Food - Drink
The NYC Steakhouse That Features Some Of The World's Rarest Wines
By LISA CURRAN MATTE
With delicious food, a historic location, and a charming ambiance, it’s no wonder Harry’s Restaurant has been a Lower Manhattan mainstay since 1972. Adding to the restaurant’s appeal is the extensive wine collection of the restaurant’s founder, Harry Poulakakos, whose collection contains 30,000 labels that regularly appear on the wine list.
After immigrating from Greece in 1956, Poulakakos got his start at New York's Delmonico’s, where his wine knowledge quickly grew. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, Poulakakos made some noteworthy wine deals, including buying 1961 Chateau Haut-Brion for $180 per case — about $1,400 in today’s money — for wine that now retails for over $3,000 a bottle.
Poulakakos purchased many of the wines in his collection simply because he liked them, and they often show up on the wine list at Harry’s. While both Poulakakos’ collection and Harry’s menu include high-priced wines, Poulakakos insists on offering a variety that includes good, reasonably priced wines, which is why the restaurant offers two wine lists.
In Poulakakos’ words, "I never wanted to take people's money just to make a profit on it. I always want people to enjoy what they're drinking and to charge them a fair price." Because of this, Harry’s offers two wine lists, with a standard list comprising 75 wines with some priced as low as $14, and another list with 2,600 labels reserved for connoisseurs.