Mélisse Restaurant

Michael's has the bones of a Rager — serious producers, a real sommelier in Nic Vascocu, and a setting that earns the bottle prices. The markups keep it from the top tier, but if you're eating on that garden patio with a glass of Bollinger, you're not going to be complaining.

1Pico is a genuinely pleasant place to drink wine, especially if California and France are your comfort zone and the Pacific Ocean is your preferred backdrop. The markups keep it from being a destination list, but the bones are solid enough that a knowledgeable friend would send you here without apology.

Wally's is the kind of place you bring someone when you want to make a serious impression — the list is deep, the staff knows it cold, and Santa Monica has never had a better reason to order a second bottle. Yes, send your friends here for wine.

Orla is one of the best places in Southern California to drink Greek wine, full stop — the list is deep where it counts, the staff knows what they're pouring, and the setting makes the whole thing feel like a genuine occasion. Yes, the markup will bite on the high end, but for a hotel restaurant with a legitimate Wine Spectator credential and sommeliers who actually care, we'd send you here without hesitation.

Fia Steak is the rare steakhouse where the wine list is worth the trip on its own terms — three sommeliers, 400-plus selections, and enough serious producers to keep a wine-obsessed table busy all night. Bring someone you're trying to impress, and let Patrick or Elias talk you into a bottle you wouldn't have ordered yourself.

Capo is the real thing — a Wine Spectator Grand Award list that earns it on the floor, not just on paper. The markup is real, but so is everything else: the cellar, the glassware, the staff, and the room. Send your friends here for a special occasion and tell them to ask Mirco what's drinking well.