The NYC Wine Hit List, Spring 2026 Edition: Stars, Il Buco, Liar Liar, and More

We said it before and we’ll say it again — Stars is truly the wine bar that New York has been waiting for. Founded by Chase Sinzer and Joshua Pinsky (Penny, Claud), the place packs a whole lot of ambiance into a pocket-sized space, featuring 12 bar stools, a U-shaped zinc bar, and ample standing room. While the vibe screams classic Parisian bar à vin (notice a theme here?), it also plays homage to East Village wine bars of decades past, like Paul Grieco’s original location of Terroir.. Transparently, Stars isn’t a place you’ll want to arrive ravenous. A small list of deviled eggs, marinated vegetables, and other well-executed bites ensures guests remain aptly satiated, while still leaving room to plan a next move.

Above all, Sinzer and his team, led by wine director Julia Schwartz, keep the focus where it matters: what’s in the glass. Beyond an eclectic lineup of by-the-glass pours, guests can peruse an impressive 60-page list complete with a noteworthy, well-priced section of 88 bottles at $88 or less. Similar to Claud and Penny, Stars highlights impressive verticals from top producers (Selosse, Raveneau, Giuseppe Rinaldi), yet also leans into esoteric picks from North America, coastal Spain, and beyond. In short? As we said, Stars is for everyone.

Walk-ins only.

Translating to “village” from Italian, Borgo marks the first Manhattan-based venture from Brooklyn restaurateur Andrew Tarlow, the face behind Diner, She Wolf, and other highly regarded Kings County establishments. Decked out with old-school martini carts and a wood-fired oven, the space also features a smaller yet impeccably curated wine list, dominated by low-intervention wines from France, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. What you need to know is this: The wine program is run by Lee Campbell, who for some two decades has been a treasure in New York’s wine scene. In addition to the bottle list, Campbell has also built a rotating selection of 15 wines by the glass at all times; current highlights include Catherine and Pierre Breton’s La Dilettante, a non-vintage brut from Vouvray, as well as a varietal nero d’Avola from Sicily-based La Robbe, Aschero’s Vermentino from the Ligurian riviera, and more. But also, stay for the pastas, wood-fired vegetables, and desserts. Wood-oven roasted cherries with vanilla bean ice cream, anyone?

While neighborhood wine bars have been popping up for well over a decade in Williamsburg, few have garnered as much industry attention as With Others. Spearheaded by Shanna Nasiri, who left her pre-pandemic tech job to pursue her passion for wine, its compact list highlights natural-minded producers, based mostly in France, Italy, and the United States, who focus on indigenous varieties. In addition to rotating by-the-glass options, Nasiri also keeps things (figuratively) spicy in the kitchen by welcoming local chefs for mini residencies. That limits the menu offerings, though the mentality is quality over quantity; a recent jaunt presented confit sunchokes and gigante beans prepared with caramelized squash, garlic confit, and bread crumbs, which paired with a salty, Sicilian white blend from Barraco ($17/glass). You also might delight in the 2023 Domaine de la Taille aux Loups ‘Montlouis Remus,’ ($88), a prime example from the Blot family of how Loire chenin has become a new icon, in this case from 50- to 80-year-old vines. If you’re more into red, the 2022 Gemma Miró Garnatxa Les Agulles ($94) from Catalonia underscores why Miró should be a household name — at least in households that dig unsulfured garnatxa.

It would be hard to top the wine selections at the original Bushwick Ops, but Mike Fadem and Marie Tribouilloy just might have accomplished that with the roster at the East Village location of their beloved restaurant. In addition to an updated pizza situation, with new tavern-style pies (the Hawaiian is excellent, and no, we won’t abide your anti-pineapple stance), the wine program manages to be both more approachable and more edgy than in Bushwick, just the right stance for the East Village in 2026. You can start with Champagnes from Vouette & Sorbée, Salima and Alain Cordeuil or Georges Laval, move on to modish whites from Jean-Marc Dreyer, Domaine Valette, and New York’s Barbichette, and dive deep on modern classic rosé and reds from Yvon Métras or Christian Tschida, or new discoveries like Château La Peyruche in Bordeaux. If any of those names sound familiar, that’s because you’re probably plugged into the current stars of the natural wine realm, and realize that Team Ops has compiled an absolute powerhouse of the wine avant-garde.

So let’s get the big thing out of the way: No, you cannot get Jonathan Waxman’s iconic roast chicken at his new wine bar, next door to Barbuto. (You can get a standout chicken Milanese, however.) But many other highlights of Waxman’s repertoire are on offer, including meatballs, heady pastas, and pizzette, namely a lobster pizzette that’s the quintessence of shore-adjacent summer on a pie. And let’s face it: His food has always been supremely wine-friendly (although there’s an excellent martini here, as at Barbuto) which makes a wine-bar format a perfect extension. The copper bar feels like it’s been there since time immemorial, the 500-selection wine list shows curiosity without feeling philosophically strident (yes, there’s natural wine; no, you won’t know which it is), with picks like the Turley White Zinfandel (a fully dry rosé from one of the top names in California) and a Romain Chamiot Apremont from the Savoie that’s a perfect pasta wine. This is a wine bar conceived and run by grownups, which makes it a delightful addition to New York’s often attitude-driven wine bar roster.

Can’t make it to Paris for an early evening glass en terrasse this summer? L’Apéro promises a satisfying alternative. Founded by the folks behind L’Appartement 4F, this Brooklyn Heights-based wine bar highlights French-inspired light bites and an eclectic selection of naturally-minded wines, all set in the same space that houses L’Appartement’s daytime bakery. With just 25 seats, the vibe is cozy, reminiscent of the many hole-in-the-wall natural wine bars that make up Paris’ eclectic bar à vin scene. The bar’s low-intervention list rotates regularly, and unsurprisingly, leans French in its selections, as with Les Vins Pirouettes’ Orange Cubique Pierre, the latest skin-contact effort from that poppy Alsatian label; but not entirely, as with the Barbichette Cache Cache, an eminently drinkable cabernet from New York’s Finger Lakes. Best of all, guests will enjoy fresh, slowly fermented sourdough bread prepared at the bakery daily, along with a selection of local cheeses, housemade jams, and a selection of French-inspired pastries and desserts.

Opened in late 2025, this welcome addition to the Village’s wine scene is a collaboration between chef Joe Anthony (formerly of Gabriel Kreuther, Daniel, and The Modern) and sommelier Adrien Falcon (formerly of Bouley, Minetta Tavern, Balthazar).  It functions both as a neighborhood wine bar and full-blown restaurant, with a dedicated dining room and ample bar seating up front. Around 15 wines are poured by the glass, though we recommend starting with a zingy pour of the bar’s custom Chignin; Falcon, a Savoie native, used his regional ties to create it in partnership with Domaine Berthollier, and pours it exclusively from magnum. As for bottles, Arvine’s list is the epitome of quality over quantity; at just four pages, each pick was carefully selected, with the general theme of lesser-known producers from regarded regions throughout — highlights include Jérôme Galeyrand’s Champs de Vosger (Fixin), the Enz Vineyard Pinot Noir from Birichino on California’s Central Coast, and  the Natalin grignolino from Piedmont’ Iuli. From the kitchen, Anthony cold and hot starters (don’t miss the signature garlic knot, and baked scallops with truffle-miso sauce), as well as a selection of heartier mains (whole-wheat fried chicken, roasted Arctic char) if you’re looking to make a full meal out of your time there.

There’s so much to say about Popina, from its signature hot chicken Milanese to its impeccably curated wine list and expansive backyard. However, the real star is, well, the star himself — James O’Brien, culinary student turned Union Square Hospitality Group (Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, etc.) alum turned Brooklyn restaurateur. O’Brien flawlessly nails classic old-school hospitality. Popina is also home to one of the most rewarding happy hours in town, featuring $15 pastas and $10 rotating by-the-glass pours. If bottles are more your thing, you might turn to the 2021 Ioppa ‘Rusin’ Rosato ($56) from Piedmont, both an indicator of O’Brien’s love of the nebbiolo grape, and proof that a bit of age on rosé can defy common beliefs. Popina also has deep cuts of Burgundy, as with the 2020 Domaine de Cassiopée Aligoté En Gerlieus ($85), which highlights O’Brien’s talents in finding great quality in France, here in a bottle from the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, where Hugo Mathurin and Talloulah Dubourg are proving the capability of this ‘secondary’ Burgundian white variety.

From the start, this pitch-perfect Carroll Gardens neobistro has had a wine list to match its quiet tweaking of French classics. (Its leeks vinaigrette remains one to beat.) Wine here is guided by Nick Ferrante, an alum of Paul Grieco’s Terroir, who’s an omnivore when it comes to styles and trends. A lightly chilled red like La Porte Saint-Jean Biturica ($74) from the Loire can inhabit space right next to La Staffa Verdicchio ($64) from Italy’s Marche. There’s no shortage of notable names (Antoine Arena, Envinate) but also more than a few surprises. Notably absent? Any sense of dogma. This is a contemporary list from a team that clearly loves wines across the spectrum, to match an exceptional menu, all of which makes it one of our favorite modern French bistros in New York.

It’s heartening to think that, as with The Four Horsemen, Noreetuh is now a decade old — in part because Jin Ahn’s neo-Hawaiian bistro can be easy to miss along the thrum of First Avenue, but also because the very concept was never on anyone’s next-big-thing lists. Managing partner Ahn, a Per Se alum, has not only persevered, but also continued to build one of the city’s most charming wine lists. Aged riesling is often considered the focus, but scratch a bit more and you’ll find Ahn’s fondness for classic Burgundy, modern German wines like Wasenhaus, and especially well-priced older Bordeaux. If Bordeaux isn’t exactly fashionable right now, Noreetuh’s picks are less a matter of trophy hunting than a chance to be reminded why the region’s wines have generations of fans. In other words, a bottle like the 1994 Château Lascombes ($185) is a thing you can indulge here — or you can go more chill with a weeknight gem like the Burlotto Barbera d’Alba ($69).

Tucked in the space of former wine powerhouse Veritas, this brings a new kind of tasting menu experience to Flatiron. The restaurant itself was initially conceptualized in Syracuse by chef and owner Jared Ian Stafford-Hill, and like its predecessor, Saint Urban’s wine picks hold equal weight with what’s on the plate. In addition to an award-winning bottle list, there’s also a tiered pairing structure, which highlights producers and vintages in conjunction with each month’s theme. (Past themes have included Tuscany, Northern Rhône, and the South of France.)  Current highlights from the 120-page list include verticals from ​​Agrapart & Fils, R. Lopez de Heredia, and Cappellano, as well as back-vintage bottles from Simon Bize, Giacomo Conterno, and more. The full circle moment? Stafford-Hill worked as a server at Veritas early in his career, making his return to this address even more serendipitous.

The aesthetics of Nick Tamburo’s East Village space are indeed dark and closed-in, more or less the polar opposite of the whitewashed, faded-blue driftwood aesthetic of your typical New England seafood joint. Tamburo’s inspiration is New England, where he grew up, before cooking at nearby spots like Claud — with the result being a wonderful remix of regional staples — chowder reimagined as an irresistible sort of quahog-studded soupy risotto, and so on. But that’s matched by the remarkable wine stylings of Nikita Malhotra (an alum of Momofuku Ko). There have been deep dives into Champagne and riesling, but Malhotra is omnivorous in her wine tastes, and so she’s also long on grenache, with reference producers like California’s A Tribute to Grace and Spain’s Comando G. And her two-page meditation on chardonnay is, let’s face it, a must-have for a seafood spot. (Don’t miss the Bourgogne Blanc from Bachelet-Monnot, if it’s still around.)

Since opening its doors in 2014, this has been a beacon of light for wine lovers caught in the throes of Midtown West. Titled after its founding namesake — who’s also Eric Ripert’s wine guru at Le Bernardin — this cozy bar offers a quick and easy way to grab a reliable glass no matter the time of day (it’s open from noon until 11 p.m. daily, save for Sundays).

Unsurprisingly, Sohm’s selection is thoughtful, with 40 rotating by-the-glass pours and over 200 bottle selections. While French-heavy, Sohm pays homage to his Innsbruck roots with an expansive roster of Austrian whites, including selections from Lackner Tinnacher, Emmerich Knoll, and Andreas Tscheppe. Burgundy, both white and red, also dominates the bottle list, while Spain, Portugal, and the United States show up, too. Sohm’s Express Lunch deal — $17 for two out of three choices of soup, salad, or sandwich — happens to be one of the best in town, especially when paired with a glass from Thibaud Boudignon or Ramiro Ibañez.

While Peasant always has us coming back for more, there’s something extra special about popping into the rustic, brick-walled space during the fall. Is it the smell wafting from the wood-fired hearth? Or maybe it’s the simple but perfectly classic Italian dishes, and the impeccably curated, accessible wine list. While the kitchen is overseen by chef Marc Forgione, that list is carefully maintained by Michael Laudenslager, who formerly oversaw the beverage programs at Quality Branded and JW Marriott Essex House. True to the restaurant’s roots, Laudenslager keeps the list — which hovers around 150 selections — all-Italian, with a focus on deep cuts. Classic Italian enthusiasts will enjoy selections from Montenidoli (Tuscany), Colombera & Garella (Piedmont), and I Custodi (Sicily), while those looking to venture off the beaten path can explore varieties like cesanese from Alberto Giacobbe in Lazio, vitovska from Kante in Friuli, and petite arvine from Elio Ottin in Valle d’Aosta. Our advice? Come open minded and let Laudenslager lead the way.

We continue to sing the praises of the selections at this Williamsburg bar precisely because it’s known for so many things that aren’t wine. (See: absinthe, cocktails.) Rarely do you find such an eminently drinkable list of mostly forward-thinking French producers. There is of course plenty of Muscadet — try the various crus of Fay d’Homme — and Champagne because oysters are key to the experience here. But there’s a also great focused roster of reds, too — especially from Beaujolais and southern France. You might look for the reds of Raphaëlle Guyot, from very northwestern Burgundy, or to heady bottles like Château Falfas ($75) from Bordeaux or Nicolas Carmarans’ Mauvais Temps ($80), from high in the Massif Central, with brandade or a bavette steak.

The corner at 285 Nevins has embodied Gowanus’ evolution from canal-driven punchline to boom town. When the Times’ Pete Wells wrote about one-time tenant Freek’s Mill in 2016, his review culminated with a run-in with the cops, curious why he was hanging out in a “desolate area.” But even then, the wine program at said address was a marvel, and now, as the surrounding blocks fill with new condos as fast as city permitting will allow, Liar Liar carries the torch forward.

The team here — Mateo Simo and Reed Yarber, alums of Bed-Stuy’s Bad Luck Bar; plus Gabi Gimson, who worked for a local wine importer; and event producer Andrew Goss — understands the importance of a wine bar serving its neighborhood, and in this case, one that’s rapidly evolving.  So there’s an impeccable bottle list, long on of-the-moment Champagne (Salima et Alain Cordeuil), Burgundy (Maison Skyaasen), and the Loire (Clos des Plantes) that leans into natural without going too far, plus a tightly edited set of glass picks. The menu is more substantial, and rewarding, than most in this genre. (Don’t miss the scallop crudo.) A fried chicken sandwich is seasoned just so and bolstered with duck sauce for wine-friendliness, and there’s an ongoing $69 special of steak frites and a bottle of red. That, plus a series of ongoing events (Goss and team understand the genius of the collab carousel) make it equally good as a destination as the down-the-block gem it has become.

Walk-ins only.