Delmonico's Restaurant
America's Oldest Restaurant Still Swings Hard
Financial District Β· New York Β· American Β· Visit Website β
Reviewed April 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at Delmonico's lands with the kind of weight you'd expect from a restaurant that's been feeding New York since 1837 β physically thick, classically organized, and unapologetically serious. This isn't a list that's trying to be cool; it's a list that doesn't need to be. When Domaine de la RomanΓ©e-Conti shows up early in the Burgundy section, you know exactly what kind of night you're in for.
Selection Deep Dive
Eight hundred to twelve hundred selections sounds like a flex, but at Delmonico's it feels earned β California and France do the heavy lifting, with deep verticals in Bordeaux (Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour) and Burgundy (Louis Jadot, DRC), plus serious Italian coverage through Gaja Barbaresco, Sassicaia, and Antinori Tignanello. The RhΓ΄ne gets proper respect with Chapoutier Hermitage and E. Guigal CΓ΄te-RΓ΄tie, while Spain shows up with Vega Sicilia Unico β not just a token international section. California reads like a greatest hits of the region: Caymus, Opus One, Ridge Monte Bello, Chateau Montelena, and Peter Michael all make appearances, which will please the steak crowd immensely even if it's not the most adventurous curation. The gaps? Natural wine fans and anything from the Southern Hemisphere should lower their expectations accordingly.
By the Glass
With 20 to 35 pours available by the glass, there's enough range to build a proper meal around without committing to a bottle β a genuine win for solo diners and business lunches in the Financial District. The selections skew classic and crowd-pleasing, which fits the room, but we'd love to see a bit more ambition in the rotating pours. No formal by-the-glass program that changes frequently, so what you see is largely what you get.
Louis Jadot Burgundy β $60
In a list where four-figure bottles are common, Jadot's entry-level Burgundy offers genuine CΓ΄te d'Or character at the low end of the pricing spectrum β an honest pour at a restaurant where it's easy to spend multiples of this without blinking.
Chapoutier Hermitage
Most tables here go straight for the California Cabs to match the Delmonico Steak, which means the Northern RhΓ΄ne section gets underordered. Chapoutier's Hermitage β serious Syrah from a serious producer β is exactly what this kitchen's red meat deserves, and you won't be fighting anyone for the last allocation.
Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is competent, recognizable, and wildly overrepresented at steakhouses nationwide. At Delmonico's prices and with this much competition on the list, you're paying a premium for a brand name when genuinely more interesting options sit a few pages over.
Ridge Monte Bello + Delmonico Steak
Ridge Monte Bello is one of California's most structured Cabernet-based blends β earthy, age-worthy, and built for exactly this kind of serious red meat moment. The Delmonico Steak has enough marbling and weight to stand up to Monte Bello's tannin and complexity, and the result is the kind of pairing that makes you understand why people come to restaurants like this in the first place.
π₯ The Bottom Line
Delmonico's wine list is a monument to the classic American fine dining tradition β deep, serious, professionally managed by a named sommelier team, and deserving of its Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. Just walk in knowing the markups reflect the address and the history, and order accordingly.
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