Classic steakhouse pours in a storied hotel
Downtown · Peoria · Hotel Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Oak & Prime at the Pere Marquette’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Oak & Prime reads exactly like you'd expect from a hotel steakhouse in the Midwest — California heavyweights up front, Bordeaux making a cameo, and not much else asking for your attention. It's comfortable and familiar, which is either reassuring or boring depending on your mood. If you came here to drink Caymus with a ribeye, you're in the right place.
The 50-80 bottle list leans hard on California, with names like Caymus, Jordan, Duckhorn, and Rombauer anchoring the program. Pacific Northwest gets a nod and Bordeaux shows up just enough to give the list a veneer of old-world credibility. There's nothing wrong with any of these producers — they're crowd-pleasers for a reason — but don't come looking for grower Champagne or anything with a whiff of adventure. The list does its job for a steakhouse setting without ever pushing beyond it.
The by-the-glass program runs 10-16 options, which is a respectable count for a hotel restaurant. Expect the usual suspects — a Chardonnay, a Cabernet, maybe a Pinot Noir — drawn from the same California-forward bench as the bottle list. Rotation appears minimal, so what you see is likely what you get all season.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — null
Jordan is a reliable, well-made Alexander Valley Cab that consistently outperforms its reputation in blind tastings. At a hotel steakhouse where the markups lean steep, Jordan often lands at a more defensible price point than flashier names on the same list — and it holds up against a prime ribeye without flinching.
Duckhorn Merlot
Merlot gets skipped constantly because people still haven't recovered from Sideways. That's their loss. Duckhorn's Napa Merlot is genuinely excellent — structured, ripe, and complex enough to hold its own against the filet mignon while everyone else at the table fights over the last pour of Cabernet.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus is everywhere, marked up everywhere, and at this point it's the wine equivalent of ordering the house salad — you know exactly what you're getting and you're paying a premium for the comfort of recognition. The wine itself is fine, but at hotel steakhouse prices you can almost certainly do better on this same list.
Rombauer Chardonnay + Lobster Bisque
Rombauer's Chardonnay is full, rich, and buttery enough to match the weight of a cream-based lobster bisque without getting buried by it. The oak and stone fruit in the wine play off the sweetness of the lobster in a way that actually makes sense — one of the few obvious pairings on this list that still delivers.
The Bottom Line
Oak & Prime is a reliable pour for a classic steakhouse night — safe, familiar, and priced accordingly steep. Don't come hunting for discovery, but know that the bones are solid if you stick to the right bottles.
Peoria Heights · Peoria · New American
Fusion 45 is doing something genuinely ambitious for Peoria — a creative kitchen with Old World wine ambitions is not nothing — but until we can get eyes on the actual list with prices, we're cautiously optimistic rather than fully sold. Worth a visit, worth asking your server what's good to drink.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Peoria · Steakhouse
Bourbon & Bones has put real effort into building a Champagne list that would hold its own in a major city, but outside the bubbles section the list plays it safe and the markups are steep enough to sting. Come here for the occasion, not the exploration.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Peoria · Italian Steakhouse
Johnny's wine list is exactly what it is: a well-curated collection of American crowd-pleasers with markups to match the steakhouse zip code. You won't be wowed, but you won't be stuck either — and 28 glasses by the pour means you have options.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
East Peoria · Peoria · Seafood
Red Lobster's wine list does exactly what corporate intended: give guests something recognizable to order without scaring anyone off. If you calibrate expectations accordingly — and let the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling do the heavy lifting — you won't be miserable. But you won't be talking about the wine on the drive home either.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
North Peoria · Peoria · Steakhouse
LongHorn Peoria is a fine place to eat a steak; it is not a fine place to drink wine. Order a cocktail or a beer, enjoy your ribeye, and save the wine night for somewhere that actually cares.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Peoria · Peoria · Steakhouse
Jim's isn't trying to win a wine award, and it doesn't need to — the list is honest, fairly priced by steakhouse standards, and built to serve the room. If you're in Peoria and want a proper steak with a decent bottle, this is where you go.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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