By the Editors of Wine Enthusiast with Food Editor Nils Bernstein
What feels new and fresh in restaurants and on wine lists is always in flux. Food combinations that once felt radical are now in the American culinary canon, and once-obscure, tiny-production wines are now seemingly in every new wine bar from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine. As more menus and wine programs become dictated by consultants and investors, it’s harder than ever to distinguish between imagination and imitation. But those innovators remain crucial sites of discovery, passion, education and personal connection.
This year’s list of Wine Enthusiast’s best wine restaurants in America includes new hotspots with chef-driven menus and personalized wine lists, as well as enduring destination restaurants that combine wine depth and breadth in their wine programs with rejuvenated energy in their kitchens and cellars.
Explore by Region
Midwest
Northeast + Mid-Atlantic
Southeast
West + Pacific Northwest
MIDWEST
ALMA
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alma comprises a café, retail shop and boutique hotel as well as a dinner-only tasting menu dining room that ranks among the region’s best. Executive Chef Maggie Whelan’s 10-plus courses are anchored by local organic produce, sustainable fish and meats free of antibiotics or added growth hormones. Similarly, wine director James Hirdler sources from environmentally minded producers. The extensive glass list includes 16 sweet and fortified wines.
Brasero
Chicago, Illinois
Chef-Owner John Manion and Wine Director Alex Cuper already made Chicago’s El Che Steakhouse & Bar a national destination for Argentinian-style beef and the country’s biggest South American wine list. Brasero reinforces Manion’s love for wood-fried food with a wine list of 100 South American wines under $100. Try smoky grilled chicken with molho de alho (Brazilian garlic sauce), confit chiles and chicken salt with Ver Sacrum’s 2019 “Gloria,” a wild-fermented, single-plot Grenache from Argentina’s Uco Valley.
Coeur
Ferndale, Michigan
At this cozy Detroit-area newcomer, Chef Jordan Smith’s New American cuisine pulls from global influences, like octopus with hazelnut salsa macha, cod in tom kha broth, and asparagus with dill béarnaise and smoked trout roe. The bottle list, curated by Sommelier Sean Crenny, is heavy on sparklers, France, and the U.S. West Coast, while the 25 glass options include several by Coravin in 3- or 5-oz. pours. Warm and knowledgeable service rounds out the package.
Fairchild
Madison, Wisconsin
The three co-owners of Fairchild met at Madison’s iconic restaurant L’Etoile (a frequent Wine Enthusiast award recipient). Fairchild shares that restaurant’s focus on local ingredients and thoughtful wine service, but with frequently changing menus and a focus on hospitality that doesn’t rely on formality. Wines range from the value-priced 2019 Jérôme Chezeaux Bourgogne Aligoté to Gaja’s remarkably complex 2016 “Sori San Lorenzo” Barbaresco, just starting to reach its apex.
Galit
Chicago, Illinois
Executive Chef and Co-Owner Zach Engel’s commitment to wine at Galit starts with the name, taken from a revelatory bottle he had from Israel’s Margalit Winery. The wine list has one of the country’s largest Middle Eastern selections, with wines mostly from Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, many with short, informative blurbs (“Iranian winemaking in exile”; “from the only plot of Daw al Amar in the world”). The food reaches from Palestine to Armenia, as in a kibbeh nayeh (tartare) of tuna with artichoke, rosebud jam and puffed buckwheat.
Little Fox
St. Louis, Missouri
At this intimate and friendly neighborhood spot, classic American dishes come with clever twists: steak tartare with pickled fennel, grilled sea scallops with sorrel purée, fried green tomatoes with basil yogurt and pickled nectarines. Wine Director Beckie Lambson takes the intimidation out of her eclectic natural wine list with engaging, conversational service and an always-changing glass list that allows regulars to taste their way through the cellar.
Spencer
Ann Arbor, Michigan
A wine shop and wine bar (with small plates) by day, Spencer turns into a tasting-menu restaurant by night, always with a vegetarian option. There are a few hundred wines, from hot young producers to back-vintage picks, to pair with vegetable-forward dishes like grilled cabbage and pickled turnip with brown butter and egg, and charred alliums with beets, fresh ricotta and farro togarashi. Plan on spending the whole day.
Northeast + Mid-Atlantic
Apéro
Washington, D.C.
Located in a colonial-era rowhouse, Apéro is an all-day bistro that turns into an elegant restaurant at night, serving classic French dishes alongside an extensive, mostly French wine list with over 100 Champagnes. “Caviar Hour” during the week features well-priced caviar with by-the-glass pours such as rich Chateau de Trinquevedel Tavel rosé for $9. Upstairs is a second concept, La Bohème, serving set menus of seasonal American cuisine and the same wine program.
Atomix
New York, New York
Now in its seventh year, Atomix—one of the world’s most acclaimed restaurants—is hardly resting on its laurels. It’s still the zenith of modern Korean fine dining and hospitality, with surprising ingredient combinations like raw crab with spicy dried radish and lamb saddle with fiddleheads and perilla seeds. The wine list keeps building depth while embracing small forward-thinking winemakers. Tip: Order the non-alcoholic pairing—an enlightening tasting menu in its own right—with bottles of wine to accompany if you are imbibing.
Aurelia
Newport, Rhode Island
Come early to enjoy drinks on the famous lawn at Castle Hill Inn, overlooking Narragansett Bay. There’s still a view once inside Aurelia, the inn’s signature restaurant, but you might be more mesmerized by the food and wine. Choose from over 800 selections on the list, over 30 glass pours, or choose the regular or “prestige” pairings with the six-course tasting menu of almost entirely local ingredients.
Claud/Penny
New York, New York
Claud is a wine-driven restaurant (or chef-driven wine bar?) with an extensive list of in-demand, mostly French producers. Penny, located upstairs, is a walk-in seafood counter with hundreds of carefully curated whites (many under $100) and iconic reds. Individually, either is worth a trip; together, they make one of the city’s most exciting wine and food destinations in ages (especially for deep-pocketed Francophiles with a penchant for seafood).
COQODAQ
New York, New York
A great advance in the world of wine-and-food pairing is the recognition of Champagne as a universal pairing partner and the normalization of drinking it throughout a meal. As such, there’s no shortage of restaurants serving top-quality sparkling wine with comfort food, but Coqodaq’s concept could not be simpler or smarter: The best fried chicken with the largest Champagne list in the world. Start with oysters or caviar if you must, but order The Bucket List, a fried-chicken feast with Korean sides and sauces.
Eli’s Table
New York, New York
Eli’s Table, part of the Zabar’s food empire, has reopened after a long pandemic closure with renewed energy and a list of over 20,000 wines pulled from Owner Eli Zabar’s vast collection. With his passion for aged wine, it’s a must-visit for back-vintage seekers, especially in Champagne, Burgundy or Piedmont. The food is top-notch New American, thanks to Zabar’s long-standing relationships with local farmers and producers.
Hook + Line
Boston, Massachusetts
Hopefully Hook and Line will encourage more places to pair classic New England seafood-shack fare—stuffies, fried Ipswich clams, lobster rolls— with an extensive list of serious but seafood-friendly wines at all price points, like Luigi Maffini’s zippy “Kratos” Fiano from coastal Campania. Heartier dishes like whole wood-grilled branzino and squid ink campanelle with lobster and ‘nduja go with delicate reds like a 2019 Volnay from Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur.
Krasi
Boston, Massachusetts
Krasi (κρασί) is the name for wine in modern Greek, and it’s at the center of this convivial Back Bay spot. The shareable menu, heavy on vegetables and seafood, is joined by an all-Greek wine list with almost 200 wines (plus around 30 by the glass), listed by weight to show the extreme stylistic variety among Greek wines. Don’t miss the long list of Greek spirits as well.
Guests just can’t get enough of orange wine. Fortunately, Greece makes glorious orange wines so we’re happy to oblige them. And in general, I’m loving all the curiosity diners are bringing to the table. They want to explore, learn and be exposed to new flavors and experiences more than ever.
EVAN TURNER, KRASI, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
La Cuchara
Baltimore, Maryland
Since opening in 2015, La Cuchara has evolved into one of the country’s best representatives of Basque and Basque-inspired cuisine, and a broad wine list that reflects the Basque Country’s dual identities of Northern Spain and Southern France. Rather than a static menu of classic dishes, the food changes with the seasons, as in tirabeques (snap peas) with Idiazábal cheese, nasturtiums and fennel.
Leeward
Portland, Maine
Local vegetables and housemade pastas are the stars at this Italian-inspired restaurant, like in butter-poached radishes with radish-top pesto, and shell-shaped conchiglie with cured pork belly and spigariello (leaf broccoli). The wine list isn’t encyclopedic but carefully chosen, with go-tos like Chard, Cab and Pinot downplayed in favor of such varieties as Braucol (aka Fer), Erbaluce, Négrette, and Iranian Samarghandi. Priority is also given to food-friendly sparklers and skin-contact whites and rosés.
Mavericks
Montauk, New York
Managing Partner Vanessa Price is a sommelier, author (of Big Macs and Burgundy) and wine consultant, so wine was always a focus of this modern take on the coastal surf-and-turf restaurant. The list’s focus on California reds and vintage Bordeaux goes perfectly with top-quality wood-grilled steaks, but there are plenty of skin-contact wines to pair with bone-in tuna ribeye with harissa and bubbles to pair with fried chicken and caviar with Alabama white sauce.
MŌLÌ
Greenwich, Connecticut
Mōlì’s modern Chinese and Chinese-American food puts a lighter touch on classic dishes, like honey walnut shrimp with a feather-light tempura coating and tart yuzu aioli. The wine list is rare for a Chinese restaurant, with more than 200 wine selections favoring benchmark French, Italian and Californian reds. They pair well with richer plates like black pepper filet mignon, miso cod claypot and a textbook Peking duck.
St. Anselm
Washington, D.C.
The simplicity of St. Anselm’s grilled-meat menu can feel revelatory, like a bone-in skate wing, pork porterhouse with house pickles and giant tomahawk ribeye steaks. The encyclopedic producer-focused list has many rare and allocated bottles, but also more affordable options from up-and-comers, and maybe the country’s largest Madeira list. The 30 BTG pours range from Field Recordings’ skin-contact Chenin Blanc on tap to 2006 Corison Cab poured from Coravin.
SOUTHEAST
Aria
Atlanta, Georgia
Chef-Owner Gerry Klaskala’s eight-course tasting menu is a good way to experience his Southern and French-influenced food (think duck confit with dirty rice, scallops with maque choux or crab cakes with nước chấm and pecans), but the lounge is a more casual way to snack while exploring one of Atlanta’s broadest selections of European wine. About two dozen glass pours include the “one and done,” a rare gem from the cellar offered until the bottle runs dry.
Bad Idea
Nashville, Tennessee
Chef Colby Rasavong combines his Laotian heritage with seasonal produce and hefty shareable proteins like rack of lamb, whole pork shoulder and king crab legs on an ever-changing menu that resembles nothing else in the country. Owner and Wine Director Alex Burch offers more than 30 glasses in 2.5- or 5-ounce pours, good for exploring varied styles with dishes like whole lemongrass-coriander shrimp with sour cabbage, nettle-turmeric crêpes and two dipping sauces.
I’d like to see people drinking even more Champagne and sparkling wine with their meal. It’s so versatile and delicious. We even gift fries by default whenever a bottle of Champagne is ordered.
ALEX BURCH, BAD IDEA, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Counter
Charlotte, North Carolina
The themed tasting menus from Chef-Owner Sam Hart and Chef de Cuisine YongWon Hwang change every three months, as do the paired wines, though the wine program always highlights female, LGBTQ+ and minority winemakers. The experience folds in art, music and storytelling for an all-night adventure, but also look for frequent one-off collaborations and other events. Hart is also an advocate for fair labor practices, mentorship and supporting community initiatives for at-risk youth.
Macchialina
Miami Beach, Florida
Macchialina is a perennial favorite for Executive Chef Michael Pirolo’s handmade pastas in both seasonal and classic Italian preparations, but it’s also a destination for wine insiders passionate about Italy. Beverage Director Jacqueline Pirolo focuses on less-known indigenous Italian grape varieties and the farmers and winemakers working to keep them alive and visible. Almost every still wine is available as a half-bottle for half the price.
MACHETE
Greensboro, North Carolina
The warm collegial vibe of Machete is reflected in its menu of shareable small plates and 40 wines by the glass in 3- or 6-ounce pours, creating an atmosphere of discovery and interaction. Try a plummy, spicy Romanian Fetească Neagră with lamb belly and leeks, or a fresh but full-bodied Sardinian Nuragus with asparagus and fermented scallions.
MaMou
New Orleans, Louisiana
MaMou’s modern take on Louisiana is and French cuisine feels both progressive and comforting, in dishes like braised celery hearts with smoked beef tongue and quail rice with crab fat and chow-chow. Co-Owner and Sommelier Molly Wismeier highlights mostly French and other Old-World wines, with a goal of offering benchmark expressions at approachable prices, with some hard-to-find celebratory options as well.
I’m so tired of the pretentious, intimidating air about wine…Wine is yeasted grape juice made by farmers and has been an everyday drink on tables for thousands of years. No one should feel like they’re beneath enjoying wine. It also doesn’t have to be expensive. We currently have around 15 half-glass pours for under $6, and they’re all fantastic expressions from a variety of regions around the world.
TAL BLEVINS, MACHETE, GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
Rocca
Tampa, Florida
Rocca is a destination for progressive Italian cuisine and one of Florida’s broadest Italian wine lists. Chef-Owner Bryce Bonsack pulls equally from classic regional preparations, like Abruzzese arrosticini (meat skewers) glazed with Marsala, and seasonally inspired dishes like spring artichokes with favas, ramps, black garlic and goat cheese fonduta. The tableside pulled mozzarella is a must-order.
The Hope Farm
Fairhope, Alabama
Small-town coastal Alabama isn’t where you’d expect to find a wine list with more than 400 ever-changing natural, sustainable, organic and biodynamic producers from across the globe and spanning seven decades. Yet The Hope Farm, a combination farm, restaurant, wine cellar and event space, was founded on sustainable farming, community and collaboration. Naturally, most of the food comes from the farm itself.
Vern’s
Charleston, South Carolina
The ever-changing menu at Vern’s focuses on ingredients sourced from local organic farmers, and, accordingly, the wine list changes often as well, usually hovering at just over 100 labels, and always highlighting small producers with natural, organic and sustainable practices. Try crispy shrimp with nasturtium, cabbage and saffron with 2019 Francois Cazin Cour-Cheverny, a rich but crisp Romorantin from the Loire.
Yolan
Nashville, Tennessee
Partners Cathy Mantuano (wine director) and Tony Mantuano (chef) helped change the landscape of Italian fine dining during their years at Chicago’s Spiaggia. They continue their legacy at the elegant Yolan, offering impeccable versions of Italian staples like cotoletta alla milanese and squid-ink spaghetti alla chitarra. Wines are heavy on reds from Piedmont and Tuscany, though the list spans all of Italy with some thoughtful French and U.S. selections as well.
WEST + PACIFIC NORTHWEST
1010 Wine
Inglewood, California
Sisters Leslie and LeAnn Jones opened 1010 Wine to bring their love of great wine and food to their wine-deprived Inglewood neighborhood, and it’s become a destination. They offer what’s most likely the largest list of Black-owned wines in the country and a menu influenced by West Africa and the American South. Try the Burgundian-style wines of Oregon’s Maison Noir Wines with a grilled pork chop with collards and apricot-whiskey jus or king oyster mushroom and eggplant yassa (a Senegalese stew) with mustardy onions and green olives.
Amrina
Houston, Texas
Chef Jassi Bindra combines modern Indian flavors with an upscale steakhouse environment, plus a separate bar that serves a street food tasting menu with paired wines. There are several vegetarian options, like paneer-prune malai kofta with cashew and birista (fried onions), or tuck into a masalarubbed A5 Miyazaki Wagyu with dal makhani, tandoori mac & cheese and a platter of Indian condiments. A list of over 800 labels—from classic to upstart producers—offers countless pairing revelations with these powerful flavors.
Anajak Thai
Sherman Oaks, California
Chef-Owner Justin Pichetrungsi has turned his family’s long-standing restaurant into one of the country’s most acclaimed Thai restaurants, as well as a favorite hangout for L.A.’s wine cognoscenti. Wine Director Ian Krupp’s list of several hundred wines is especially strong in Burgundy and German Riesling. Don’t miss the 14-course omakase tasting menu offered the last weekend of every month.
Arden
Portland, Oregon
Executive Chef Erik Van Kley’s menus are odes to Pacific Northwest seasonality, like a spring dish of halibut with maitake mushrooms, English peas and rhubarb. The wine list spans the globe, with many back vintages and values at the higher end. It’s particularly strong in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from both Oregon and Burgundy, making for eye-opening comparative tastings.
Barking Frog
Woodinville, Washington
A longtime fine-dining destination in the Washington winemaking town of Woodinville, Barking Frog has made several changes to its food and wine staff in the last few years that have helped it rise again to one of the region’s most coveted tables. While focused on Washington and Oregon wines, the wine list also includes benchmark wines from around the world to give context to the Rhôneand Bordeaux-style blends being made in the restaurant’s backyard.
Bouchon
Santa Barbara, California
Having just celebrated its 25th anniversary, Bouchon is still the best spot to explore the wines of Santa Barbara County. About 150 bottles and 20 glass pours show the breadth and quality of this small but increasingly important region. For good measure, there’s also a list of “The Outsiders” from mostly France and elsewhere in California. Chef Vicken Tavitian continues the wine country theme, sourcing locally and cooking with local wines in mind.
When a guest is both aware of and honest about their preferences, it’s a gift to the sommelier and it leads to better recommendations.
TYLER ALDEN, BARKING FROG, WOODINVILLE, WASHINGTON
Callie
San Diego, California
Just as Chef-Owner Travis Swikard’s food combines a pan-Mediterranean approach (honed during his time at Daniel Boulud’s NYC stalwart Boulud Sud) with the bounty of Southern California, sommelier Tracy Latimer pulls from innovative coastal Mediterranean and Southern Californian producers. The five-course “Mediterranean Feast” with paired wines is a great value and a lot of fun.
Canlis
Seattle, Washington
This Seattle icon of luxury dining—dating to 1950—has stayed relevant by encouraging its chefs and wine staff to pursue a progressive approach even as they shepherd the restaurant’s considerable legacy. The wine book is over 100 pages, with unparalleled depth and breadth, but it also features a surprisingly large number of interesting small-production wines under $75. A small à la carte menu is available in the lounge area, with a live pianist and, of course, the same wine list to peruse.
Caruso’s
Montecito, California
Caruso’s is a favorite special-occasion spot for everything from century-old Petrus to strictly allocated wines like Coche-Dury and verticals of California icons like Chateau Montelena and Dunn Howell Mountain dating back decades. A new wine cellar has allowed for expansion to almost 3,000 selections. Yet the most festive way to experience Caruso’s is the 10- or 12-course tasting menu of forward-thinking Italian-Californian cuisine with the traditional or “elite” wine pairing; both are revelatory.
Cyrus
Geyserville, California
Dining at Cyrus combines a cutting-edge tasting menu with immersive theater, with guests drinking and eating their way through several spaces. Start in the Bubbles Lounge and surrounding garden, move to the interactive open kitchen, and then sit in the dining room for a procession of courses with paired wines (your last stop may be the Chocolate Room). The wine list is heavy on California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir plus their Burgundian counterparts, but with lots of gems from Italy and the Rhône.
Davenport
Portland, Oregon
If only there were more neighborhood restaurants like Davenport, with a daily-changing local-seasonal menu from a wine-obsessed chef (Kevin Gibson) with an extensive cellar (credit to Gibson’s late partner Kurt Heilemann) built for the long haul. Gibson’s unpretentious dishes might include little gem lettuces dolloped with paprika aioli and draped with crispy ham, spinach-morel lasagna, and coq au vin jaune. Over half of the (non-Champagne) wines come in under $100
Lazy Bear
San Francisco, California
Lazy Bear reimagines the high-end tasting menu as a relaxed dinner party, albeit one with a wine cellar that could double as a museum. With a focus on rare and old vintages—especially California and Burgundy—it’s the place to find a milestone birthday or other special-occasion bottle, often at prices that rival those of auction houses. Another celebratory option is the reserve pairing, which is a procession of some of the world’s greatest wines.
Marigold
Lyons, Colorado
Marigold’s innovative American bistro cooking is rooted in tradition: celeriac parmigiana with lemon confit, pistachio and salsa verde references potato gratin; a celtuce salad with blue cheese, country ham, peanuts and strawberries could be seen as a take on the wedge salad. Almost 200 natural wine selections lean toward France and Italy, with a focus on skin-contact whites and light-bodied reds that go perfectly with the vegetable- and seafood-driven menu.
The Marx Bros. Café
Anchorage, Alaska
Since 1979, this intimate Anchorage restaurant has been a model for fine dining in Alaska, featuring the freshest Alaskan seafood, meat and game as well as imported ingredients rarely seen in other Alaskan establishments. The wine cellar is one of the largest in the state, but, presumably due to the prices paid for so many of the bottles at the time, it’s worth a trip just for the remarkable values on the deep list. Pair a special bottle with giant Kodiak scallops and their famous layered seafood mousse.
ŌKTA
McMinnville, Oregon
Located in the heart of Oregon wine country, ōkta’s own farm and fermentation lab inform Chef Matthew Lightner’s inventive tasting menus, which he calls “micro-seasonal” to reflect how the farm’s bounty changes month to month. The wine list has over 250 selections from Oregon, but includes wines from favorite producers around the world, including South Africa and the Middle East. Guests of the on-site Tributary Hotel are guaranteed one of the hard-to-get restaurant reservations.
Osteria Mozza
Los Angeles, California
It already had one of the world’s great collections of Italian wines, but the recent addition of Henry Davar as company-wide beverage director for the Mozza Restaurant Group has only grown it. Look for extensive Piedmont and Tuscany holdings but also a focus on the remarkable white wines of Northern Italy, as well as emerging producers, regions and indigenous varieties.
Please put the phone apps away at the table. If there’s a somm, make a connection, create a relationship with that person. That’s why we show up every day, for the connections and for the relationships.
BRANDON BOGHOSIAN, ROCCA, TAMPA, FLORIDA
PRESS
St. Helena, California
Since opening in 2005, Press has amassed a collection of almost 3,000 exclusively Napa Valley wines, by far the largest restaurant collection of Napa wines in the world. As various environmental pressures rapidly change the region, Press’s cellar is an essential repository, but more important is the team’s continued commitment to the land, the grapes and the producers. And the food, served in 5- or 7-course tasting menus, remains stellar.
SingleThread
Healdsburg, California
In just eight years, SingleThread has gone from being an ambitious upstart challenging wine-country icons like The French Laundry to becoming an icon in its own right. The 10-course tasting menu is sourced mostly from their own 24-acre farm, and the wine list is one of the country’s most extensive, with particular strength in white and red Burgundy, over 250 Champagnes and around 50 glass pours.
The Narrows Steakhouse
McCall, Idaho
Some of the country’s best beef (most sourced locally and cut in-house) meets some of the country’s best views at this waterfront steakhouse on Idaho’s scenic Payette Lake. The cellar houses around 500 selections, while nearly two dozen well-priced glass pours come with detailed descriptions (and an opportunity to try Idaho wine). There are many wines under $50 but also some terrific values at the higher end.
Urban Hill
Salt Lake City, Utah
Executive Chef Nick Zocco embraces American comfort food, but with influences from his New Mexico roots: calamari with pickled chiles and avocado salsa; grilled mushrooms with queso fundido and cactus-paddle relish; bison ribeye with smoked hominy and a black mole sauce. Wines span the globe and are mostly smaller producers rarely seen in the city.
