Decatur

Kindred

Decatur · Decatur · New American/Southern

The Wild Card

Kindred is punching above its weight class with a white and sparkling program that most full-service wine bars would envy, all at prices that won't make you wince when the check arrives. The red selection is the weak link, but if you lean white, rosé, or bubbly — and many of us should — this list is worth your attention. Send your friends here and tell them to start with the Vermentino.

La Tavola Trattoria

Virginia-Highland · Decatur · Italian

The Lazy List

La Tavola deserves a real wine list — the food and the room both demand one. Right now, five bottles with no reds and no whites is a disservice to a kitchen that's clearly cooking at a higher level than the wine program suggests. Order the Ca' Del Bosco if you're drinking wine, and hope they overhaul this list before your next visit.

Fork & Vine Social

Decatur · Decatur · New American

The Wild Card

Fork & Vine earns its Wild Card badge by doing something most casual New American spots don't bother with: stocking wines that require a little explanation and trusting their guests to be curious. Markup is fair, the by-the-glass selection is genuinely generous, and the list skews European in ways that reward adventurous drinkers. If you're eating in Decatur and want a glass of something you haven't had before, this is where to go.

Umi

· Decatur · Japanese

The Wild Card

Umi is built around Champagne, and if that's your thing, there are genuinely exciting bottles here — from the Billecart-Salmon Rosé to the Salon Cuvée S for when someone at the table is feeling reckless. The markups run steep across the board, and outside of sparkling, the list doesn't have much to say. But if you're celebrating something and want bubbles with your omakase, this is exactly the right room.

St. Regis Atlanta Astor Court

Buckhead · Decatur · Hotel dining

The Reliable

Astor Court is a genuinely lovely room for a special-occasion brunch or afternoon tea, and the food menu — Kusshi oysters, truffle-laced celery root soup, that Challah French toast — gives you plenty to work with. But without a transparent wine list, verifiable pricing, or a confirmed wine specialist on the floor, we can't in good conscience send you here specifically for the wine. Order something sparkling, enjoy the room, and let the food do the heavy lifting.

Sotto Sotto

Decatur · Decatur · Italian

The Wild Card

Sotto Sotto is a genuinely Italian wine list in a city that usually settles for Italian-American approximations — the Timorasso, the Lambrusco di Sorbara, the Franciacorta all signal real intent. The glass program is accessible, markups are reasonable, and the bubbles section alone justifies a visit. If you want depth across all of Italy, you'll hit the edges fast at 68 labels, but what's here is well-chosen. Send a friend who likes to drink something they've never heard of.

Wahoo! Grill

Decatur · Decatur · Seafood and New American

The Reliable

Wahoo! Grill isn't going to make a wine obsessive rearrange their calendar — but if you're in Decatur on a Wednesday, the half-price bottle deal on wines under $45 makes this one of the better casual wine nights in the neighborhood. Show up for the Sesame-crusted Ahi Tuna, let someone at the table pick a bottle, and don't overthink it.

Café Alsace

Decatur · Decatur · French and Alsatian

The Wild Card

Café Alsace earns the Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely unusual in metro Atlanta — serving Alsatian food with a wine list to match, in a neighborhood bistro that doesn't take itself too seriously. We'd love to report more specifics on bottles and pricing, but the concept is sound and the food-wine alignment is real. If you're sitting down to a plate of choucroute garnie, you're probably drinking the right thing — and that's more than most restaurants in this city can say.

BoccaLupo

Decatur · Decatur · Italian

The Wild Card

BoccaLupo is the kind of Italian wine list that makes you realize how lazy most Italian restaurant wine lists are. Fair pricing, genuine range, and a by-the-glass program that rewards exploration over habit — this is a list worth your attention. If you're the kind of person who orders Verdicchio or Furmint on a Tuesday night in Decatur, this place already knows you're coming.

Miller Union

· Decatur · New American

The Wild Card

Miller Union is doing something unusual: a wine program with no fat on it, just four deliberate producers matched to a meal's arc. We don't have pricing data to grade the value, and the fixed structure won't satisfy anyone looking to explore freely — but the bones of this list are genuinely good. If you trust the kitchen, trust the wine program too.

The Select

· Decatur · French and New American

The Reliable

The Select is doing honest, competent work on its wine list — fair markups, a generous by-the-glass program, and enough European depth to keep things interesting. It's not going to make a wine obsessive rearrange their calendar, but if you're eating French-leaning food in Decatur and want a glass that actually makes sense with your plate, this place will not let you down.

Scout

Oakhurst · Decatur · New American

The Wild Card

Scout is punching above its weight class for a neighborhood spot in Oakhurst — a white-wine-forward list built with actual curiosity, fair pricing, and enough depth to reward guests who look past the obvious pours. If you care even a little about what's in your glass, this is worth a detour.

No. 246

Decatur · Decatur · Italian

The Wild Card

No. 246 is pulling off something quietly impressive: a short, all-by-the-glass wine list that still manages to surface obscure Italian grapes and quality producers without charging for the privilege. The $14–$21 glass range is honest, the Italian focus is genuine, and the Cincinnato Nero Buono alone earns a visit. If you're in Decatur and want to drink well without doing homework, this is a reliable place to let the list do the thinking.

The Alden

· Decatur · Tasting-menu New American

The Wild Card

The Alden is operating on a philosophy that a short, intentional wine list beats a long, lazy one — and they're mostly right. The selection shows genuine taste and geographic range across just five labels. We'd love to see whites added and a clear by-the-glass structure, but if you're in for the tasting menu and trust the kitchen, you can trust these bottles too.

Parker's on Ponce

Decatur · Decatur · Steakhouse and Seafood

The Reliable

Parker's on Ponce is the wine list equivalent of a reliable shortstop — not flashy, not going to win any awards, but it won't cost you the game either. Pricing is fair for the format, the by-the-glass count is generous, and if you know where to look (Benton-Lane, the Briday Crémant), there are real wins to be had. Come for the steak, order smarter than the table next to you.

Leon's Full Service

Decatur · Decatur · New American

The Wild Card

Leon's Full Service is a Wild Card in the best way: a tight, globe-trotting wine list built with genuine curiosity, priced fairly, and fully available by the glass — all inside a spot that doesn't make wine its whole personality. We'd send a friend here specifically to drink the Cahors or the Vinho Verde and feel smug about it.

The Deer and The Dove

Decatur · Decatur · New American

The Wild Card

The Deer and The Dove is running one of the most genuinely interesting wine lists in the Decatur–Atlanta area. The markup is fair, the by-the-glass selection is unusually strong at 22 options, and the producers skew toward the kind of stuff you have to seek out. We do not have enough on staff knowledge or glassware specifics to call this a Rager, but the Wild Card badge fits perfectly — this is the kind of list that surprises you, and that is worth showing up for.

Kimball House

Decatur · Decatur · Seafood and New American

The Wild Card

Kimball House is doing something genuinely interesting for a neighborhood seafood spot in Decatur — the regional focus alone (Jurançon, Jerez, Loire) tells you there's a thoughtful hand behind this list. We'd send a wine-curious friend here without hesitation, especially if they're ordering oysters and want something more interesting than Chablis to wash them down. Just ask your server what's open — the staff reportedly knows the list well enough to actually help.

Marcel

· Decatur · French Steakhouse

The Wild Card

Marcel's wine list punches well above its weight for a steakhouse — the Urbina Rioja 2000 at $19/glass alone is worth the trip, and the broader list shows real taste and range across 16 well-chosen labels. We don't have enough intel on the food menu or service to make a full dinner call, but if you're eating here, this is a wine list worth paying attention to.

Kevin Rathbun Steak

· Decatur · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Kevin Rathbun Steak has built a by-the-glass program that takes wine seriously enough to include Chablis, Oregon Pinot, and Realm Cellars on the same list — that's not nothing. Markups trend steep at the top end, and without verified dish information we can't tell you what to order with what. But if you're eating here and skipping the wine list entirely, you're leaving the best part of the menu alone.

Dorothy's Cocktail & Oyster Bar

Decatur · Decatur · Seafood / Oyster Bar

The Wild Card

Dorothy's is the Wild Card in the best possible sense — a Decatur oyster bar with a wine list that would embarrass half the dedicated wine bars in Atlanta. The by-the-glass program is deep, the pricing is honest, and the selection skews toward exactly the kind of lean, acidic, mineral-driven wines that belong next to oysters. Send your wine-curious friends here without hesitation.

Fawn Wine & Amaro Bar

Decatur · Decatur · Wine bar / European small plates

The Wild Card

Fawn is the Wild Card badge in its purest form — a wine bar that made genuine curatorial decisions and stuck with them, from the Assyrtiko to the pet nat rosato to the Tokaji. Bottle prices are fair across the board, the by-the-glass program is unusually deep, and the list rewards anyone willing to order something they can't pronounce. If you're in Decatur and you actually care about what's in your glass, this is where you go.

Café Lily

Decatur · Decatur · Italian, Mediterranean

The Reliable

Café Lily is your dependable Decatur neighborhood restaurant that happens to take its wine seriously enough to earn a Wine Spectator nod — nothing flashy, but never a disappointment. Go on a Tuesday, order the lamb, and let the half-price wine night do the rest.