Annie Shi is a prominent restaurateur and beverage director known for her involvement in several acclaimed New York City establishments. She co-owns and directs the beverage programs for restaurants like King and...
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Beautiful meal. Usually I’m skeptical about Chinese fusion, but everything was executed perfectly at Lei. The celtuce had a delightful crunch, which was paired nicely with a rich, but light and slightly tangy sauce. The Cabbage with yuba and morels was also very warming and had a great depth of flavour without being too heavy. We also ordered the shao bing, which, while simple was delightfully crunchy and paired nicely with the slab of butter inside. The mains, however, were the real star of the show. Many come for the sweet and sour beef short rib, and I will say it’s a must order. It pairs wonderfully with the side of rice, and it is very tender and flavourful. The Hand-rolled cat’s ear noodle with lamb braised in cumin and tomato was also very special. The noodles come out perfectly al dente, and the broth is, again, rich and fragrant without being overbearing. Surprisingly, I also really liked the Eight treasure rice pudding with sticky toffee. It was a great twist on a traditional Chinese dessert, and the slightly salty caramel paired with the ice cream and sticky rice was a nice conclusion to the meal. The wines on offer were also excellent, especially the dessert wine. We tried a South African straw wine, which was very very special and unique. Overall one of my favourite meals in New York as of yet. Very innovative, very hard to book, but very worth it.
Been to Lei Wine Bar twice now and have enjoyed my experiences!
The atmosphere is my favorite part as its comforting and cozy but the playlist keeps lively so you can feel a vibrant energy when you walk in.
The wine list is bigger than expected and has something for everyone's palate.
Since it is a wine bar initially my expectations are aimed toward simple food but the kitchen at Lei is doing anything but that. Highly recommend the chicken and short rib, you wont be disappointed.
Laughably difficult to get a table here but the host was kind enough to make a res for us a week later instead of fully turning us away after waiting on the waitlist for 3 hours on a Friday night. Service is great, my water was never empty. Very very small inside but so cute and well decorated. Same team behind king and stissing house in upstate (some of my favorite spots). In love with the broth that’s with the mushroom and cabbage rolls and the egg yolk squash incredible. Massive list of wines. Played some cantomando pop remixes which was nostalgic. Insanely expensive but that’s New York wine bars these days
Had such a wonderful experience at Lei. The staff was incredibly knowledgeable and guided us to a wine we absolutely loved. Their recommendations felt thoughtful and personalized, which made the experience even more special.
We also ordered the sticky rice dessert, and it was outstanding!
Super hyped cool wine bar with modernized Chinese food.
Portions for the price are hilarious...like three slices of fried squash for $22.
Wuxi-style short rib and sticky toffee rice pudding were incredibly good. Everything else kind of missable.
