damnlines.comdamnlines.comA 28-seat Doyers Street wine bar from Annie Shi, the Michelin Guide Northeast Cities 2025 Sommelier Award winner, pairing a rotating natural-wine list with Chinese-inspired small plates.
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Lei's Resy calendar releases two weeks out: 'Reservations drop two weeks in advance at 9 a.m.,' per Resy's own blog, which also confirms walk-ins are welcome. The Infatuation's review lands on the same two-week, 9 a.m. release window and adds that 'a lot of the seats are saved for walk-ins,' noting tables for four are the easiest party size to land.
Demand is high because the room is genuinely tiny — 28 seats inside a 700-square-foot space on Chinatown's historic Doyers Street, per Resy's blog — and because owner Annie Shi won the Michelin Guide Northeast Cities 2025 Sommelier Award, a distinction the Michelin Guide's own coverage of its 2025 Northeast Cities ceremony ties directly to Lei. Resy also placed the bar on its 2025 Best of the Hit List, per the same blog post, adding to the crush on prime-time Resy slots.
Because so much of the room is deliberately held back for walk-ins rather than released on Resy, per The Infatuation, showing up without a reservation — especially earlier in the week — remains a realistic way in even when the two-week booking window looks tapped out.
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines.
Reservations: Resy releases new reservations two weeks in advance at 9 a.m.; a significant share of seats are held back for walk-ins, per Resy's blog and The Infatuation.
Walk-ins: Yes — a large share of the 28-seat room is held for walk-ins even on nights with sold-out Resy slots, per The Infatuation.
Open Wednesday–Sunday, 5–10:30 p.m., per Resy's blog.
Lei doesn't publish a walk-in wait time, but The Infatuation reports a large share of the 28-seat room is intentionally held for walk-ins even though the bar also takes reservations, so waits vary by night. Resy's blog notes the room is small and books up for Friday and Saturday dinners once its two-week reservation window opens, which pushes walk-in waits higher on weekends.
Yes. Lei releases reservations on Resy two weeks in advance at 9 a.m., per Resy's own blog, and The Infatuation confirms the same 9 a.m., two-week release, noting four-tops are the easiest size to book.
Yes — The Infatuation reports 'a lot of the seats are saved for walk-ins' despite Lei's Resy listing, and Resy's blog likewise describes walk-ins as welcome at the Doyers Street bar.
Lei is the solo wine-bar debut of Annie Shi, co-owner of King and Jupiter, who won the Michelin Guide Northeast Cities 2025 Sommelier Award, per the Michelin Guide's own coverage of the 2025 ceremony.
Lei is at 15 Doyers St in Manhattan's Chinatown, per The Infatuation's review, inside a 700-square-foot, 28-seat room, per Resy's blog.
Sources: Resy — "Annie Shi Shows Us What a Chinese American Wine Bar Can Be" · The Infatuation — Lei review · MICHELIN Guide — Reveals 2025 Northeast Cities Selection · MICHELIN Guide — "Annie Shi Wants You to Go for the Whole Bottle at Her Autobiographical Wine Bar"