A 60-page sake-and-wine list updated August 2026
Russian Hill · San Francisco · Japanese · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed October 9, 2026 · How we review
Explore Restaurant Nisei’s wine-list information. An overall rating has not been assigned. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Nisei's beverage list runs 60 pages and says it was updated in August 2026. It leads with by-the-pour pairings and glass pours, then moves to sake by Japanese region, sparkling wine, and still wines arranged by grape from Riesling and Grüner-Veltliner through Pinot Noir, Syrah, Italian and Iberian reds, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The restaurant says Master Sommelier Andrey Ivanov leads the beverage program.
Sake gets its own section, pages 8 to 25, walking region by region from Hokkaidō and Tohoku to Kyushu. On the wine side, the sparkling section includes Billecart-Salmon 'Le Rèserve' Extra Brut, and the Riesling section includes Trimbach 'Cuvée Frédéric Emile'. The list says it is built around producers with 'a common thread of sustainability and elegance' and that many selections were sourced by visiting producers. The corkage line is $60 per 750 mL, with a higher fee beyond two bottles, and the restaurant says it does not accept corkage of exact wines or sakes on its own list.
The by-the-glass page prices wine as half glass / glass: thirteen wines in all, from Patara Marani 'Qvevri' Rkatsiteli at $20/30 up to the 2000 Balthasar-Ress Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese Trocken at $45/80. Half-glass prices run $20 to $45 and full glasses $30 to $80. The set pairing menus are separate: $165 for wine, $205 for sake.
The Bottom Line
A 60-page beverage list with a full sake section and an even bigger wine section arranged by grape. For wine, the glass page is the easy route: try the $30 Patara Marani Qvevri Rkatsiteli, or spend $40 on the 2002 Tavares Dão. This unrated guide covers the posted beverage list (updated August 2026), not service, storage or markups.
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.
· Duluth · Japanese
Haru Ichiban is not a wine destination, and that's fine — plenty of great Japanese restaurants aren't. But if wine matters to you at dinner, this list gives you nothing to work with: no producers, no prices, no effort. Come for the food, skip the wine, and maybe order the Choya Plum Wine if you want something that at least fits the vibe.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Roswell · Japanese
Tanaka's wine list is functional in the same way a vending machine is functional — it technically dispenses what you need, but no one's excited about it. The pricing is fair and the Umeshu is a genuine bright spot, but seven bottles at a sit-down Japanese restaurant in 2024 signals that wine just isn't a priority here. Order the sake, or bring your own if corkage allows.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Jersey City · Japanese
For a Japanese lounge with a 21-bottle list, Stingray is doing more work than it has any reason to. The Grüner, the Loire whites, and that Grand Cru Champagne are all legitimate finds at prices that won't sting. If you're nearby and want something better than the usual sushi-spot house white, this is worth the detour.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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