Wine List Reviews

Salt Kitchen & Bar at Wentworth by the Sea

· Portsmouth · Upscale New American

The Lazy List

Salt Kitchen & Bar has the bones of a resort wine list built to move recognizable bottles at comfortable margins — not to educate, excite, or reward the curious drinker. If you're staying at Wentworth by the Sea and want a glass of wine with dinner, you'll find something drinkable here, but we wouldn't plan a night around the list. Order the Red Newt Riesling, tip your server well, and save the wine exploration for somewhere that's actually trying.

Bar 145

· Toledo · Gastropub / American

The Lazy List

Bar 145 is a genuinely fun spot for wings, burgers, and a night out in Toledo — but its wine program doesn't give us enough to work with, and what's there doesn't suggest you should prioritize the bottle list. Stick to what they do well: order a beer or a cocktail, build your burger, and don't stress the wine.

MI Greatroom Lounge & Bar

Downtown · Bakersfield · Hotel lounge

The Lazy List

MI Greatroom is doing exactly what a Marriott convention hotel bar is designed to do — serve recognizable, inoffensive wines to people who aren't thinking about wine. There's no shame in that, but there's no reason to come here specifically for what's in the glass. Order the Maso Canali, catch up with whoever you're meeting, and don't overthink it.

Yard House

· Bakersfield · American

The Lazy List

Yard House Bakersfield is a beer hall that happens to sell wine, and the list makes no effort to hide that. Markups are aggressive, selections are safe to the point of being anonymous, and the only reason to open a bottle here is if your table voted against another round of IPAs. If you're wine-focused, redirect your budget to the Jean-Luc Colombo Rosé by the glass and call it a night.

Sizzler

· Bakersfield · Steakhouse and Seafood

The Lazy List

This is a wine program that exists only because restaurants are expected to have one. If you're at Sizzler Bakersfield, order a beer, a lemonade, or whatever they're mixing at the bar — the wine list is not the reason to be here, and it's not trying to be.

Pasta Vino

· Johns Creek · Italian

The Reliable

Pasta Vino isn't trying to be a wine destination, and that's fine — it's a neighborhood Italian with a list that actually makes sense for the room. Pricing is fair across the board, the by-the-glass program gives you real options, and the Italian selections (especially the Chianti duo and the Lugana) show some genuine thought. Send a friend here for dinner knowing they'll drink well without overpaying.

Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux Arlington

· Arlington · Cajun and Seafood

The Lazy List

Walk-On's is a perfectly decent sports bar for Cajun food and cold beer — just don't come here for the wine. Eight grocery-store labels with no pricing transparency and zero curation is a wine program in name only. Order the cocktail, order the beer, and save your wine night for somewhere that actually cares.

Foundation Social Eatery

· Johns Creek · European Small Plates

The Wild Card

Foundation Social Eatery is doing something genuinely interesting with wine in a suburban Atlanta market that rarely rewards the effort. The list is compact but purposeful — old world bones, a few left-field picks like the Gönc orange wine, and enough variety to revisit without repeating yourself. We'd send a curious wine-drinking friend here without hesitation, especially if they're tired of the same Napa Cab parade.

Marlow's Tavern Johns Creek

· Johns Creek · American tavern

The Reliable

Marlow's Tavern Johns Creek isn't trying to be a wine destination and it doesn't pretend otherwise — but the pricing is fair, nearly everything is available by the glass, and a few genuine finds (the Vinho Verde, the White Malbec) reward anyone willing to look past the usual suspects. If you're here for dinner and want a solid glass without overthinking it, you're in good hands.

The Common Good

· Aurora · New American

The Reliable

The Common Good is doing more with its wine list than its Aurora zip code might suggest — 73 labels, a thoughtful Chardonnay section spanning California to Western Australia, and 24 pours by the glass gives you real options. Markup runs a bit steep across the board, and we don't have enough intel on staff knowledge or red selections to call this anything more than a reliable neighborhood overachiever. If you care about wine and you're eating in Aurora, this is the room.

Piccolo Mondo Italian Restaurant

· Arlington · Italian

The Reliable

Piccolo Mondo punches above its Arlington zip code with a genuinely Italy-forward wine list that includes some names worth ordering. We'd love to see pricing and by-the-glass details more clearly published — and without knowing the markups, we can't fully endorse the value play — but the producer selection alone puts this ahead of most neighborhood Italian spots in the DFW suburbs. If you're going, head straight for the Tuscan reds and don't look back.

Brimstone Bar

· Bakersfield · Hotel bar and small plates

The Wild Card

Brimstone Bar isn't trying to be a wine destination — but whoever put Terre Rouge on the menu made a real choice, and that's more than most hotel bars can say. If you're in Bakersfield and you want something other than a mass-market Cab, this is the move. Just don't come expecting options.

Romano's Macaroni Grill – Lakeland

· Lakeland · Italian

The Lazy List

The Macaroni Grill Lakeland wine list is functional the way a vending machine is functional — it dispenses what you ask for without fuss or personality. The by-the-glass breadth gives casual drinkers options, but the markups on several bottles and the complete absence of anything interesting or Italian-forward make this a list you tolerate rather than enjoy. Order the Lambrusco or the Trapiche Malbec and call it a night.

Char Restaurant

· Franklin · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Char is a genuinely enjoyable steakhouse with a wine list that does the job without doing much more. The room earns its keep; the wine program is still a passenger rather than a co-pilot. If you're coming here for the Prime beef and the atmosphere, you'll eat well — just don't expect the list to take you anywhere the food isn't already going. Worth a visit, but bring your own expectations in check at the wine menu.

Lady Yum Kirkland

Kirkland · Kirkland · Dessert & Champagne Bar

The Wild Card

Lady Yum Kirkland earns its Wild Card badge not for wine depth but for sheer conceptual commitment — pairing handcrafted macarons with Champagne in a boutique lakeside setting is a legitimate move that most restaurants wouldn't dare. If you show up expecting a serious wine program, you'll leave underwhelmed; if you show up for a fun afternoon of bubbles and raspberry champagne macarons, you'll have exactly a good time.

The Grove Steakhouse

· San Diego · Steakhouse

The Reliable

The Grove Steakhouse is a solid pick if you're in a celebratory mood and want serious Champagne options with your cut of beef — the sparkling program alone is worth a look. The rest of the list doesn't take many risks, and the markups on recognizable labels are exactly what you'd expect from a steakhouse at a casino property. Go in with eyes open, steer toward the value picks, and you'll have a good night.

Rosetta Bakery

· Atlanta · Italian bakery and cafe

The Wild Card

Rosetta Bakery has no business having a wine list this considered. Eight labels, nearly all pourable by the glass, priced so fairly it almost seems like a mistake — and anchored by producers like Monchiero Carbone and Antica Fratta that would look at home on a dedicated wine bar menu. If you're nearby and want a glass of something genuinely Italian and genuinely good without paying downtown wine bar prices, this is your spot.

Il Fornaio Kirkland

· Kirkland · Italian

The Reliable

The headline here is the Vino e Vita Wednesday program: Il Fornaio Insiders get half off all bottles all day, which can turn a steep markup into a genuinely fair deal. Without a verified bottle list, we can't send you in with a specific target, but if you're a regular or planning ahead, signing up for Insiders and booking a Wednesday table is the move. Otherwise, it's a reliable neighborhood Italian — not a wine destination, but not an embarrassment either.

Barcelona Wine Bar Inman Park

Inman Park · Sandy Springs · Spanish Wine Bar

The Wild Card

Barcelona Inman Park runs a genuinely ambitious by-the-glass program — fair prices, Iberian depth, and enough global detours to keep things interesting. We'd send a friend here specifically to work through the whites and bubbles with a spread of small plates, and the Bico Amarelo at $9 a glass makes that an easy ask.

Ruth's Chris Steak House Fresno

· Fresno · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Ruth's Chris Fresno is a reliable landing pad if someone else is picking the restaurant and wine takes a back seat to a great center-cut filet. The wine program isn't adventurous and markups at this tier tend to sting, but the service is polished and the experience is consistent. If wine is the reason you're going out, look elsewhere — but if it's the steak and wine is just along for the ride, you'll be fine.

Miller & Lux

Mission Bay · San Francisco · Seafood and Steak

The Reliable

Miller & Lux is a dependable, well-run wine program for a high-end steakhouse — backed by knowledgeable staff, proper storage, and a focus on the regions that make sense with the food. The markup is steep and the list plays it safe, so this isn't where you go to discover something new. If you're celebrating and want a bottle that feels appropriate to the moment and the room, you'll land on something good — just go in knowing you're paying a premium for the setting as much as the wine.

MESO Modern Mediterranean

Santana Row · San Jose · Modern Mediterranean

The Reliable

MESO's wine list is small, but it earns its keep by staying on-theme and keeping prices from going completely sideways. The Torres Albariño and Feudo Montoni are genuine finds at the lower end of the price range, and the happy hour window Monday through Friday gives you a legitimate reason to show up early. If you want a deep cellar or an adventurous natural wine program, look elsewhere — but if you want a glass that actually fits what's on your plate at a fair price, this list delivers.

Earl's Kitchen + Bar Sandy Springs

· Sandy Springs · Global New American

The Lazy List

Earl's Sandy Springs is clearly a restaurant where wine is an afterthought — three bottles is a bar cart, not a wine program. Come for the food and the cocktails, but don't count on the wine list to add anything to the evening. If wine matters to you, this is not your spot.

Chops Lobster Bar

Sandy Springs · Sandy Springs · Steakhouse and Seafood

The Reliable

Chops Lobster Bar delivers a competent, well-stocked by-the-glass program that will satisfy the Napa loyalists without totally abandoning people who want something with actual personality — see: the Loosen Riesling and the Champy Chablis. The markups are what they are at this price point, and the list isn't going to win any awards for creativity, but if you're here for a good steak and a reliable glass of wine to go with it, you won't leave unhappy.

Cork & Knife

· Fresno · Wine Bar & Charcuterie

The Wild Card

Cork & Knife earns a Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely uncommon for Fresno: running a real wine bar with structured tastings, a half-price Wednesday deal, and a daily happy hour that keeps the barrier low. We can't vouch for every bottle on the list without seeing it, but the bones of a thoughtful program are here — and if you're in the area, a $9 glass at happy hour is a very low-risk way to find out for yourself.

Ray's at Killer Creek

Alpharetta · Roswell · Steakhouse/Seafood

The Reliable

Ray's at Killer Creek is a reliable steakhouse wine program — not exciting, probably priced to favor the house, but functional and well-matched to the room it's serving. The Tuesday half-price wine night is the real move here: a polished steakhouse atmosphere with a Napa Cab at half the markup is a solid Tuesday in anyone's book. Go for the filet, drink on a Tuesday, and don't expect the list to surprise you.

The Southern Porch

· Roswell · Southern/New American

The Reliable

The Southern Porch isn't a destination wine list, but it doesn't pretend to be — and that honesty is worth something. Fair prices, full glass availability, and a room that makes you want to linger are a reasonable trade for a short, crowd-pleasing selection. Send a friend here if they want a glass of something easy with their pimento cheese; send a wine-obsessed friend somewhere else.

The Mill Kitchen & Bar

· Roswell · Southern/New American

The Wild Card

The Mill Kitchen & Bar earns its Wild Card badge by doing something genuinely unexpected: running an Enomatic wine system with a structured flight program out of a Southern restaurant in the suburbs. The list is small and the markups are real, but the storage is handled right and the flight concept gives curious drinkers a low-commitment way to explore. If you're in Roswell and want more than a generic house pour, this is worth a detour — just budget accordingly.

Cork Haus Roswell

· Roswell · Wine bar/Bottle shop

The Wild Card

Cork Haus Roswell is a genuine surprise in the suburban Atlanta wine landscape — a small, focused bottle shop with a buying philosophy that favors interesting over obvious. The natural wine and pét-nat selection alone makes it worth a detour. If you live anywhere near Roswell and you're tired of the same Napa Cab at every restaurant in town, this is your spot.

Little Alley Steak

· Roswell · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Little Alley Steak has built a genuinely impressive Champagne program — uncommon for a suburban steakhouse — and the depth from Collet up through Cristal gives serious wine drinkers something to work with. The markups are real and the still wine program doesn't match the ambition of the sparkling section, but if you're here to pop bottles with a ribeye, there are worse places to do it. Order the Crémant, save your money, and let someone else pay for the Veuve.