Live Music, Serious Wine, Bellevue Doesn't Miss
Downtown Bellevue · Bellevue · Bistro/Live Music · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 1, 2026
Wingman Metrics
You walk into what looks like a live music bar and get handed a 62-label wine list with Barolo Riserva and Barbaresco on it — that's a genuine surprise. Bake's Place doesn't announce itself as a wine destination, but the list punches well above what the room suggests. The range from Washington State and Italy alone is enough to make you look twice.
The list leans hard on Washington State and Italy, which is exactly the right call for a Bellevue crowd that wants to drink local and still feel worldly. DeLille Cellars Chaleur Blanc and Force Majeure Red Mountain Estate Cab represent the Pacific Northwest with real credibility — these aren't token local picks. The Italian section is the quiet star: La Spinetta Barbaresco, Viberti Barolo Riserva, Rocca di Montegrossi Chianti Classico, and a Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone give you a proper tour of northern and central Italy. California shows up with the usual suspects — Caymus, Silver Oak, Sea Smoke — which reads more as crowd-pleasing than inspired, but they're executed well enough.
Thirteen pours by the glass at $12–$19 is a respectable spread for a bistro, and the range covers enough ground that you're not stuck choosing between a generic Pinot Grigio and a grocery-store Cab. We'd love to see more rotation and a tighter spotlight on the Washington State options that make this list interesting — if DeLille is available by the glass, order it immediately and don't think twice.
Rocca di Montegrossi Chianti Classico 2019 — $60
Rocca di Montegrossi is a serious Gaiole producer making Chianti Classico that retails around $30–$35 — so the markup here is real, but at $60 it's still the most honest bottle on the list. In a sea of $145 Silver Oaks and $170 Caymus, this is where your money goes furthest.
Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone 2017
Most tables at Bake's are ordering Caymus on autopilot. Meanwhile, the Tenuta Santa Maria Amarone 2017 is sitting at $110 — a big, structured Valpolicella-zone red that most people in this room will walk right past. At that price point for a 2017 Amarone, it's the most interesting thing on the Italian side of the list and nobody's ordering it.
Caymus Vineyards Napa Valley Cab Sauv 2021
At $170, you're paying heavy restaurant markup on a wine that retails around $80–$90 and has been coasting on its reputation for years. There are better bottles on this very list for the same money or less. Skip it.
DeLille Cellars Chaleur Blanc 2023 + Pan-seared salmon
Chaleur Blanc is a Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc blend from one of Washington's benchmark producers — textured, citrus-driven, with enough weight to stand up to a rich pan-seared salmon without bulldozing it. It's also the most interesting white on the list and one of the better arguments for drinking local.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Bake's Place is a live music bar wearing a surprisingly respectable wine list — the Italian depth and Washington State selections are genuinely worth your attention, even if the markups on the California crowd-pleasers sting. If you order smart, you'll drink well; if you default to the Caymus, that's on you.
Old Bellevue · Bellevue · Southern Italian
Carmine's is a dependable wine experience in a room that earns it — the Italian backbone is solid, the Marc Hébrart alone proves someone cared when building this list, and 13 by-the-glass options gives you real choices. Just mind the markups and steer away from the California name-drops.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Redmond Town Center · Bellevue · Steakhouse and Seafood
Matts' isn't a wine destination, but it's not pretending to be one either. The Pacific Northwest focus is smart, the by-the-glass picks punch above the room's casual energy, and $9 oyster bar pours during happy hour is a deal worth showing up for.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Bellefield Office Park Area · Bellevue · Upscale American Steakhouse
Ruth's Chris Bellevue is a reliable machine for a certain kind of corporate dinner — but the wine list is a profit center dressed up as a wine program, and the markups make that clear. Order the Belle Glos, catch Ruth's Hour if you can, and save the serious wine drinking for somewhere that actually cares.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Bellevue Square · Bellevue · Asian, Chinese-inspired
On a Wednesday, P.F. Chang's Bellevue is legitimately worth pulling up a chair for wine — half-price bottles with recognizable labels is a deal you won't find at most actual wine bars. Any other night, the list is competent but overpriced for what it is, and you'd be better off sticking to the cocktails.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Active Program
Acceptable
Lincoln Square · Bellevue · American, Global/International, Seafood
Earls Bellevue isn't going to wow any wine nerds, but it's a genuinely solid operation for what it is — fair prices, a few legitimately good bottles, and one of the best mid-week deals in Bellevue if you time your visit right. Come on a Tuesday or Wednesday and grab the Lingua Franca at half price; you'll leave happy.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
Old Bellevue · Bellevue · Contemporary Vietnamese
Monsoon Bellevue earns its Wild Card status: a focused Pacific Northwest wine list in a Vietnamese restaurant context is a genuinely smart move, and Wednesday half-price bottles make this one of the better midweek wine deals in Old Bellevue. Show up on a Wednesday, order the Pinot, and let the kitchen do the rest.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
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