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Restaurants that describe themselves as wine bars are gaining prominence in the U.S. and spreading internationally, according to a VinePair report. The model pairs serious wine programs with substantial food, a casual social atmosphere and, operators say, a flexible invitation for guests to come in for a drink or a meal.
Restaurants presenting themselves as wine bars have gained visibility in the United States and are spreading to venues overseas, according to a VinePair report that points to New York’s Lei and Bruges’ Cult as examples. The format combines a substantial kitchen and a serious wine list with a more casual, social setting, blurring the usual distinction between a restaurant and a bar.
The report identifies Lei, in New York City, as a high-profile example of the model. After opening in mid-2025, the restaurant received positive attention from several publications, including The New York Times and The New Yorker, and was named the James Beard Foundation’s best new restaurant. Its own website describes it as a wine bar. The award is a marker of the format’s growing profile, though it does not by itself establish how widely the approach has spread.
Lei’s restaurant spokesperson said the wine list came first, with the food developed to work alongside a broad range of wines. The menu includes dishes such as shao bing, celtuce and short rib, illustrating how the newer format can extend beyond the cheese boards and charcuterie often associated with wine bars.
The report also cites Cult, in Bruges, Belgium, which opened in late 2024 and describes itself as “Wijnbar & Apero, Restaurant.” Co-founder Kees Dobbelaar said the wording reflects the team’s experience at Blend, a local bar where adding small plates helped address a pattern of guests leaving after a drink or two. Cult has a full kitchen and serves dishes including dry-aged steak, while its wine-bar identity may make it feel suitable for a brief visit as well as a full meal.
Consultants quoted by VinePair describe a wider set of shared features: smaller, shareable plates, less formal service, and rooms designed to encourage conversation. Amsterdam-based consultant Jarl de Vries said the label is appearing more often internationally. He also said many venues in this category focus on natural, skin-contact and low-intervention wines, rather than representing wine bars as a single, uniform style.
How the Format Recasts Dining Out
Calling a venue a wine bar can set expectations before a guest arrives. Jonathan Pogash, founder of The Cocktail Guru consultancy, told VinePair that the label suggests a more casual and open social experience than a conventional fine-dining restaurant. That can appeal to diners looking for good cooking and considered wine without the formality they may associate with a long, structured dinner.
Operators also see a commercial rationale. Dobbelaar’s account of Blend suggests that food can encourage guests who arrive for a drink to stay longer or return for a meal. The report says the label may make a restaurant feel accessible for different occasions, but it provides no financial data showing that this strategy improves revenue or profit. The business case remains an explanation from people working in the sector, not a measured industry-wide result.
For diners, the format offers a potentially useful signal about the mix of food, drink and atmosphere. But the label alone does not guarantee a particular menu, price point, wine style or level of service; the cited venues show that “wine bar” can cover varied concepts.
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From Wine Bars to Full Kitchens
Wine bars have a long history, but the VinePair report distinguishes the current restaurant-led version from older models focused mainly on drinks and light accompaniments. It also differs from wine-bar variations that became popular in the U.S. during the first two decades of this century: the newer venues often put more emphasis on ambitious cooking alongside wine.
The trend gained attention in the U.S. in the years following the pandemic, though the report does not claim that Covid created it. In late 2022, The New York Times’ wine critic Eric Asimov wrote about full-fledged restaurants calling themselves wine bars and what separated them from restaurants. VinePair’s account places Lei’s James Beard recognition within that wider conversation about casualizing fine dining.
De Vries told VinePair that the format is not just a naming choice. He described a package involving wine selection, food, service and design, with a focus on sociability. His observations draw on consultancy work across several regions, but the report does not provide a count of such venues or a country-by-country measure of growth.
“Cult describes itself as “Wijnbar & Apero, Restaurant.””
— Kees Dobbelaar, Cult co-founder
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How Broad Is the International Shift?
The report describes an international trend through examples and interviews, but it does not supply venue counts, market data or a defined growth period. It is not clear how quickly the format is expanding, which countries are seeing the most growth, or whether the cited restaurants represent a wider change rather than a set of prominent cases.
It is also uncertain how much the wine-bar identity affects customer numbers or business performance. Consultants and operators describe reasons the label may attract guests and support a venue’s approach, but the source gives no sales figures, profitability comparisons or evidence that the strategy works consistently. Nor does it establish a single definition: the venues discussed vary in their food, wine and service.
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More Openings Will Test the Trend
The development to watch is whether more restaurants in the U.S. and abroad adopt the label while pairing it with full kitchens, shareable dishes and wine-led programs. Further openings and reporting could clarify whether the pattern extends beyond the examples highlighted by VinePair.
For now, the James Beard recognition for Lei offers a prominent U.S. signal, while Cult shows how a similar hybrid identity appears in Belgium. Whether the format becomes a durable business model, or remains a flexible way for individual restaurants to describe their experience, is not yet established.
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Key Questions
What is a wine-bar restaurant?
In the venues described by VinePair, it is a restaurant that places wine at the center of its identity while also serving substantial food. The format can include a full kitchen and is not limited to drinks and small snacks.
Which U.S. restaurant is a prominent example?
Lei in New York City describes itself as a wine bar and received the James Beard Foundation’s best new restaurant award, according to the report.
Is the trend spreading outside the United States?
VinePair reports that the approach is appearing internationally and cites Cult in Bruges, Belgium, as one example. The report does not provide data measuring the scale or pace of that spread.
What kinds of wine do these venues serve?
Some venues in the trend emphasize natural, skin-contact and low-intervention wines, according to consultant Jarl de Vries. The report does not suggest that every restaurant using the wine-bar label follows that style.
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