little planning. On the trophy lists, Le Bernardin, Daniel, Per Se, The Grill, the move is to tell the sommelier your ceiling early; these teams are expert at finding the interesting bottle inside a budget rather than steering you to a first-growth. The tasting-menu rooms, Per Se and Gabriel Kreuther especially, make a strong case for the pairing, since the by-the-glass program is built to track the courses. For value, look to the by-the-glass and half-bottle pages and to Italian focus at Ai Fiori and Marea, where Piedmont and Tuscany are deep and less marked up than blue-chip Burgundy. Book the high-end rooms well ahead, request a table away from the pass if you want a quiet wine-led dinner, and if mature vintages are the goal, ask in advance so the team can pull and stand older bottles before you arrive.
Frequently asked
Which New York restaurant has the best wine list?
Le Bernardin is the most complete, pairing Aldo Sohm's roughly 1,635-selection, Grand Award program with Eric Ripert's seafood and an unusually thoughtful by-the-glass and pairing offer. For sheer size, The Grill carries around 3,515 selections, and Daniel holds the city's longest unbroken Grand Award run, since 2002. The best for you depends on if you want depth, balance or mature Bordeaux.
How many New York restaurants hold a Wine Spectator Grand Award?
More than a dozen New York City restaurants hold Wine Spectator's Grand Award, the most of any American city. The award goes to programs with exceptional depth, rare and mature vintages, large formats and flawless service. The ones on this list, Le Bernardin, Daniel, Per Se, The Grill, Gabriel Kreuther and Ai Fiori, are among them; Marea holds the next tier, a Best of Award of Excellence.
Where can you find the deepest cellar in New York?
The Grill in the Seagram Building carries one of the largest lists in the city at around 3,515 selections, and Le Bernardin holds more than 15,000 bottles across roughly 1,635 wines. Both are Grand Award cellars with the verticals, large formats and Champagne depth that define the category. For a specialist's cellar, Gabriel Kreuther's Alsace and German Riesling depth is unmatched in the city.
Which New York restaurant is best for a wine pairing?
Per Se and Gabriel Kreuther are the standouts for pairing, both tasting-menu rooms whose teams build flights to track the courses; Le Bernardin's pairing is the most balanced of the seafood temples. If you would rather drink Italian, Ai Fiori and Marea pour deep Piedmont and Tuscany by the glass and bottle to match the pasta and crudo.
Are these wine lists very expensive?
The trophy rooms are, but they are flexible. Tell the sommelier your budget and the better teams will find a characterful bottle within it rather than push a first-growth. The by-the-glass and half-bottle pages, strongest at Marea and Le Bernardin, keep costs down, and Italian-focused lists like Ai Fiori and Marea tend to carry lower mark-ups than blue-chip Burgundy and Bordeaux.
Did any famous New York wine restaurants close recently?
Several older cellar destinations have gone over the years, which is why this list sticks to rooms with current, verified Grand or Best of Awards. Eleven Madison Park still keeps a serious cellar but, with its all-plant menu, no longer suits a classic big-red dinner, so we list it as one to skip for the wine rather than a pick.
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Browse the full New York dining guide, compare the global cellars in the worldwide ranking of restaurant wine lists, read the Le Bernardin review and the Daniel profile, plan a night to impress clients, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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