The best wine bars and shops in Kuala Lumpur

At Basic Wine Store, to be basic means boiling things down to the essentials: a good bottle of wine, a platter of food, and a room full of great company. (We’d expect nothing less from the team behind Table & Apron and Universal Bakehouse.) Here, it’s easy to step outside your tried-and-true grapes; the chillers and shelves stock a curation of small-batch natural wines, which you’re unlikely to come across at most spots in the city, such as Cantina Giardino, amongst a handful of pioneers that paved the way for the making of wines with no additions. If you can’t commit to a bottle, there are options available by the glass. 

Pair with European comfort fare and small bites from the menu, or Jose Gourmet tinned seafood goods served with bread and pickles. Be sure to always ask if the chef has any specials for the day. FRFR, we love the service here; at every visit the staff have been attentive and easygoing with on-point recommendations.

In a tiny shoplot at The Zhongshan Building, Gentle Giants nails the intimate, lived-in aesthetic that so many wine bars attempt: it feels like the dining room of a chic friend, featuring only one table lit with tall candles, and it fits no more than two dozen people sitting elbow-to-elbow, a few at the bar. If you’re lucky, there are two tables to be snagged out on the balcony. Behind the bar, a shelf is stocked to the ceiling with cult and natty wines, including Brand Bros, François and Lammidia; ask Michele or Stanley for recs and you won’t go wrong. 

On account of it being so small, Gentle Giants doesn’t have a kitchen and doesn’t serve food (except when they host takeovers or on special events), so yes, you can bring in outside food. We’ve tapao-ed in dumplings, pizzas, and even nasi goreng. Michele’s Dachshund, Lipton might ask for a taste though.

When Hsiao Tung Wei opened Unwined in APW, it was an instant hit. The bottleshop-turn-bar has a selection of a few hundred natural wine bottles at any given time; you can scan the line-up in the chiller or on the menu, but we suggest a chat with the staff for recommendations, whether you’re in the mood for something funky, fruity, floral or beyond. There isn’t a food menu, but it hardly matters when you can order in from neighbouring restos; we like getting our noms from Proof and Olivia Deli.

Unwined is on a roll too. The team has opened, in quick succession, Unwined Plus at Jalan Telawi 2, taking over from the dessert shop Dew by Jaslyn Cakes (you’ll live on in our memories) with a full-fledged kitchen serving experimental plates, and Unwined Cabana at Else Retreat in Petaling Street.

Tucked between Feeka and Pizza Mansion at The Five, Mount Pleasure is a wine bar with benefits — the benefits being you can order from the former café and the latter pizzeria to go with your vino. It’s kind of a three-in-one site. Win-win-win all around. On wine, the cellar is an adventure, stocking a selection of sought-after zero-zero nattys the likes of Jauma, Lucy Margaux, and Matassa. DJs spin on weekends because vino and vinyl go great together.

Juno is an understated spot in the neighbourhood of Bangsar with a curated list of easy-drinking pours and nattys, stocking wines from the likes of DEFIALY (“handmade, no-tech, minimal f*ckery”) and LES VIGNES DE BABASS by Sebastién Dervieux, one of the early pioneers of making natural wine in the Loire region in France.

This is the perfect wine bar to bring a foodie. The kitchen is stellar, dishing out inventive European-esque small plates — creamy sage gnocchi, scallops with citrus — but we absolutely adore its anti-fussy, cheeky take on wine pairing experiences. In the short time Juno has been open, it has hosted a wine and donut pairing with Donut Plan, a char kuey teow kitchen takeover by Moonkey, and a Gyoza For Life pop-up featuring gyoza and wine flights.

In Petaling Jaya, Mellow is prime for an evening of sips and shareable plates. Bottles, by the likes of Maxime Crotet and Patrice Béguet and mostly natural, are in the chiller with prices marked; you’re encouraged to browse and chat with the staff about your preferences, or sample something by-the-glass, if you can’t commit to a bottle. Fresh oysters, wagyu steak frites, and the crowd favourite crispy eggplant pair perfectly with the earthy, energetic wines.

At its Uptown location, Château DeCanter offers plenty of breathing space: think cosy booths and plush leather sofas that seat 80, plus four private rooms for special occasions. Its wine list is extensive, and refreshingly, features solid picks for under RM250, as well as a tidy whisky, gin, and cocktail selection. For bites, get the signature shaker fries or other such deep-fried nibbles – but if you’re seeking a fuller restaurant experience, heavy-hitters include black mussel risotto in pomodoro sauce, pan-fried pork chop, and pizza, alongside claypot chicken rice and maggi goreng. Most nights there’s a singer backed by a live band — just check the calendar to see what’s coming up.

Vintry has quite an extensive collection that you're invited to browse through for a bottle. You'll be spoilt for choice, as each outlet under the Vintry group – there are six in total now, including one in Melaka – carries more than 1,000 labels from various regions. The best part is, the wines are affordable.

Pair your bottle with any of their dishes (a mix of Asian and Fusion food, plus they're known for their pork options), and you can sit back and relax, rest assured that you're in for a good meal with great wine. 

As part of the M Group’s list of bars and clubs, Lavo adds to the company’s portfolio as a wine specialty resto-lounge. As expected, when night falls, the place fills with people – reservations are absolutely necessary on Friday and Saturday nights.

There are two main reasons people flock to wine specialty resto-lounge Lavo: firstly for their extensive selection of wines; at the time of writing, there are over 1,000 labels to choose from, and the owners are always looking to expand their range. Most of it being French. Secondly, their prices are pretty reasonable, which is partly down to the large volumes of wine they are able to stock. A bottle of Canepa Finisimo Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, for example, is available for RM125++, which isn’t much higher than the expected retail price of RM100. If you're feeling hungry, the kitchen is open from 12noon to 12midnight, and serves up an East-meets-West range of dishes. 

In the neighbourhood of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Corks Out doubles as a wine bar and a wine shop. What sets Corks Out apart: Any bottle from its cellar can be enjoyed at the bar at retail price, without pesky corkage fees or markups. Plus, it’s hard to resist the drink-all-you-can promo every Tuesday and Thursdays for only RM78+ per pax. The food menu offers substantial fare like steaks, pastas, and a stellar spicy sambal fried rice with smoked duck.