Downtown LA's Serious Wine Destination in Leather Booths
Downtown Los Angeles · Los Angeles · Steak House · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed La Boucherie’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at La Boucherie lands on the table with the confidence of a place that knows exactly what it's doing — this is not an afterthought program bolted onto a steakhouse. Between the dim lighting and the leather booths, you've got 400-plus bottles staring back at you, anchored by serious French and California heavy hitters. Wine Spectator has handed them a Best of Award of Excellence every year since 2018, and the list earns it.
France runs the show here, and it runs it well — Burgundy and Bordeaux are the backbone, with names like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Leroy Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, Château Pétrus, and Château Mouton Rothschild anchoring the cellar at the serious end. California holds its own with Screaming Eagle, Opus One, and Cayuse Vineyards Syrah from Washington adding a Pacific Northwest wildcard. Champagne is handled properly too — Krug Grande Cuvée and Salon Blanc de Blancs are on the list, which tells you something about the seriousness of whoever built this. The one gap: if you're hunting for natural wine or anything outside the classic canon, you're at the wrong place.
With 20-35 by-the-glass options, La Boucherie isn't skimping on pours — this is a range that actually lets you drink well without committing to a bottle. We'd expect the program to rotate with the seasons given the overall ambition of the list. Just don't expect anything boundary-pushing here; the glass program skews classic and crowd-pleasing, which, frankly, is exactly what you want when you're nursing a ribeye.
Sassicaia 2020 — $450
In a list where Pétrus runs $5,800 and Screaming Eagle hits $1,800, the Sassicaia at $450 is a relative anchor of sanity — a benchmark Super Tuscan with the structure to go toe-to-toe with the dry-aged ribeye, without requiring a second mortgage.
Cayuse Vineyards Syrah
Most people hunting this list will beeline for Burgundy or Bordeaux and completely sleep on the Cayuse. This Walla Walla Syrah is one of Washington's most compelling producers and it's criminally overlooked when it shares a menu with DRC. Don't be that person.
Krug Clos d'Ambonnay 2009
At $2,200, this is a bucket-list bottle that belongs in a quiet tasting room where you can actually focus on it — not a buzzy DTLA steakhouse where the table next to you is celebrating a promotion. The Krug Grande Cuvée does the job at a fraction of the price.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet + Bone Marrow
The richness of bone marrow needs something with enough acidity and minerality to cut through the fat without disappearing — Leflaive's Puligny handles that with precision. It's a counterintuitive call against a steakhouse starter, which is exactly why it works.
Wednesday — Half-price wine night every Wednesday — one of the better recurring deals in DTLA for drinking into the upper end of the list without the full sticker shock.
The Bottom Line
La Boucherie is the rare hotel restaurant wine program that earns its stripes on substance, not just optics — the list is deep, the sommeliers know their stuff, and Wednesday's half-price wine night makes it genuinely accessible. Markups at the trophy end are steep (Pétrus at $5,800 will not surprise you), but there are real finds here if you dig past the first page.
· 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
Hartland · Hartland · Steak House
Palmer's is a reliable steakhouse wine list that delivers exactly what its suburban clientele wants — well-known California names, solid execution, and nothing too weird. If you're a wine adventurer, you'll want to temper expectations; if you're celebrating with a ribeye and a Jordan Cab, you'll leave satisfied.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Town Square · Jackson · Steak House
The Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse has a sommelier, a Wine Spectator credential, and a list that knows its audience — which is Jackson tourists who want great steak and great Napa Cab, full stop. Send a friend here if they want a proper California red with a serious piece of beef; just warn them to skip Opus One and let Jordan do the work.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Downtown Milwaukee · Milwaukee · Steak House
Ward's House of Prime is exactly what it says it is: a classic Milwaukee steakhouse with a wine list built to match big cuts of beef. The Wine Spectator Award of Excellence is well-earned, but don't come looking for adventure — come looking for a great California Cab and a slab of prime rib.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
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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