750 Bottles Deep and the Oysters Are Waiting
Downtown · Seattle · Seafood · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 9, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You open this wine list and immediately feel the weight of it — 750-plus bottles is not an accident, it's a statement. The Pacific Northwest gets its proper spotlight here, but France and California show up strong enough to keep things honest. This is the kind of list that makes you wish you'd made a reservation for a longer evening.
The backbone is Pacific Northwest white wine, which makes complete sense when half the menu is swimming in the Puget Sound. Oregon Chardonnay is particularly well-represented — Gran Moraine, Roserock, and Lingua Franca all appear, giving you a proper tour of the Willamette Valley without leaving the table. California gets its due with Rochioli and Kongsgaard, and Washington shows up through Avennia and Mark Ryan. The real flex is the Burgundy-adjacent material, including Dagueneau and Chave, which signals that whoever built this list wasn't just filling pages.
Twenty to thirty by-the-glass options is genuinely generous, and the selection tracks well with the bottle list — meaning you're not stuck with anonymous bulk wine while the real stuff sits behind a paywall. The NV 'Cuvee John Howie' by Nominé-Renard appears as a house Champagne play, which sets a tone right from the jump. Rotation frequency isn't confirmed, but the range suggests someone is paying attention.
Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay — null
Brewer-Clifton punches well above its price point in almost any context — it's Santa Barbara Chardonnay with real structure and restraint, not the big-butter California style. In a list trending toward prestige Oregon and Burgundy, this one often gets overlooked and priced accordingly. Great call next to a bowl of Dungeness crab.
Avennia 'Oliane'
Most people at a seafood restaurant are reaching for Burgundy or Oregon Chardonnay. The Avennia 'Oliane' — a Washington white Rhône blend — is sitting right there doing something completely different and more interesting. It's a local producer making the kind of wine that doesn't get enough credit outside of the Pacific Northwest wine nerd circuit.
Mark Ryan Viognier
Viognier is a tough sell next to delicate seafood — it's floral and rich in a way that tends to bulldoze raw bar flavors rather than complement them. Mark Ryan makes solid wine, but this is the one pick on the list that feels out of place at a raw bar table. You have too many better options here to spend your money going uphill.
Gran Moraine Chardonnay + Oysters
Gran Moraine is Yamhill-Carlton Chardonnay with a saline, mineral edge that mirrors the brine in a good Pacific oyster. It's not trying to be Montrachet and doesn't need to be — it's clean, focused, and lets the shellfish do the talking. This is the combination that makes you understand why someone built a 750-bottle list around this type of food.
The Bottom Line
Seastar is the rare seafood restaurant where the wine list is as serious as the kitchen, and the Pacific Northwest focus makes it feel genuinely intentional rather than just comprehensive. The markup keeps it from being a steal, but if you're eating oysters in Bellevue, there's nowhere better to be drinking while you do it.
Downtown · Seattle · Brazilian Churrascaria
The real headline here is the half-price South American bottles — available Monday through Thursday, all day, on bottles under $150 — which turns a polished steakhouse into a legitimately reasonable wine night. The list won't excite anyone who came for the wine, but if you came for the meat and want a solid regional bottle at a fair price, this deal is worth planning around.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Active Program
Acceptable
Ballard · Seattle · Italian
A short, Italian-leaning list with most of its bottles in the Old World red section. Order the $11 Montepulciano by the glass, or the $69 Travaglini Gattinara if you want to splurge a little, and confirm prices on the day. This unrated guide covers the posted wine menus, not service, storage or markups.
Downtown · Seattle · Pacific Northwest / New American
A hotel wine list with a Pacific Northwest page up front, Champagne, Bordeaux and Italian sections behind it, and a separate glass list on the drink menu. Start with the $12 Treveri Blanc de Blancs at happy hour or the Mark Ryan 'Goldfinch Tavern Red Blend', and check the current list before you go, since the restaurant says menus are subject to change. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list and drink menu, not service, storage or markups.
Lake Union · Seattle · Steakhouse
A long, Northwest-first steakhouse list with plenty of bottles under $100 as well as a $300-to-$550 tier of Leonetti and Quilceda Creek Cabernets. Start with the $20 Five Star Cellars “Prime” Cabernet by the glass, or the same wine at $55 on the bottle pages, and confirm prices because the list says vintages and availability change. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Capitol Hill · Seattle · Italian
An all-Italian list that is easy to navigate: 11 wines by the glass from $13 to $30, a bottle list sorted by region, and $8 house wine during Apericena. Order the Soave at $13 or the $17 Kerner by the glass, or the Villa Venti Sangiovese with the tagliatelle al ragu, and confirm prices because the page says they are subject to change. This unrated guide covers the posted wine list, not service, storage or markups.
Central District · Seattle · Seafood
A mostly natural, mostly French bottle list that stretches from $60 Muscadet to a $455 Champagne, with a deep run of Jura, Savoie and Loire bottles. Start with the $60 Hautplanty Muscadet or the $72 Laurent Herlin Cabernet Franc, and ask about the list’s ◆ and ◉ key if you want help choosing between classic and wild. This unrated guide covers the posted drinks selection, not service, storage or markups.
· Flowery Branch · Seafood
Fish Tales is on Lake Lanier, which should be a natural setting for a thoughtful selection of cold, crisp whites. Instead, the wine program is a single bottle of heavily buttered California Chardonnay. We'd recommend sticking to whatever's on tap and revisiting the wine situation if anything changes.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Perimeter Center · Dunwoody · Seafood
Louisiana Bistreaux is genuinely worth visiting for the food — the seafood is the draw, full stop. But if wine is part of your evening, don't come here expecting the list to match the kitchen's ambition. Order the crawfish ravioli, get a cocktail or a cold beer, and save the wine exploration for somewhere that's put in the work.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Cartersville · Seafood
Maine Street Coastal Cuisine is a seafood spot that doesn't take wine seriously, and the five-label, all-$7, no-producer list makes that clear without apology. If you're here for the food, drink the cocktails or crack a beer — the wine list isn't worth the conversation.
Grocery Store
Fair
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.
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