French wine meets Chinatown's most ambitious kitchen
Chinatown · San Francisco · American, Chinese · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 10, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Mister Jiu's’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Walking into 28 Waverly Place, you don't expect to find a Burgundy-leaning wine list tucked inside one of Chinatown's most striking dining rooms — but here we are. The list is compact and deliberately French, which sounds limiting until you realize how well that plays against Brandon Jew's Chinese-American cooking. It's a curatorial move, not a lazy one.
The list runs 150-250 bottles and plants its flag firmly in France — Alsace, Champagne, the Loire, and the Northern Rhône all show up with intention, and there's serious Burgundy representation in the mix. Alsatian Riesling and Gewurztraminer are smart choices here: aromatic, slightly off-dry whites that can handle the complexity of ma po tofu or wok-fried crab without flinching. The Northern Rhône Syrah angle is a strong call for anyone who wants red wine with bold, spiced food. What's missing is any meaningful nod to other Old World regions or California producers, which feels like a conscious editorial choice rather than an oversight.
Ten to sixteen options by the glass is a respectable range for a restaurant of this size, and at $14-$22 a pour, the program lands in the upper-middle tier of San Francisco pricing. We'd want to see more rotation here to keep regulars engaged, but the core selection tracks well with the bottle list's French focus.
Alsatian Riesling — $14
At the low end of the by-the-glass range, an Alsatian Riesling is the smartest spend on the menu — it bridges the gap between the kitchen's spice and the wine's natural acidity without fighting either.
Northern Rhône Syrah
Most guests reaching for red wine with Chinese-American food will hesitate, but a Northern Rhône Syrah — smoky, peppery, structured — is exactly what the char siu Berkshire pork is waiting for. Nobody orders it. They should.
Champagne selections
Champagne is always a marketer's dream at restaurants, and at a price range topping out at $250, the high-end Champagne bottles here carry the steepest relative markup on the list. Order one if it's a celebration; otherwise, redirect that budget toward a serious Burgundy or a Rhône.
Alsatian Gewurztraminer + Quail and foie gras egg tart
Gewurztraminer's lychee and rose petal aromatics and its slight residual sweetness make it a natural foil for the richness of foie gras and the delicate savory shell of the egg tart — it's one of those combinations that makes you stop mid-bite.
The Bottom Line
Mister Jiu's doesn't try to do everything with its wine list — it does one thing (France) with focus and a clear point of view. If you're eating in Chinatown and want a real wine experience to match one of SF's most exciting kitchens, this is the room.
Embarcadero · San Francisco · Peruvian Seafood
La Mar is a great dinner — the ceviche alone is worth the trip — but the wine list is along for the ride rather than driving it. Order something crisp and cold, enjoy the view, and don't overthink it.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Union Square · San Francisco · American
The Rotunda is a lunch experience first and a wine destination a distant second — the list is safe, the markup is real, and you're largely paying for the address and the atmosphere. Come for the crab salad and the occasion, order something bubbly, and don't go in expecting a serious wine program.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Wine bar & bottle shop
Bodega SF is what happens when someone actually gives a damn about the list instead of just checking a box. Twenty-six bottles, almost all pourable by the glass, priced fairly, and built around grapes most wine bars wouldn't dare touch — send your adventurous friends here and tell them to skip the safe picks.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
San Francisco · San Francisco · Wine bar
Fig & Thistle is for people who trust a short menu built by someone with a point of view — thirteen bottles, all pouring, all worth talking about. If you need a fallback Cab or a recognizable label to feel safe, this isn't your spot. If you don't, this absolutely is.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
San Francisco · San Francisco · Steakhouse
STK San Francisco has the bones of a wine program and the ambition of a hotel minibar. With only three by-the-glass pours, a list built entirely around safe brand names, and steep markups baked into the concept, this is a place to order a cocktail or splurge on a specific bottle you already know you want.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· San Francisco · Wine Tavern
Big Finish is doing something genuinely different — an all-glass list built around obscure varietals, serious fortified wine, and pricing that doesn't punish curiosity. Send anyone here who wants to drink something they've never tried before and walk away feeling like they learned something.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
List Variety
Markup
Glassware
Staff
Specials & Deals
Storage & Temp
