Club Soda

Club Soda's wine list is exactly what you'd expect from a Midwestern supper club that takes its steaks seriously and its wine list... less so. Twenty-two labels, heavy on California Cabernet, with a few crowd-pleasing detours into Pinot Noir and one or two Old World bottles that feel like they wandered in from a different restaurant. It's safe, it's predictable, and it mostly works for what it is.

The list is structured around a clear thesis: red meat needs red wine, and red wine means California Cab. Caymus, Silver Oak, Darioush, and an Opus One split make up the top shelf, creating a Napa flex that will make expense-account diners very comfortable. The bright spot is a genuine Old World presence — the Manara Postera Amarone ($72) and the Perrin Les Sinards Châteauneuf-du-Pape ($74) are legitimate picks that add some character to an otherwise predictable roster. White wine and sparkling are essentially absent from the intel we have, which is a real gap for a steakhouse that likely serves fish and lighter starters. The Campo Viejo Tempranillo and Trapiche Malbec anchor a small international section, but the list skews so hard toward California that anyone looking to explore gets limited runway.

Six by-the-glass options is a workable number for a steakhouse, but at $8–$18 a pour, the value proposition depends entirely on what's in those slots. If the pours are from the McManis and Decoy end of the list, that's fair; if they're pouring Meiomi at the high end of the glass range, you're better off going bottle. We'd ask the server what's currently on the by-the-glass program before committing.