haven't visited this gem in spanish harlem? (i know what you're thinking... it's seedy and you just. can't.) BUT, it's not so make a point to because: -staff are both knowledgeable and helpful -big selection of wines -delivery -great deals -no plexiglass means i can TOUCH bottles! -tastings i frequent this place a bit too much and it's starting to make me look like an alcoholic but honestly, i'm fine so don't judge. over the summer, one of their deals was purchase 12 bottles, receive 30 percent off. i did exactly that at about closing time and one of the delivery guys was kind enough to walk with me home and up four flights so i wouldn't have to carry all that weight. i need another 12 please. read more

It was Thanksgiving night and I really needed an obscure bottle for a Friday party. When I searched UberEats, this was the only place within miles that had it. I called the next morning to make sure this wasn't just an UberEats figment-of-the-imagine and a lovely guy answered the phone, confirmed that they had what I needed and a few less obscure wines. UberEast delivered exactly as requested, but I thank the guy as East River for having what I needed and being so nice about assuring me it was coming. Next time I'm in the neighborhood, i'll stop by for an in person visit. read more

Stopped by to pick up a few bottles of ... well ... everything. East River has a decent selection of wines and spirits, especially for the area. Customer service was pretty nice. If I'm back in the area (probably on a Target Run), I definitely drop by again. read more

great wine and spirit sections. you'll find some finer items here that are hard to find elsewhere in the neighborhood. glad we have it here in east harlem. read more

Total disregard for customers needs. Lacking product knowledge. Horrible all around experience. Product lines lacking diversity. read more

Very nice wine & liquor shop right on the corner before the East River Plaza shopping center. Dropped in here a few times while on the way to Costco close by. Very clean and organized shop. Was lucky enough to catch a few free tastings they were offering. Decent selection of wines and liquors, with a friendly knowledgeable staff. Prices seem ok but I have seen similar at lower price points in stores closer to where I live. Definitely a nice addition to this neighborhood that can use more businesses such as this in the area. A breath of fresh air compared to the sketchy liquor stores and bodegas that dot the streets up here. read more

Came here after seeing a sign for free moscato tastings-I absolutey LOVE moscatos so I came right on over! Sampled two, both 750mL bottles selling for around $12-15. 'Eh, no thanks. Also saw a $12 sutter home moscato I normally get at the CA Trader Joe's for $3. Another flaw is that it's right by Costco-and for now, Costco just happens to be selling 1.5L bottles of Moscato for $8! SOLD. Sorry local wine store....perhaps you'd do better when located elsewhere. read more

Having lived in East Harlem for close to ten years now I am thrilled that there is finally a not just a decent but GREAT liquor and wine store in the neighborhood. Tastings? Wine-familiar staff who seem genuinely pleased to help? A huge variety of wines that aren't just Sweet Bitch quality and lower (seriously, who drinks Sweet Bitch? Who ARE you?), single malts??, sake???, no bullet proof glass????, NO LOTTO?????. Finally. And thank goodness. I'll let the last reviewer buy her Moscato at Costco - for my part I'll be supporting this local business that is desperately needed in the neighborhood. read more

This place could use a few Liam clones. I love this place because it provides great booze and wines but the experience is escalated when taken care of by Liam. He's incredibly knowledgeable and with just a few key words - he's able to find you exactly what you like. read more

A little escape from the hood... East River Wines and Spirits has a fab selection of all wines and spirits. They often have free wine tastings and the staff are all super friendly. I absolutely love this place for everything that they offer, but mostly.....THEY DELIVER FO FREE!!!! read more

There are two liquor stores in this three block range of east harlem. One on first ave which has the bullet proof glass preventing you from getting into the store. It is hard to see what they have, and the service is surly. The other is East River Wines and Spirits. It is open in the layout, so you can walk around and browse what they have. They always surprise me with new wines and liquors. The staff is extremely friendly and will help you with anything, and are always knowledgable about the products. They even have free tastings every week to try new shipments. It is fantastic and highly recommended. read more

First of all I dont shop in stores that have their selections and their staff behind a protective forcefield so East River Plaza is a good look for not being set up that way. Additionally, the staff is very friendly and one of the guys who works there looks a lot like Chris Brown......how you doin' witcho cute self? Secondly, the store is so spacious that you can park your previous purchases, kids and stroller in the corner, grab your bottle(s) and not worry about bumping into anyone or anything. Lastly and most cool of all, you get 10% off of your total if you show a same day receipt from any of the stores in the East River Plaza. After shopping in the East River Plaza, you NEED alcohol so this works for me. .....even if they dont sell my beloved Cascinetta Vietti Moscato D'asti. read more

Wow, what a welcome change of pace to the average liquor store that has half of their logo already falling apart! This has to be one of the most well lit and refreshingly clean liquor stores that I have been to in Harlem. When you walk in, the staff always greets you warmly. You can shop at your leisure and don't have to push through crowds of questionable old guys hanging around outside. It's nice to have a classy place to buy a bottle of wine or handle of vodka when the occasion calls for it. The only drawback for this store is that their hours are not ideal, I rarely see them open past 10 PM. Then again that might be a plus, because it regulates the customers to being more of a responsible crowd than a "let's get wasted at 2 AM" crowd. Also, unless I missed it, they don't sell beer here. read more

I'm not much of an alcohol drinker, but I have created my own root beer-Bailey's float. Since this place is super close to me, I decided to go in and check it out. Turns out, they don't have Bailey's, but the worker was kind enough to show me Molly's, which is made by the same people and tastes pretty much the same? I've bought a few bottles of that since and love it! I also had an end of the school year big celebration and a lot of people dropped by this place before coming. They all came in with different recommended drinks, having sampled the alcohol too and all of them praised the store! read more

Great warm store with knowledgeable staff to help you choose the perfect bottle for any occasion. They have a great assortment of fine wines and liquors and also deliver for large orders to the nearby neighborhood. Will definitely be one of my regular stops! read more

ONE AND DONE! I tried this store because it was one of the few in Instacart. Never again, and I hope that Instacart delists it. The delivery person refused to allow our concierge to sign for the order which is preposterous. This has never hoo ended before with any delivery ever. read more

My favorite place to go to too often. Great range of affordable wines and spirits, and a knowledgeable staff. Plus, one of a couple places in the area where you don't have to shout your order through plexiglass. Also, free tastings on Fridays and Saturdays. Also, they deliver if you want to get drunk without putting on pants (you champ, you). Did I mention there's no plexiglass? You can browse! It's delightful. Put on some pants. read more

I haven't been to this place in-person yet, but I was impressed that they do fast, affordable delivery to SpaHa Soul, which is a great BYOB restaurant just around the corner. I will definitely use them again. read more

Great service; in person or delivery. Decent prices and I LOVE that there's no plexiglass separating me from the wine. I will go in and tell them the menu and they help choose something in my price range to match the food. It always matches! read more

I just purchased 2 bottles of wine here and was impressed with the selection and prices. It's the only store around this area that has no bulletproof glass that separates the consumer from the seller. I can actually browse the wine selections and even hold a bottle of wine if I fancy, so that is a plus for this wine shop. I just wasn't impressed with customer service. I was debating 2 different type of rose and asked the salesperson which bottle would he recommend. "Well, there are 2 very different wines", gave a snarky look and walked away, without explaining the difference between the two. I was a bit turned off of the snobbery. I just brushed it off and continued to browse some more wine selections on my own. I will probably continue to patronize this wine shop unless another wine shop with better customer service pops up in the area. Until then, you just have to weigh in what you can tolerate with what is given to you. I'd rather shop at a normal wine shop then feel like I am criminal with the bulletproof glass ones in the neighborhood. read more

Found my new wine store! Was looking for red wines for a sangria and figured I would try this place because of the good Yelp reviews and fortuitously, they were doing a wine tasting when I arrived. The staff was fun and very knowledgeable about the wines and helpful without making me feel like I was being pressured to buy. One of the wines being sampled was a sweet red from Chile that I paired with other reds...it was the perfect foil for a great sangria that night with friends and family... And as I was being rung up, they had a Nigori to boot! What a pleasant experience..will definitely be back! read more

Clean, spacious, and doesn't feel like they fear for their lives, which makes for a better environment than the bulletproof glass-enclosed owners on 1st Avenue nearby. The helpful staff guided us to Campari and we were in and out in a flash. read more

This place has an excellent selection of whiskey and spirits. The staff has always been very pleasant and are quick with a good recommendation. The hours are good and it's a pleasant place to spend a few minutes looking at bottles. read more

What the hell has happened here? A few missteps are understandable but bad to worse seems to be the new normal at East River as staffing and selection continue to slide downhill. A number of our favorites are lately out of stock (e.g. Cocchi Americano, Plymouth gin) and phone staff deny ever having stocked them. Moreover, new staff cannot pronounce the names of basic amari and liqueurs (e.g. St Germain, Suze), seem not to understand Manhattan zip code structure and pressure the customer into tipping the delivery person before the delivery has even happened--so much. All in all a strangely frustrating experience. read more

My favorite wine from there is the Nineteen Crimes line. The customer service there is bar none some of the friendliest I have received - every question I had was answered quickly and accurately, and I was pointed to wines I never knew I would fall in love with. Without this liquor store, I don't think I would have expanded my wine knowledge to what I have. read more

Horrible customer service from the young heavy set fellow upfront with glasses (he refused to give me his name). We always visit this neighborhood store and usually buy a specific spirit. On our last visit we were treated terribly because of a price difference. The bottle scanned at a different price than was shown on the rack and the price we always pay. I noticed it on my receipt and mentioned it to the clerk. He assured me the price on the receipt was correct. I returned to the rack that showed the lower price and bought the label to the counter as instructed by the floor clerk to ask for a price adjustment. The cashier clerk blatantly refused to honor the price adjustment and proceeded to ignore me. I asked if he needed my credit card back and he said "for what??". I explained to him that as a business he must honor the price that is advertised. Again he refused and said "that's not how it works, we forgot to change the price label shown, we will not give you a refund for the difference". My jaw was on the floor. How can a business we patronize treat us like this? At this point it wasn't about the $5 but more about treating your customers respectfully and appreciating them. A sensible gentleman that also works there came over and told the young fellow to do the right thing and give us the refund. I handed him my card and he grudgingly processed the refund and slammed my card and the receipt on the counter. I asked him for his name and he refused to give it to me- another clerk chimed in and said his name is William (I doubt that's accurate). We will never shop at this store again. One customer down and if this behavior continues I'm sure they will lose more customers in the future. read more

East River Wines has an inviting atmosphere. It reminds me of a small town neighborhood wine/liquor store. They are helpful, friendly and warm. And most of all they make you feel comfortable while you are in the store, and do not pressure you to purchase something or make you feel like you need to exit the store quickly: You feel as if you are "right at home." This nice spot (on a great corner) makes one feel like they are part of a neighborhood that has friendly neighbors. read more

Knowledgable staff and very helpful. Great selection of wines and they give great recommendations. Usually 30% off 12 bottle promo that's always running too! read more

I've been buying wine and bourbon here for 4 years now. The seasonal 30% off specials are very competitively priced. The quality of the offerings has steadily increased over time. I used to buy a lot of wine mail-order but these guys are so good now that I really don't have to. I'm really glad these guys are in the neighborhood. Keep up the good work! read more