Great Soul Food, Wine List Still Finding Itself
Rondo · St. Paul · Cafe and New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · October 5, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Golden Thyme Coffee & Cafe’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Golden Thyme is a genuinely special place — a Black-owned community anchor on Selby Ave with serious food energy and a warm, lived-in atmosphere. The wine list, though, doesn't quite match that ambition. It feels like an afterthought next to the shrimp and grits.
What we can piece together points to a South Africa-leaning focus, which is an interesting and underexplored direction for a St. Paul neighborhood spot. The problem is that interesting direction doesn't appear to translate into depth or curation — the list reads narrow, with little evidence of a guiding hand picking bottles that actually complement the Creole-influenced, soul-food-forward menu. There are gaps where you'd want options: nothing particularly adventurous by way of whites or rosés to cut through a bowl of chicken gumbo, and no sign of a rotating selection to keep regulars engaged. The bones of something cool are here, but the follow-through isn't there yet.
By-the-glass details aren't publicly documented in enough specificity to call out individual pours. What's available appears to be a short, standard list that covers the basics without much excitement. If you're here for the food — and you should be — manage expectations on the glass program.
The Bottom Line
Golden Thyme deserves every bit of its community love, and the kitchen is cooking at a level the wine list hasn't caught up to yet. Come for the jambalaya linguine and the catfish po'boy — just don't plan your evening around what's in the glass.
· St. Paul · French
Restaurant Aubergine is running an eleven-bottle wine program that punches well above its weight class — the selections are specific, considered, and genuinely adventurous for a French spot in the Twin Cities. If you want a deep cellar and a leather-bound wine bible, look elsewhere; if you want someone's honest, well-edited point of view in a glass, this earns your attention.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· St. Paul · Mexican
Boca Chica is almost certainly a great neighborhood spot for Mexican food, but the wine program is an afterthought. Eight unlabeled house varietals and a White Zinfandel on the menu is all the signal you need — order the sangria, order a margarita, and save the wine night for somewhere else.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Roseville · St. Paul · Italian / Steakhouse Hybrid
Chianti Grill is not here to challenge you — it's here to give you a familiar Italian-American night out with wine that won't embarrass anyone. Watch the markups on the California pours, lean into the Italian section, and order the Chianti flight at least once.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· St. Paul · New American
Cafe Lurcat is a reliable anchor for a Minneapolis date night, and the wine list won't embarrass you — but at these prices, you'd want it to thrill you a little more than it does. Go for the atmosphere and the food; treat the wine list as a solid supporting cast, not the headline act.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
St. Paul · St. Paul · Wine Bar / Bottle Shop Bistro
Sunfish Cellars is punching several weight classes above its size — a 19-bottle list with three Sadie Family wines and an Elvio Cogno Nascetta at $15 is not something you stumble across. If you care about wine and you're in St. Paul, you need to know this place exists.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Randolph · St. Paul · Italian
Luci Ancora isn't here to dazzle wine geeks, but it earns its keep as a thoughtful neighborhood Italian with a list that respects the kitchen. If you're after a quiet dinner and a well-chosen Italian bottle, you're in the right place.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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