Century City's Best Kept Wine Secret
Century City · Los Angeles · Asian, Californian · Visit Website ↗
Updated August 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Hinoki & The Bird’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walk into Hinoki & The Bird and the wine list immediately signals that someone here takes this seriously. Four to five hundred selections, a dedicated sommelier in Cristina Candido, and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence earned in 2024 — this is not a restaurant that phoned it in on the beverage program. The indoor-outdoor Century City setting gives the whole experience a polished-but-not-stiff energy that matches the list's ambition.
The list leans hard into France and Italy, which is exactly where it should lean — Burgundy anchors everything, with names like Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet and Leroy Bourgogne sitting alongside the kind of Bordeaux heavyweights (Château Lynch-Bages, Château Pichon Baron) that make collectors lean forward in their chairs. California holds its own with Kistler Chardonnay and Screaming Eagle representing the prestige end of the state's output. The Italian contingent — Gaja Barbaresco and Giacomo Conterno Barolo — is short but surgical, hitting the producers that actually matter. If there's a gap, it's that the Asian-inflected cuisine could use more support from Alsace, Germany, or even some well-chosen Austrian whites, regions that read the menu better than a Napa Cab does.
Roughly 20 to 30 pours by the glass is a generous program, with entry points starting around $14–$18 — reasonable for Century City, where a parking validation costs more than a cocktail at lesser restaurants. We'd want to know more about how often the glass list rotates, but the depth of the bottle list suggests Candido has good raw material to work with. Ask what's open; the answer will tell you everything about how seriously the staff treats the program on any given night.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet — $150–$200 (estimated range)
Leflaive Puligny at a restaurant with this caliber of cellar and proper storage is the move. You're paying for one of Burgundy's most reliable white Burgundy addresses, and in a room that actually knows how to keep and serve it, that matters more than the sticker price suggests.
Leroy Bourgogne
Most tables at a room like this will be chasing the Screaming Eagle or eyeing the DRC. Meanwhile, the Leroy Bourgogne sits there quietly — a village-level wine from one of Burgundy's most obsessive producers, almost certainly the best QPR on the French side of the list if the markup is reasonable. Order it before someone else does.
Screaming Eagle
Yes, it's on the list. Yes, it's Screaming Eagle. No, you should not order it at a restaurant. The markup on cult Napa Cab at this level is always punishing, and the food here — hamachi crudo, wood-roasted fish, dumplings — is not crying out for a wine that costs more than a round-trip flight to Napa. Save it for a collector dinner where the bottle is the point.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet + Hamachi crudo
Chardonnay from Puligny — all that mineral tension and restrained fruit — cuts through the richness of hamachi without overpowering the delicate citrus and heat that typically dress a crudo. It's the kind of pairing that makes you put your fork down and pay attention.
The Bottom Line
Hinoki & The Bird is doing serious wine work in a room that could easily coast on the Century City expense-account crowd. Get Cristina Candido's attention, tell her what you're eating, and let the list do the rest.
· Los Angeles · California small plates
If this four-wine snapshot is the full extent of AOC's current public-facing wine program, it doesn't come close to living up to the restaurant's wine bar billing. The pricing is fair and the Vinho Verde earns its spot, but four uniform options with no dish context and no visible deeper list is not what you go to a place called AOC expecting. Come for the reputation — just hope the full list is hiding somewhere.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Italian Seafood
Marea Beverly Hills brings genuine depth and regional curiosity to a wine list that could have easily coasted on crowd-pleasing Pinot Grigio and overpriced Super Tuscans — and it didn't. The markups are high, as expected for this zip code, and without clearer intel on staff knowledge or specials programming, the full experience is harder to guarantee. But the list itself earns serious respect, and if you navigate it well — start with the Strasserhof, finish with the Rossese — you'll drink far better than most tables around you.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Proper
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Prime rib and steakhouse
Lawry's is a Los Angeles institution and the prime rib is genuinely the point — the wine list exists to support that experience, not steal the show. If you hit the weekday happy hour window between 5 and 6 PM, you might find the value equation improves considerably. Come for the beef, enjoy whatever Cab they pour, and don't expect the list to surprise you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
West Hollywood · Los Angeles · Italian and French Café
Bottega Louie West Hollywood is a solid, reliable choice when you want wine that doesn't distract from the occasion — the room, the company, the cannoli. The Sunday half-price glass program is the single most compelling reason to choose this spot specifically for wine, and we'd encourage you to use it. Just don't expect the list to surprise you; this is a place that knows its audience and plays to them without apology.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
West Adams · Los Angeles · Italian pasta
Cento is a destination for the pasta first, and the wine list seems to know its supporting role without phoning it in. We'd want a verified menu in hand before steering you toward specific bottles, but the regional focus and the evident care in the room give us real confidence this isn't a place that treats wine as an afterthought. Go for the spicy pomodoro, ask what's pouring by the glass, and let the night unfold.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · French tasting menu
Mélisse is a destination for Champagne completists willing to pay fine dining prices for the privilege of choosing between four Philipponnat vintages or three Krug editions in a single sitting. But if you're hoping for a wine list that matches the ambition of a French tasting menu — with depth across regions and styles — the narrowness here will leave you wanting. Come for the bubbles, manage your expectations for everything else.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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