Sushi and serious California wine, Union Square
Union Square · San Francisco · Sushi
Reviewed April 7, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Anzu’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Anzu, the wine list feels like it belongs to a California steakhouse that somehow landed inside a sleek Japanese restaurant at Hotel Nikko. That's not a complaint — it's a pleasant surprise. A 250-350 bottle list with Domaine Leflaive and Kistler sitting next to your omakase order is not something you expect on Mason Street.
The list leans hard into California and France, which tracks with Anzu's Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence earned in 2024. You'll find serious names here — Kistler Chardonnay, Far Niente, Stag's Leap Cabernet, Opus One for the show-offs at the table — alongside French heavy-hitters like Louis Jadot and Domaine Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet. Oregon gets a nod with Domaine Drouhin, which is a welcome break from the Napa-or-Burgundy binary. The gaps are real though: no natural wine, minimal exploration of Champagne or Alsace, and nothing that feels genuinely unexpected for a Japanese kitchen.
Twenty to thirty by-the-glass options is genuinely generous for a restaurant of this size, and the range covers Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet without just phoning it in. Glasses run $14–$22, which is fair for Union Square. We'd like to see more rotation, but the breadth means you're not stuck ordering a bottle if you just want one pour with your spicy tuna crispy rice.
Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2021 — $78
Flowers punches well above its restaurant price point here — Sonoma Coast Pinot at this level typically gets marked up to $100+ in comparable SF spots. It's the bottle we'd order without hesitation.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir 2020
Most tables at a California-focused list are going to skip straight to the Napa bottles, but Drouhin Oregon is a legitimately great producer making Burgundian-style Pinot that plays beautifully with umami-driven dishes. It tends to get overlooked when Opus One is on the same page.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
At $132, you're paying a steep premium for a widely available bottle that retails around $55-$60. Duckhorn Cab is good wine — it's just not $132 wine, and ordering it here feels like leaving money on the table when better-value options are on the same list.
Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay + Black Cod Miso
Kistler's richly textured, oak-integrated Chardonnay handles the buttery, lacquered intensity of black cod miso without getting steamrolled by it. The weight matches, the acidity cuts through the fat, and suddenly the wine list feels like it was actually designed for this kitchen.
Wednesday — Half-price wine on Wednesdays — the single best reason to plan a midweek dinner here. That Flowers Sonoma Coast drops to $39.
The Bottom Line
Anzu earns its Wine Spectator hardware — this is a thoughtful, well-stocked list for a sushi restaurant, even if the markups and California-France tunnel vision keep it from true greatness. Come on a Wednesday, take advantage of half-price bottles, and order the black cod.
West Portal · San Francisco · Italian wine bar and small plates
A wine-bar list built around Italian bottles, with prices from $41 to $600 on the Wine List page. Start with the Firmino Miotti Breganze Cabernet 2015 at $18/64 from the glass section, or take the Raina Le Campette Montefalco Rosso 2020 at $42 if you want a bottle, and confirm prices since neither page is dated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Fillmore · San Francisco · Indian, Regional
A South Indian dinner menu with two wine PDFs behind it: 17 pours on the glass PDF from 15 to 32, then a bottle PDF that starts with grower Champagne. Start with the chilled Florèz God's Own at 15 or the Aldo Viola Moretto at 17, and confirm both lists, since the PDFs are undated and the website Wines tab names some different producers. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
Hayes Valley · San Francisco · Wine bar with California/Italian-leaning small plates
A wine-bar list that ranges from Lebanese sparkling and orange wine to Jura bottles and sherry by the 3 or 4 oz. Start with the Pardusco 2024 chilled red at $14 / $56 or the Apátsági 2022 juhfark at $17, and confirm prices, since the page itself points you to the wine wall for more. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks and bottle lists, not service, storage or markups.
North Beach · San Francisco · Italian
A pizzeria wine list with real range: 24 wines under the Glasses heading, Italian reds sorted by region, and New World reds that include Napa and Paso Robles Cabernet. Start with the $10/$40 house Chianti Superiore, or try the $13/$52 Planeta Ceresuolo with a Margherita, and confirm vintages and prices before you order. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Union Square · San Francisco · French
A 66-page list that starts with a 20-pour glass page and moves quickly into Burgundy, Rhône and Bordeaux bottles priced in the hundreds and thousands, so decide early whether you are drinking by the glass or committing to a bottle. Start with the $20 Chablis or the $23 Corsican red, and confirm today's list because it carries no print date. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Potrero Hill · San Francisco · Italian
A list with two speeds: 29 glass pours from $13 to $45, and a bottle book that runs from $44 to $2,100. Start with the $13 Il Frappato or the $18 Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo, then look at the Etna Rosso bottles (Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2023 is $82) if you want a bottle. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks list, not service, storage or markups.
Sugar House · Salt Lake City · Sushi
A compact nine-wine list that sits behind a sake selection the restaurant calls the largest in Utah. Order the $8.99 Scarpetta Pinot Grigio or the $9.99 d'Arenberg Sauvignon Blanc by the glass, and take the Lambrusco if you are eating richer dishes. Prices come from the restaurant's online menu, so confirm them. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown · Baton Rouge · Sushi
Tsunami's wine list is built for the room, not the wine drinker — and honestly, that's fine. Show up on a Wednesday for the 25% bottle discount, grab the Cava or the Peju Sauv Blanc, and enjoy the view. Just leave the Caymus for someone else.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Central Plano · Plano · Sushi
Sushi Sakana's wine list won't win any awards, but Wednesday's half-price bottle deal turns a steep, safe list into a legitimate reason to plan your week around dinner here. Come in knowing what you want and skip the Sonoma-Cutrer.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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