La Mer
Oceanfront Burgundy Dreams in Paradise
Waikiki · Honolulu · French · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at La Mer arrives with the same quiet confidence as the room itself — ocean air, candlelight, and a catalog that opens straight into Burgundy royalty. This is not a list assembled by a food-and-beverage committee hedging bets; it's a list curated by people who actually care. Holding a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence continuously since 2008 isn't an accident.
Selection Deep Dive
With somewhere between 400 and 600 selections, the list leans hard into its four pillars — Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, and California — and doesn't apologize for it. You'll find Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Leroy sitting at the top of the Burgundy section like they own the place, which, effectively, they do. Bordeaux gets the full treatment too: Château Pétrus and Château Margaux represent the trophy end, while the list presumably fills in the middle tiers reasonably well. California isn't an afterthought — Harlan Estate, Opus One, and Kistler Chardonnay signal that the team takes the New World seriously alongside the classics.
By the Glass
The by-the-glass program runs 12 to 20 options, which is respectable for a fine dining room of this size and focus. Expect the pours to skew French and California-forward, with price points that reflect the address. Sommeliers Randall Parker and Taro Kurobe are your best resource here — ask what's open and you may land something worth the flight to Honolulu on its own.
Kistler Chardonnay — $80–$120 (est.)
In a list anchored by four-figure Burgundy, Kistler represents a Chardonnay that actually competes with the big French names at a fraction of the cost. It's the move if you want serious glass of white wine without triggering sticker shock.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet
Everyone reaches for DRC and PĂ©trus on a list like this, but Leflaive's Puligny-Montrachet is quietly one of the most compelling white Burgundies on the planet. Next to the Hawaii seafood preparations, it's the kind of wine that makes you forget what you paid for the flight.
Opus One
Opus One is a fine wine, but it's also one of the most aggressively allocated and restaurant-marked-up bottles in the American market. In a list this deep in Burgundy and Bordeaux, paying a La Mer premium on top of Opus One's already-inflated retail price is a hard sell. Spend that money in France.
Krug Grande Cuvée + Lobster bisque
Krug's Grande Cuvée has enough oxidative richness and toasty complexity to stand up to the depth of a proper lobster bisque without getting buried. It's a pairing that earns the oceanfront table.
🔥 The Bottom Line
La Mer is the real deal — a destination wine list in a destination restaurant, backed by a team that clearly knows what they're doing. Yes, the markups sting, but when you're sitting oceanside in Honolulu with a glass of Leflaive in hand, it's difficult to argue with the experience.
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