Middle Eastern food, natural wine, zero apologies
Arts District / Downtown LA · Los Angeles · Modern Middle Eastern · Visit Website ↗
Updated October 2026
Reviewed June 21, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Bavel’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Bavel arrives like the food — confident, regionally specific, and a little unexpected. You're not getting a generic steakhouse tower of Cabs here; this list was clearly built by someone who eats with intention. The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern throughline gives the whole thing a coherent identity that most restaurant lists never bother to develop.
The 80–120 label list leans hard into the Eastern Mediterranean — Lebanese and Israeli red blends sit alongside European skin-contact wines and California small-production bottles, and somehow it all makes sense together. The orange and skin-contact section is legit, not just a token gesture toward trend-chasing. California natural producers share real estate with Old World growers in a way that feels curatorial rather than random. The one gap: if you're hunting for a classic Burgundy or a big Napa Cab, you've come to the wrong restaurant, and honestly good riddance.
Ten to fifteen options by the glass is a healthy pour program for this size of list, and the $14–$22 range tracks with the Arts District market. The Arnot-Roberts Rosé showing up by the glass is exactly the kind of move that tells you the program has taste — that's a wine worth seeking out, not just a default pink to fill a slot. We'd love to see more rotation here, but what's on is well-chosen.
Lebanese or Israeli Red Blend (by the glass) — $14–$18
The regional red blends from Lebanon and Israel are the sleeper play on this list — wines that most diners won't recognize but that were made to drink alongside exactly the kind of food Bavel is serving. At the lower end of the glass price range, they offer a genuine sense of place that a generic Côtes du Rhône never could.
Orange / Skin-Contact Wine (by the glass)
Most tables at Bavel are ordering whatever the server suggests up front and never getting to the skin-contact section. That's a mistake. These wines — with their texture and grip — are built for the hummus, the charred vegetables, and the lamb neck shawarma in a way that a crisp white simply isn't. The list has genuine depth here; ask about it.
Arnot-Roberts Rosé
This is a great wine — we have no argument with the producer. But at $72 a bottle when retail sits around $35, you're paying a 106% markup for the privilege of drinking something you could take home for dinner for half the price. Order it by the glass if you want a taste, but don't commit to a full bottle.
Skin-Contact / Orange Wine + Lamb Neck Shawarma
The lamb neck shawarma is rich, fatty, and deeply spiced — it needs something with enough structure and grip to hold its own without overwhelming the aromatics. An orange wine, with its tannin and oxidative complexity, does exactly that. It's the kind of pairing that makes you understand why this list was built the way it was.
The Bottom Line
Bavel is the rare restaurant where the wine list actually reflects a point of view — Middle Eastern and Mediterranean producers sitting alongside California naturals, all of it making sense with the food. The markups take some shine off an otherwise impressive program, but this is still one of the more thoughtful and unexpected wine lists in Los Angeles.
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Fogo de Chão's wine list isn't trying to be a destination — it's trying to support a meat-forward meal without emptying your wallet, and it largely succeeds. The South American focus makes geographic sense, the pricing is fair for LA, and there are a few genuinely good bottles hiding in a otherwise safe list. If you're going for the full churrasco experience, grab the Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc or the Catena Alta Chardonnay and let the gauchos do the rest.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Italian
Il Cielo punches above its list size with some genuinely smart Italian picks and pricing that — especially on the Barolo — borders on generous. It's not a destination wine list, but it's a thoughtful one, and in Beverly Hills that's worth something. If you're going for a special occasion bottle, head straight to the Piedmont and Montalcino section and don't look back.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Hollywood · Los Angeles · Italian
A big-ticket Italian and Napa list with a genuine glass section: 14 wines by the glass from $15 to $85, then 89 bottles from $55 to $3,000. Start with the Prunotto Barolo at $30 a glass, or the Guidalberto at $145 if you want a Bolgheri bottle, and confirm prices because the page is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks page, not service, storage or markups.
Westwood · Los Angeles · American, Steakhouse
A Cabernet-first list with 30 glasses and a long bottle book, but no wine prices posted online. If you want a known price, the $9 happy hour Bonanza Cabernet by Caymus is the one posted figure, and if you want to step away from Cabernet, try the Il Bruciato Super Tuscan by the glass. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Hollywood · Los Angeles · Neapolitan Italian, Pizza
An all-Italian list that runs from a $50 Bardolino to a $300 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, with 15 wines poured by the glass. Start with the 18 / 72 Rocca del Principe Fiano di Avellino next to the $25 Margherita, or the 16 / 64 Primo Monte orange Trebbiano if you want something off the Chianti track, and confirm prices. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown Los Angeles · Los Angeles · French-inspired, New American
A 19-wine glass list where 17 pours land between $14 and $18. Start with the $13 Noble Vines Pinot Grigio or the $14 Intercept Pinot Noir, and put the $17 French onion soup next to a $52 bottle of Whispering Angel; confirm prices, since the list is undated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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