Lincoln

Issara Modern Asian

South Lincoln · Lincoln · Modern Asian (Thai-focused with pan-Asian influences)

The Wild Card

Issara has no business having a wine list this considered — and we mean that as the highest compliment. If you care about drinking well with your food, this is the most interesting wine list in Lincoln and it's not particularly close.

The Green Gateau – The Eatery at The Creamery Building

Haymarket · Lincoln · French-influenced contemporary American

The Lazy List

The Green Gateau is a lovely room with a kitchen worth visiting, but the wine list is a 200-bottle monument to playing it safe and charging extra for the privilege. Send your friend here for the food; tell them to watch their wallet on the wine.

The Watering Hole

Downtown · Lincoln · Wings / Sports Bar

The Lazy List

The Watering Hole is a great spot for wings and a cold beer — the wine list is an afterthought and the pricing makes sure you know it. If you're here for a game and need wine, grab the Riesling or the Prosecco and call it a night.

Lazlo's Brewery & Grill – South Lincoln

South Lincoln · Lincoln · American grill and brewpub

The Reliable

Lazlo's South Lincoln is a reliable neighborhood brewpub that happens to stock a respectable short wine list — don't expect discovery, but you won't feel stranded if you're skipping the beer. Send a friend here for dinner knowing the wine won't embarrass anyone.

The Green Gateau

Downtown / Near South · Lincoln · French-influenced contemporary American

The Wild Card

The Green Gateau is doing something genuinely uncommon: running a deep, fairly priced, award-recognized wine program in a mid-sized Midwest city without making a big show of it. Yes, send your friends here — just tell them to show up before 6 p.m.

DISH Restaurant

Downtown · Lincoln · Contemporary American, farm-to-table

The Wild Card

DISH is doing something genuinely impressive for a mid-sized Midwestern city — a thoughtful, sommelier-curated list with real depth and serious producers. The markups keep it from being a true Rager, but as a Wild Card, it earns every bit of that badge: you simply don't expect this wine list in Lincoln, Nebraska, and that surprise is worth the trip downtown.

Carmela's Bistro & Wine Bar

Southeast Lincoln · Lincoln · New American with Italian influences

The Reliable

Carmela's is the best wine list in Southeast Lincoln, which is a low bar, but the Barolos, the Brunello, and the Chateauneuf-du-Pape prove there's real intent here. Markups on the prestige bottles are hard to swallow, but for a neighborhood bistro date night, this list delivers more than it had to.

Piedmont Bistro by Venue

Piedmont · Lincoln · Modern American, Midwestern Comfort Food

The Reliable

Piedmont Bistro isn't a destination for wine lovers, but it's a perfectly decent neighborhood spot where Wednesday turns a so-so list into a legitimately good deal. Come for the food, time your visit right, and don't overthink it.

The Oven Cellar

Downtown · Lincoln · Northern Indian with wine-focused fine dining

The Wild Card

The Oven Cellar is the kind of wine program that makes you feel slightly embarrassed about every assumption you walked in with — a 2,200-bottle cellar built with genuine knowledge and curiosity, attached to an Indian restaurant in Lincoln, Nebraska. Yes, you should go out of your way for this.

Venue Restaurant & Lounge

Lincoln · Lincoln · American Steakhouse

The Reliable

Venue is doing something genuinely impressive for Nebraska: a real wine program with depth, proper storage, and a Best of Award of Excellence to back it up. The list plays it safe and the markups sting, but if you want a serious California Cab with a serious steak in Lincoln, this is your place.

Casa Bovina

Lincoln · Lincoln · Northern Italian

The Rager

Casa Bovina is the best Italian wine list in Nebraska and would hold its own in any major city — the Piedmont depth alone justifies the drive. If you're anywhere near Lincoln and serious about Barolo, this is not optional.

The Oven

Lincoln · Lincoln · Asian, Indian

The Wild Card

The Oven is the most surprising wine list in Nebraska and would be a legitimate destination in any city — a kitchen cooking bold, spice-driven food with a sommelier-driven cellar to back it up. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Caymus.

High Steaks Steakhouse

Lincoln · Lincoln · American

The Wild Card

High Steaks earns its Wine Spectator badge — the California Cab depth is real and the Wednesday half-price night is a genuine reason to plan around it. Just don't come expecting surprises; this list is built to please, not to challenge.