Waco's Steakhouse Has Wine Figured Out
Hewitt · Waco · Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 16, 2026
RagingWine reviewed One Thirty Five Prime’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at One Thirty Five Prime lands with more confidence than you'd expect from a mid-size Texas steakhouse. It's not trying to be a wine bar — it knows what it is — but someone here clearly cares enough to stock a 2023 Can Sumoi Xarel-Lo alongside the usual Cab suspects. That alone earns some goodwill.
The list runs 75 to 125 bottles and leans into the expected steakhouse pillars — California Cabs, Argentine Malbec, Italian reds — but there are genuine detours worth taking. Spain shows up with real intention via Can Sumoi and Pepe Raventós, both producers with actual credibility rather than supermarket shelf appeal. There's a nod to Alsace and McLaren Vale that suggests someone building this list wanted range, not just coverage. The Kathryn Kennedy 'Small Lot' Cabernet from Santa Cruz is a serious inclusion — that's not a wine you find at most steakhouses in Central Texas.
Ten to sixteen options by the glass is a respectable spread for a Waco steakhouse, and the program doesn't just default to the cheapest bottles to pour. Whether the rotation changes meaningfully or stays locked in for months at a stretch is less clear, but what's on offer holds up better than the category average in this market.
2023 Can Sumoi Xarel-Lo — $50
A crisp, mineral-driven white from Catalunya that drinks well above its price point — and brings something genuinely different to a menu full of ribeye and butter. At $50 a bottle in a steakhouse setting, it's the kind of left-field order that makes the whole table curious.
2022 Pepe Raventós Xarel-Lo
Most tables here are going straight for the Cabs, which means this Xarel-Lo from one of Catalonia's most respected Cava families is sitting quietly on the list waiting for someone to notice. It's a serious wine from a serious producer, and almost no one at a Texas steakhouse is ordering it.
Vino dei Fratelli Moscato d'Asti
Moscato d'Asti has its place, but that place is not alongside a $50 ribeye. This is a dessert wine afterthought dressed up as a list entry — sweet, low-alcohol, and thoroughly outclassed by everything else worth ordering here.
2020 Kathryn Kennedy 'Small Lot' Cabernet + Ribeye
Santa Cruz mountain Cab brings dark fruit and enough structure to stand up to a well-marbled ribeye without the jammy fruit-bomb tendencies of Napa at the same price. It's a more interesting conversation than the obvious California choices, and it holds its own through the whole cut.
The Bottom Line
One Thirty Five Prime is doing more with its wine program than a Waco steakhouse has to, and the fair markup on weekly specials keeps it honest. Send a friend here — just make sure they skip the Moscato.
Central Waco / Richland Mall area · Waco · American gastropub / brewery fare
BJ's wine list exists because it has to, not because anyone loves it — this is a beer destination first and everything else is an afterthought. If you're here on a Wednesday during happy hour, grab the $5 Dark Horse and call it honest; otherwise, just drink the beer.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Central Waco / Loop 340 · Waco · Casual Chain Italian-American
Olive Garden Waco's wine list is a corporate afterthought dressed up with Italian flags — gouge-level markups on supermarket bottles, no staff expertise, and zero ambition. Order the cocktails, drink the endless coffee, or BYOB if they'll let you. The breadsticks don't need wine anyway.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Southwest Waco / I-35 corridor · Waco · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse is a great place for a hand-cut steak, cold beer, and line-dancing servers — but the wine list is essentially a placeholder. Come for the food, order a Lone Star, and leave the wine ambitions at home.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Central Waco / Valley Mills Drive · Waco · Steakhouse
Outback Waco's wine program is what happens when a corporate chain treats wine as a line item instead of an experience — overpriced grocery store bottles with zero staff expertise and zero reason to explore the list. Order the beer, order the cocktail, or BYOB if they'll let you.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Central Waco / near Richland Mall · Waco · Steakhouse
Saltgrass is here for the steak, and the steak is genuinely good — but the wine program is an afterthought wearing a price tag. Order the ribeye, split a bottle of Decoy if you must, and don't expect anyone on staff to help you think beyond that.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Woodway / Marketplace area · Waco · Steakhouse
135 Prime is doing more with a wine list than Waco has any right to expect from its steakhouse scene, and the weekly specials show genuine curiosity. Just keep your guard up when the dessert wine list arrives — that's where the house cashes in.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
· Irvine · Steakhouse
Bourbon Steak Irvine is running one of the most ambitious wine programs in Orange County — 225 labels, 31 by the glass, and a list with genuine personality beyond the expected steakhouse anchors. Markups get steep at the top end, but the by-the-glass range at the $15–$32 tier offers real drinking at fair prices. If you care about what's in your glass, this list rewards the attention.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Irvine · Steakhouse
The Capital Grille Costa Mesa is exactly what it is: a well-run corporate steakhouse with a Champagne list that punches above the room's ambition and a Chardonnay section that covers the safe California bases reliably. Markups are steep throughout and the list doesn't take any risks, but if you know what you want — a glass of Hartford Court or a bottle of Schramsberg before your steak — you'll be fine. Just don't come looking for discovery.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Honolulu · Steakhouse
The Capital Grille Hawaii's wine list does what the brand does everywhere — it's safe, corporate, and priced to capture resort-market margins. The Champagne selection is genuinely deep and includes some worthwhile picks like the Paul Bara and the Llopart Cava, but markups are steep and there's little here to excite anyone looking beyond the obvious. If you're here for a steak and want bubbles, you'll find something that works — just don't expect the list to dazzle you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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
