Natural Wine Meets the Levant in Los Feliz
Los Feliz · Los Angeles · New American and Middle Eastern · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · September 29, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Kismet’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walk into Kismet and the wine list feels like an extension of the room itself — minimal, considered, and quietly confident. This isn't a place padding the list with Kendall-Jackson to hit a quota. The natural-wine lean is real, and the European and Slovenian focus gives it a personality most Los Feliz spots don't bother developing.
Kismet's list skews decidedly Old World, with a particular pull toward Slovenia and other lesser-traveled European corners — the kind of regions that show up on lists when someone actually cares about what's being poured. The natural-wine thread runs through the whole program, which fits the food-forward, vegetable-heavy menu without feeling performative. The list isn't long, but length isn't the point here — curation is. Gaps exist, and wine drinkers who want depth across multiple regions may find it thin, but what's there is chosen with intent.
We don't have the full by-the-glass breakdown in front of us, but the program's natural-wine identity and casual-energetic vibe suggest the pours rotate with the kitchen's sensibility rather than sitting still. A sommelier on staff is a good sign that whoever is maintaining the glass list is paying attention.
The Bottom Line
Kismet earns its Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely interesting with its wine program inside a casual Los Feliz storefront — Slovenia and natural wine in a room full of freekeh fritters and Persian-style rice is a specific point of view, and we respect it. We can't quote you bottle prices or name specific pours from here, so go in curious, ask the staff what's on, and trust that someone in that room knows what they're talking about.
· Los Angeles · French Mediterranean
The Little Door is punching above its weight for a 27-bottle list — the Old World focus is genuine, the by-the-glass breadth is impressive, and the pricing mostly plays fair. We'd send a friend here specifically to drink by the glass and work through the more offbeat picks like the Ruche or the Forge Cellars Riesling.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · Pizza and Natural Wine
Pizzeria Sei earns its Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely uncommon: running a natural-wine program inside a pizza-obsessed, no-frills room on Pico Blvd without making either the pizza or the wine feel like an afterthought. We can't give you specific bottle recommendations until we get a verified list in hand, but if you trust the kitchen — and most people do — extending that trust to the wine program is a reasonable bet.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Steakhouse
What we can document at Mastro's Beverly Hills is a narrow, Napa-centric selection that plays zero risk and offers zero surprise — which is a defensible choice for a power-steakhouse crowd, but not one we can enthusiastically endorse to wine lovers. The seven wines on record are all from a single event page, so the full list is almost certainly broader; but until we have more to work with, our honest advice is to know what you want before you sit down, because the list isn't going to inspire you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · Italian
Osteria La Buca is running one of the more quietly ambitious wine lists in LA — fair prices, genuine Italian depth, and enough natural and obscure producers to keep things interesting across 54 bottles. If you care about what's in your glass and want an Italian restaurant that doesn't treat wine as an afterthought, this is worth your attention.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Venice · Los Angeles · Italian-American
Ospi keeps it tight and keeps it fair — 13 wines, honest markups, and enough Italian backbone to match the menu without turning into a wine bar that forgot to serve food. If you're after depth or discovery, you'll outgrow this list quickly, but for a relaxed Venice dinner where you just want something good in your glass without overthinking it, the Cascina Barbera or the Montepeloso will do exactly what you need.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Palms · Los Angeles · Japanese Kaiseki
n/naka earns its Wild Card badge not because the wine list is unconventional in the classic sense, but because finding a Japanese kaiseki restaurant in Los Angeles with a thoughtfully curated Franco-Japanese cellar at this level of dining is genuinely unexpected. The steep markup rating is almost unavoidable at a destination tasting-menu format — you're paying for the experience, full stop. If you've locked in a reservation, trust the wine pairing and don't spend energy trying to optimize it.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
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