3,700 Bottles Deep and Still Counting
Bellevue · Seattle · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 17, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Seven hundred labels. Thirty-seven hundred bottles. When the wine list arrives at John Howie Steak, it's less a menu and more a declaration of intent. This is a serious cellar operation, and they want you to know it from the jump.
The backbone here is Washington and California red, and it's formidable — Quilceda Creek verticals stretching back to 1994, Leonetti Cabernet going back to 1996, Dunn, Silver Oak, Caymus, and all five Bordeaux First Growths including Petrus sitting in the wings. The Pacific Northwest representation alone would make most wine bars blush. Global breadth is there too, so it's not purely a cab-and-steak echo chamber, but let's be honest: this list was built for people who want to open something serious next to a dry-aged prime cut, and it delivers at that mission without apology.
By-the-glass specifics weren't available in our research, which is a mild frustration given the depth of the bottle list. With a sommelier on staff and a cellar this size, we'd expect a thoughtful rotating glass program — but we can't confirm counts or current pours, so ask your server directly and push for something off the beaten path.
Washington Cabernet Sauvignon (50 wines under $30 range) — $30
John Howie keeps roughly 50 bottles priced under $30, which is a genuine effort at accessibility given the overall list skews collector-tier. In a room where Petrus is on the menu, finding a drinkable Washington Cab at entry-level pricing is the move for anyone who wants to eat well without financing a second mortgage.
Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (vertical selections)
Most people walk past the verticals and order whatever they recognize. That's a mistake. Quilceda Creek's older vintages sitting in this cellar represent some of the finest Cabernet produced in Washington State — full stop. If you've never tasted what a decade of bottle age does to a great Washington Cab, this is the place to find out, and the staff can actually walk you through it.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is fine, but it's the safe, expensive choice that every steakhouse in America stocks. At the markup you'll pay here, you're getting a wine you could find at any neighborhood wine shop, in a room that has Quilceda Creek verticals. Don't waste the real estate.
Leonetti Cellar Merlot + Prime Custom-Aged Steak
Leonetti Merlot has the structure and dark fruit concentration to stand up to serious beef without bulldozing it. Washington Merlot at this level is underrated against steak compared to Cab, and Leonetti is the argument for why. Order a properly aged-cut and let this wine remind you that Merlot never actually went anywhere.
🔥 The Bottom Line
John Howie Steak is the real deal for anyone who takes their cellar seriously — the depth, the verticals, and the on-staff expertise put it in a different category than most steakhouses. The markups will sting, but if you're here to open something special, the inventory to do it properly is absolutely in that cellar.
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