Chinatown Now Boasts One of the City's Most Innovative Wine Bars

Lei is a charmer with terrific wine and food

The Chinese omelet and Chinese ham with Asian pear at Lei (hand model: Gary He)

Wine bars have become much more interesting. Not long ago, the food served was often a plate of cold charcuterie and cheeses, along with a ho-hum selection of French and Italian wines. Sure, there were nonconformist wine bars, including Kaia (South African food and wine), Kafana (Serbian food, Balkan wine), and Lavaux (Swiss wine and fondue).

But now wine bar food is becoming more sophisticated and nuanced. Demo appeared in February, 2024, serving lemony scallop crudo and veal tongue tonnato. A month later, Penny concentrated almost exclusively on seafood, matched with an 84-page wine list of mind-boggling depth. It’s set up like a lunch counter, encouraging one to drink a glass of wine, grab a nibble or two, and run.

Now Chinese food, a cuisine heretofore considered difficult to match with a glass of wine, is emerging in the forefront. In late 2023, Tolo in Dimes Square was a harbinger. Its Chinese food — which included rice noodles with XO sauce, “typhoon shelter” fried chicken, and seaweed French fries — was often fiery, matched with a by-the-glass selection that ran to a white burgundies, skin-contact oranges, and a daily special pour of an old French vintage at astonishingly cheap prices.