San Francisco's Most Serious Wine Room
Fisherman's Wharf · San Francisco · American, French · Visit Website ↗
Updated September 2026
Reviewed April 5, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Restaurant Gary Danko’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Gary Danko lands like a phone book from a parallel universe where everyone drinks Rousseau and Krug before dessert. Over 1,800 selections, organized with the kind of precision that tells you someone here actually cares. This is not a list that was phoned in — it's a statement.
Burgundy is the clear obsession: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Henri Jayer, Armand Rousseau, and Leroy all show up, which means this list is operating at a level most restaurants in the country can't touch. California holds its own with Kistler, Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, and Sine Qua Non — the kind of bottles that require either a special occasion or a very convincing argument. Bordeaux goes deep with Pétrus and Mouton Rothschild anchoring the prestige end, while the Rhône gets serious attention via Guigal's La Landonne and Chapoutier. Italy, Germany, and Austria round things out with names like Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, Egon Müller, and F.X. Pichler — proof that whoever built this list was paying attention to more than just what sells.
Twenty to thirty options by the glass is generous for a restaurant at this level, and the program reflects the same geographic range as the bottle list — expect Champagne, serious Burgundy, and California heavyweights to rotate through. The pours aren't cheap, but you're getting access to wines that rarely show up in glass-pour programs anywhere. If you're dining solo or just want to explore without committing to a bottle, this is one of the better glass programs in the city.
Chapoutier (Rhône) — $60
On a list that skews quickly into three-figure territory, landing a well-made Rhône from a serious producer at the entry price point is your play. Chapoutier brings structure and soul without the trophy-wine markup.
F.X. Pichler (Austria)
Most tables here are racing toward the Burgundy and California sections, which means the Austrian Grüner Veltliner and Riesling from F.X. Pichler gets overlooked. That's a mistake — Pichler is one of the benchmark producers in the Wachau, and at a restaurant with this much food finesse, a high-acid Austrian white is a genuinely great call.
Screaming Eagle
If you're paying Screaming Eagle prices at a restaurant, you're paying restaurant markup on top of a bottle that already costs a fortune at retail. The wine is real, the prestige is real, and so is the markup. Drink it at home where the pour costs you nothing extra.
Krug Champagne + Dungeness crab with cucumber, avocado, and Meyer lemon
Krug's richness and persistent bubble structure have the weight to stand up to sweet Dungeness crab while the wine's acidity cuts through the avocado and plays off the Meyer lemon brightness. It's one of those combinations where both things get better.
The Bottom Line
Gary Danko has held a Wine Spectator Grand Award since 2001 for good reason — this is one of the deepest, most seriously curated wine programs in California, staffed by people who actually know what's in the cellar. The markup runs steep, but when the list includes DRC and Henri Jayer, you're not here for bargains.
West Portal · San Francisco · Italian wine bar and small plates
A wine-bar list built around Italian bottles, with prices from $41 to $600 on the Wine List page. Start with the Firmino Miotti Breganze Cabernet 2015 at $18/64 from the glass section, or take the Raina Le Campette Montefalco Rosso 2020 at $42 if you want a bottle, and confirm prices since neither page is dated. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Fillmore · San Francisco · Indian, Regional
A South Indian dinner menu with two wine PDFs behind it: 17 pours on the glass PDF from 15 to 32, then a bottle PDF that starts with grower Champagne. Start with the chilled Florèz God's Own at 15 or the Aldo Viola Moretto at 17, and confirm both lists, since the PDFs are undated and the website Wines tab names some different producers. This unrated guide covers the posted wine lists, not service, storage or markups.
Hayes Valley · San Francisco · Wine bar with California/Italian-leaning small plates
A wine-bar list that ranges from Lebanese sparkling and orange wine to Jura bottles and sherry by the 3 or 4 oz. Start with the Pardusco 2024 chilled red at $14 / $56 or the Apátsági 2022 juhfark at $17, and confirm prices, since the page itself points you to the wine wall for more. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks and bottle lists, not service, storage or markups.
North Beach · San Francisco · Italian
A pizzeria wine list with real range: 24 wines under the Glasses heading, Italian reds sorted by region, and New World reds that include Napa and Paso Robles Cabernet. Start with the $10/$40 house Chianti Superiore, or try the $13/$52 Planeta Ceresuolo with a Margherita, and confirm vintages and prices before you order. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Union Square · San Francisco · French
A 66-page list that starts with a 20-pour glass page and moves quickly into Burgundy, Rhône and Bordeaux bottles priced in the hundreds and thousands, so decide early whether you are drinking by the glass or committing to a bottle. Start with the $20 Chablis or the $23 Corsican red, and confirm today's list because it carries no print date. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Potrero Hill · San Francisco · Italian
A list with two speeds: 29 glass pours from $13 to $45, and a bottle book that runs from $44 to $2,100. Start with the $13 Il Frappato or the $18 Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo, then look at the Etna Rosso bottles (Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2023 is $82) if you want a bottle. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks list, not service, storage or markups.
Midtown East · New York · American, French
A Park Avenue restaurant whose posted wine list is a 21-wine glass list. Start with the $18 Leitz Riesling or the $19 Ogier Saint-Joseph. No bottle list is posted online, so ask the restaurant what is available by the bottle. This unrated guide covers the posted glass list, not service, storage or markups.
College Hill · Providence · American, French
A Cabernet-heavy list from autumn 2025, with glass pours from 10 and bottles up to a 450 Opus One. Start with the 10 Château du Petit Thouars Cabernet Franc, or the 16 Fontanafredda Nebbiolo if you want something from Piedmont, and check that the list is still current since it is marked September 2025. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Dupont Circle · Washington · American, French
Start with the Minuty Prestige rosé at 20 or the Château de Saint-Cosme Syrah at 22 by the glass, and save the Dagueneau for the table that wants a bottle. The glass page is the cheaper way in, with thirteen wines between 20 and 34. The file is linked as 9-26, so confirm today's pours and prices. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or retail markups.
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