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🎲The Wild Card

Dagon

French cellar hiding inside a Med feast

Upper West Side · New York · Mediterranean · Visit Website ↗

old-world-focushidden-gemdate-nightwine-bar

Reviewed April 19, 2026

Wingman Metrics

List VarietySmall but Thoughtful
MarkupFair
GlasswareBasic Stemmed
StaffKnowledgeable & Friendly
Specials & DealsSet & Forget
Storage & TempProper

First Impression

You walk into Dagon expecting shakshuka and lamb cigars, and then the wine list lands on the table — and it's quietly, confidently French in a way that catches you off guard. This is not a Mediterranean restaurant that phoned in a wine list; someone actually thought about this. Sommelier Alon Moskovitch's fingerprints are all over it.

Selection Deep Dive

The list runs 150 to 250 bottles and reads like a love letter to southern France and the Rhône, with Domaine Tempier Bandol and Château Simone Palette anchoring a Provence section that most Manhattan restaurants wouldn't even attempt. Mas de Daumas Gassac brings Languedoc credibility, while Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage and Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape represent the Rhône at its most serious. There's even a nod to Alsace via Domaine Weinbach, and for anyone who drifts to the prestige shelf, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti makes an appearance — more as a statement than a practical order. The gaps are real: outside France, the list thins out quickly, and if you're hunting Italian or Iberian bottles to match the kitchen's broader Mediterranean spirit, you'll come up short.

By the Glass

Twelve to twenty options by the glass is a healthy pour program for this neighborhood, with prices landing between $14 and $22 — reasonable for what's on offer. The glass list skews toward France, which is consistent with the bottle program and honestly the right call given the kitchen's direction. Rotation details aren't well-documented, but with Moskovitch running the floor, we'd expect the pours to track with the bottle list rather than sitting stale.

đź’°Best Value

Domaine Tempier Bandol — $12–$180 range

Tempier Bandol rosé is one of Provence's benchmarks and consistently shows up at restaurants at painful markups — here it's offered within a list that values France fairly, making it one of the smartest bottles you can open at the table alongside the lamb dishes.

đź’ŽHidden Gem

Château Simone Palette

Most diners skip right past it because Palette is one of France's smallest and least-known appellations, but Château Simone is the appellation — it basically is Palette. It's structured, unusual, and completely unlike anything else on the list. Order it and you'll be explaining it to your table the whole night, which is half the fun.

â›”Skip This

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Look, it's DRC, and yes it belongs on a serious list. But at a Mediterranean restaurant on the Upper West Side, you're paying trophy-wine prices for a bottle that has no real home alongside chicken liver mousse and lamb cigars. Save it for somewhere it has room to breathe.

🍽️Perfect Pairing

Mas de Daumas Gassac + Agu's cigar with ground lamb, potatoes, and spices

Mas de Daumas Gassac red — often called the 'Grand Cru of Languedoc' — brings dark fruit and a wild herbal edge that holds its own against the spiced lamb filling without steamrolling the delicate pastry. It's a southern French bottle meeting southern Mediterranean food, and the logic is airtight.

🎲 The Bottom Line

Dagon earns its Wine Spectator credentials with a focused, France-first list that punches well above what the UWS restaurant scene typically delivers. Send a friend here if they want serious wine with serious food — just tell them to stay in the Rhône and Provence and they won't go wrong.

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