36 Restaurant and Bar

Walking into 36 Restaurant and Bar in downtown Cape Girardeau and finding a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence list is genuinely surprising — in the best way. This isn't a wine town you'd normally put on your radar, which makes the 150-plus bottle list feel like a discovery. The room is polished and serious, and the wine program matches.

The list leans confidently into California, France, and Oregon — the three pillars the Wine Spectator recognized — and doesn't try to do everything. You've got Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet alongside Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir and Louis Jadot anchoring the Burgundy side, which tells you someone put real thought into this. Duckhorn Merlot showing up is a smart call; it's a crowd pleaser that actually deserves to be. The ceiling reaches Opus One territory, so there's room for a proper splurge, and the floor stays accessible enough that you're not forced into a corner.

Twelve to twenty by-the-glass options is a solid spread for a restaurant of this size and market. At $10–$18 a pour, the pricing is reasonable and doesn't feel punitive. We'd love to see more rotation here — the program reads more static than dynamic — but the quality anchors are strong enough that you won't be stuck settling.