Burgundy depth meets Melrose Avenue luxury seafood
Hollywood · Los Angeles · American, Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · April 7, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Providence’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Providence hits you the way the dining room does — quietly, then all at once. Eight hundred to twelve hundred selections, anchored by serious French pedigree, with Burgundy and Champagne depth that most LA restaurants wouldn't dare attempt. This is a list built for people who actually care, curated by a sommelier who clearly does too.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, and Henri Jayer in the same list isn't a coincidence — it's a statement. The French spine runs deep, from Domaine Raveneau Chablis to Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, with Champagne represented properly by Krug and Salon Blanc de Blancs. Germany and Austria get their due with Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling and Domaine Weinbach anchoring the old-world flank. California isn't an afterthought either — Kongsgaard, Sine Qua Non, Screaming Eagle, and Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir give domestic drinkers something to get genuinely excited about.
Eighteen to twenty-eight by-the-glass options is generous for a room of this caliber, with pours running $18 to $45. The program skews toward wines that actually complement Cimarusti's seafood-forward tasting menus — expect options that lean mineral and precise rather than jammy and showy. No rotating half-price program here; this is a set list, which is fine when the picks are this considered.
Domaine Weinbach Alsace Riesling — $18–$45 (glass)
Weinbach by the glass at a tasting menu restaurant is the move — it threads the needle between the minerality of Chablis and the richness of white Burgundy, and it's built for seafood. If it's on the glass list, order it immediately.
Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir
Everyone at this table is looking at the Burgundy section. Meanwhile, Hirsch from the Sonoma Coast is sitting there doing its cold-climate, iron-and-fog thing for a fraction of the French price. Don't sleep on it.
Screaming Eagle
Screaming Eagle is a trophy, not a dinner wine, and at Providence's markup it's a very expensive trophy. Impressive to order, but you're paying for the name on a list that has far more interesting bottles at a third of the cost.
Domaine Raveneau Chablis + Santa Barbara Sea Urchin
Raveneau's Chablis is all chalk, oyster shell, and cold stone — it's practically oceanic on its own. Up against Santa Barbara uni, which is sweet, briny, and intensely mineral, the two essentially become one dish. This is what the list was built for.
The Bottom Line
Providence has held a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence since 2016, and one look at this list tells you why — Tim Garner runs a program with genuine ambition, French depth, and the glassware to back it up. If you're eating the tasting menu, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to lean into what's in this cellar.
· Los Angeles · California small plates
If this four-wine snapshot is the full extent of AOC's current public-facing wine program, it doesn't come close to living up to the restaurant's wine bar billing. The pricing is fair and the Vinho Verde earns its spot, but four uniform options with no dish context and no visible deeper list is not what you go to a place called AOC expecting. Come for the reputation — just hope the full list is hiding somewhere.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Italian Seafood
Marea Beverly Hills brings genuine depth and regional curiosity to a wine list that could have easily coasted on crowd-pleasing Pinot Grigio and overpriced Super Tuscans — and it didn't. The markups are high, as expected for this zip code, and without clearer intel on staff knowledge or specials programming, the full experience is harder to guarantee. But the list itself earns serious respect, and if you navigate it well — start with the Strasserhof, finish with the Rossese — you'll drink far better than most tables around you.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Proper
Beverly Hills · Los Angeles · Prime rib and steakhouse
Lawry's is a Los Angeles institution and the prime rib is genuinely the point — the wine list exists to support that experience, not steal the show. If you hit the weekday happy hour window between 5 and 6 PM, you might find the value equation improves considerably. Come for the beef, enjoy whatever Cab they pour, and don't expect the list to surprise you.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
West Hollywood · Los Angeles · Italian and French Café
Bottega Louie West Hollywood is a solid, reliable choice when you want wine that doesn't distract from the occasion — the room, the company, the cannoli. The Sunday half-price glass program is the single most compelling reason to choose this spot specifically for wine, and we'd encourage you to use it. Just don't expect the list to surprise you; this is a place that knows its audience and plays to them without apology.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Occasional
Acceptable
West Adams · Los Angeles · Italian pasta
Cento is a destination for the pasta first, and the wine list seems to know its supporting role without phoning it in. We'd want a verified menu in hand before steering you toward specific bottles, but the regional focus and the evident care in the room give us real confidence this isn't a place that treats wine as an afterthought. Go for the spicy pomodoro, ask what's pouring by the glass, and let the night unfold.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Los Angeles · French tasting menu
Mélisse is a destination for Champagne completists willing to pay fine dining prices for the privilege of choosing between four Philipponnat vintages or three Krug editions in a single sitting. But if you're hoping for a wine list that matches the ambition of a French tasting menu — with depth across regions and styles — the narrowness here will leave you wanting. Come for the bubbles, manage your expectations for everything else.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
North Fremont / Beachfront · Monterey · American, Seafood
The Lantern Room is what happens when a hotel restaurant actually tries — a locally anchored wine list, a sommelier in the building, and enough interesting producers to make the steep markup sting a little less. Send a friend here if they love Central Coast wine; warn them to skip the Cab and lean into what this coast actually grows.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Scott's Addition · Richmond · American, Seafood
Lillian is the rare spot where the wine list is more ambitious than the address suggests — a focused, France-and-Italy-forward program with legit producers, a knowledgeable floor lead, and bottle prices that don't feel punitive. Send a friend here, tell them to sit at the counter, order oysters, and ask PJ what's open.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
River North · Chicago · American, Seafood
Terrace 16 earns its Wine Spectator badge and delivers a respectable, California-and-France-focused list in one of Chicago's most dramatic dining rooms. Just don't expect to be surprised — the wine is as reliable as the skyline view, and nearly as expensive.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
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
