Chapel Tavern

Chapel Tavern walks in wearing a cocktail shaker and you're half-surprised it even has a wine list. But flip past the frosé and frozen rum drinks and there's something quietly decent happening here — a short, focused selection that doesn't take itself too seriously, which turns out to be exactly the right move for a lively Midtown bar.

The list clocks in at somewhere between 15 and 30 bottles, leaning on California and Washington with a few European curve balls thrown in to keep things interesting. It's not trying to be a wine bar, and it doesn't pretend to be — but someone made real choices here rather than just phoning in a big-brand safety net. The inclusion of a Côtes du Rhône Villages red and an Italian frizzante alongside the expected West Coast lineup suggests there's a brain behind the buying, even if the depth is limited. Gaps are obvious — no serious reds, no aged bottles, no deep dive into anything — but for the format, it holds up.

Six to ten options by the glass is a respectable spread for a bar this casual. The rotation doesn't appear to change much, so don't expect seasonal surprises, but what's there is priced so honestly it's almost disorienting. When your glass pour is below retail, you stop complaining about the selection.