Wine Bar Near Empire State Building: Plan Your AYZA Visit

The observation deck closes and you are back on Fifth Avenue with an appetite and no plan. That is the moment most people search for a wine bar near Empire State Building and end up in whichever hotel lobby is closest. AYZA Wine & Chocolate Bar is a four minute walk from the tower entrance, at 11 West 31st Street, and it has been pouring wine and making chocolate on that block since 2007.

The walk from the Empire State Building

Leave the tower on Fifth Avenue, turn south, and walk three blocks to 31st Street. Turn right and AYZA is a few doors in, on the north side of the street. It is under a quarter of a mile and takes about four minutes at an ordinary pace, less if the light at 34th Street is with you.

That short distance is the practical reason this works as a wine bar near Empire State Building visitors can actually use. You are close enough to walk over without planning a second trip, but one block off the main tourist corridor, which is why the room feels calmer than anything on 34th Street. Herald Square and Penn Station are both a few minutes further west, so the trains home are easy.

Pick your stop: a glass, a pairing, or dinner

Most people arrive undecided about how long they are staying. Here is the honest version of what each option looks like, so you can choose before you sit down.

A glass and something small

The list runs from about $13 to $21 by the glass and leans on New York producers: a Grüner Veltliner from Dr. Konstantin Frank, a Brotherhood Riesling, a Bully Hill Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes, and a Keuka dry rosé. Alongside them sit a Sancerre, a Louis Jadot Chablis, a Chianti Classico and a California Cabernet. The full cocktails and wines menu lists both the glass and bottle price for everything, so you can see what a second round costs before you commit.

Wine and chocolate in the same order

This is the part that makes AYZA different from every other wine bar in the neighborhood. The NY Pairing Collection is $44 and sets a Cayuco brut, a Cabernet Franc and a Riesling against three chocolates made in house. The Rosé Experience is $42 and pairs three styles of rosé with Jacques Torres bonbons. Both arrive as a small tasting flight rather than a lecture, and they give a table something to compare notes on.

A proper dinner

The kitchen is European leaning and built around sharing. The Fromage Board is $35 and the Maison Board $39, both sized for two, and either one takes 15 percent off any bottle of wine. From there the White Truffle Pizza ($16), Braised Short Rib ($33), hand rolled Pici Cacio e Pepe ($24) and Roasted Chicken ($27) cover most appetites. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free dishes are marked on the dinner menu; ask the team to confirm ingredients if an allergy is involved.

Leave room for the fondue

Two fondues for two sit on the Sweet Treats menu. The First Date Fondue is $31 and comes with strawberries, banana, candied orange, French brie, Castelvetrano olives, Espelette pepper and flaky salt. The Rosé Fondue is $29 and swaps in pistachios and organic rose buds. You choose the chocolate: Callebaut milk, Callebaut white, or the 70 percent dark from República del Cacao for $4 more.

If you would rather have your own plate, the Coconut Flan is gluten free, the Affogato takes a shot of Kahlúa or Frangelico for $5, and the Olive Oil Gelato comes with hot honey and Maldon salt. The chocolate boxes are worth knowing about too: five Jacques Torres bonbons for $15, five house made for $17, or three vegan M. Jardine chocolates for $14.

Timing your visit: hours and happy hour

One detail that catches visitors out: AYZA does not open until 4 pm, so a lunchtime trip to the observatory will not line up. Sunset slots at the tower do, and they land you here right inside happy hour, when selected wines are $7 a glass or $25 a bottle, the Classic Chocolate Martini and Lavender Martini are $10, and beer is $6. Saturday is the one day happy hour does not run. Seasonal offers change, so it is worth checking the current promotions before you go.

A room built for conversation

The ceiling is the thing people remember. Artist Sinem Disli made 33 iridescent glass lights for the dining room, and the effect is closer to sitting under a night sky than to a dimmer switch. Behind the room there is a heated garden filled with flowers, which stays comfortable well into the cold months and is the quieter of the two spaces. Ask for whichever you prefer when you book and treat it as a request rather than a guarantee.

Not everyone at the table has to drink wine. There are four house cocktails at $17, including a Chocolate Manhattan and a Fiery Mezcal, and two mocktails at $14, the Floral Spritz and the Midnight Bloom. The Chocolate Martinis are the signature: Classic, Espresso, Raspberry and White Chocolate at $19, or the No. 19 at $26. There is more on the setting and the story of the place on the AYZA wine bar page.

Questions people ask before booking

Reserve your table

If you are looking for a wine bar near Empire State Building crowds without the crowd, this is a four minute walk and a very different room. Pick a time after 4 pm, add the garden to your notes if the weather is good, and leave room for the fondue.

Menu items, prices and hours were checked against ayzanyc.com on September 9, 2026. Details can change, so confirm anything that matters to your plans before you visit.