Serious Wine Hiding Behind the Spicy Tuna
Palm Beach · West Palm Beach · Japanese and Asian-inspired cuisine, sushi and small plates · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The list at Imoto catches you off guard in the best way. You're in a dimly lit, chic sushi lounge expecting a roster of safe Sancerres and grocery-store Pinot Grigio, and instead you find Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs, Alsatian Riesling, and skin-contact whites sharing space on the same menu. Someone here actually gives a damn about wine.
The list clocks in at somewhere between 60 and 100 labels — small by fine dining standards, but curated with real intention. Champagne and Alsace anchor the whites, which makes a lot of sense for the food here. The Domaine Weinbach Riesling is a sharp pick for a sushi-forward menu. California shows up with producers like Matthiasson doing interesting things (skin-fermented white, not just another Chardonnay), and Burgundy rounds out the old-world side. The Sashi Pinot Noir covers the lighter red end if you're the one at the table who refuses to drink white with raw fish. The gaps are real — South America, Spain, and anything remotely adventurous beyond the Austrian whisper are mostly absent — but what's here is intentional.
The by-the-glass program runs 12 to 20 options, with pours ranging from $14 to $28 — above average for the format but not obscene for Palm Beach. The range appears to hit both the approachable and the genuinely interesting ends of the list. If the Matthiasson Skin-Fermented White is pouring by the glass, that's where you start.
Domaine Weinbach Riesling Alsace — $50–$80 (bottle estimate based on range)
Domaine Weinbach is one of Alsace's great producers, and Riesling is arguably the perfect food wine for sushi — high acidity, zero oak, clean finish. Getting this with a spread of spicy tuna and pork belly buns is the move.
Matthiasson Skin-Fermented White
Most tables at Imoto are ordering Champagne or something safe. The Matthiasson skin-contact white is the pick that most people overlook — textured, saline, and genuinely interesting with the heavier umami-forward dishes on the menu. It's the kind of wine you remember.
Sashi Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir at a sushi lounge in Palm Beach is almost always a concession to the guest who won't drink white wine. The Sashi is fine, but you're paying a Palm Beach markup on a bottle that doesn't fit the menu as well as anything else on this list. Order it at home — here, go white or go bubbles.
Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs Champagne + Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice
Blanc de Blancs Champagne is all Chardonnay — lean, precise, high acid, and loaded with fine bubbles that cut straight through the richness of the spicy tuna and the crunch of the rice. Billecart-Salmon is one of the benchmark houses for this style. This is the table order.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Imoto earns its Wild Card badge because nobody expects a sushi lounge in Palm Beach to stock Domaine Weinbach and skin-fermented California whites — and yet here we are. Markups run on the steeper side (this is Palm Beach, after all), but the list has genuine personality and a sommelier who clearly put in the work. Go for the spicy tuna, stay for the Blanc de Blancs.
The Square / Downtown · West Palm Beach · Italian trattoria
Il Bellagio is a perfectly decent place to drink Italian wine with Italian food on a warm West Palm Beach evening — just don't expect the list to surprise you, and steer clear of the Santa Margherita markup. Order the Chianti, grab a table on the plaza, and call it a reliable night out.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
The Square / Downtown · West Palm Beach · Plant-based/vegan, contemporary
PLANTA West Palm Beach won't disappoint you on wine, but it won't thrill you either — the list is safe, the markups are mostly steep, and the picks are designed for consensus. Come for the food, order the Whispering Angel, and don't overthink it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
The Square / Downtown · West Palm Beach · Tuscan-inspired Italian, coastal Italian
Felice earns its keep with a genuinely Italy-focused list, a Tignanello markup that won't make you wince, and a Monday wine program that should be on your weekly calendar. Not groundbreaking, but reliably good — and in this neighborhood, that's not nothing.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Active Program
Acceptable
CityPlace / Downtown · West Palm Beach · Classic American Steakhouse
Abe & Louie's is a dependable, well-stocked steakhouse wine program with real depth and knowledgeable staff — it just charges accordingly and rarely colors outside the lines. Send a friend here for a serious bottle of Cab with a prime steak, but tell them to ask the sommelier to find something off the beaten path.
Solid Range
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Northwood Village · West Palm Beach · Italian
Grato is a reliable wine list for a neighborhood Italian that punches above its weight in by-the-glass options and producer selection — just know the markups skew steep on anything recognizable. Send a friend here for the Pinot and the pasta, not the prestige bottles.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Palm Beach · West Palm Beach · Wine bar with global small plates
The Blind Monk is the kind of place West Palm Beach didn't know it needed — a genuine natural wine bar with a thoughtful list and a low-key atmosphere that makes you want to stay for another pour. The markups keep it from being a true Rager, but as a Wild Card in a city not exactly known for its wine culture, it absolutely earns a visit.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
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