Comfort Food Gets a Decent Wine Sidekick
Eastside / Michigan Avenue Corridor · Lansing · New American Bistro · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed July 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Walking into Soup Spoon Café, you're not expecting a wine revelation — and you won't get one. But the list is tighter and more considered than the cozy soup-and-sandwich vibe suggests. For a neighborhood bistro in Lansing, this is genuinely better than it needs to be.
Thirty to forty labels covering Napa, Willamette Valley, Rioja, Sicily, the Rhône, and even Vinho Verde — that's a reasonable passport for a café of this size. There's clear intent here: La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi sits next to Feudo Montoni Catarratto from Sicily, which tells us someone on staff has at least flipped through a wine atlas. Gaps exist — Burgundy is absent, there's nothing from Germany beyond the St. Urbans-Hof Riesling — but the selections that are here lean quality over filler. The $28–$55 bottle range keeps things accessible without bottoming out into table-wine territory.
Ten to fifteen pours by the glass at $8–$14 is a solid spread for this format — you can explore without committing to a bottle. The Saumur Chenin Blanc and Arca Nova Vinho Verde give the program some texture and personality beyond the usual California suspects. Rotation doesn't appear to be a strong suit, but the standing lineup covers enough ground to satisfy most tables.
La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Tempranillo, Rioja Alta — $38
Viña Alberdi is a legitimate Rioja Reserva from one of the appellation's most respected houses. Finding it in this price range at a neighborhood café is a genuine win — you'd pay double at a proper steakhouse.
Feudo Montoni Catarratto Bianco, Sicilia
Most tables will walk right past this for the Chardonnay, and that's a mistake. Feudo Montoni is a serious organic producer in the Sicilian interior, and Catarratto at this price is the kind of crisp, mineral white that makes the whole meal feel lighter.
Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Duckhorn is a perfectly fine wine, but it's also available at every Total Wine in America and every safe-choice restaurant list from here to Phoenix. The markup here doesn't make it a bargain, and for that spend you could be drinking the Viña Alberdi instead.
Saumur Chenin Blanc + Homemade Soup (daily special)
A good bowl of soup — especially something creamy or vegetable-forward — needs a white with acidity and a little body. Saumur Chenin Blanc threads that needle perfectly: enough structure to cut through richness, enough brightness to keep it from feeling heavy.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Soup Spoon Café isn't a wine destination, but it earns its keep — fair prices, a few genuinely interesting bottles, and a list that punches above its weight for a Michigan Avenue bistro. Send a friend here with confidence, just don't expect the staff to geek out with you.
Old Town Lansing · Lansing · Gastropub
Zoobie's isn't where you go to geek out on wine, but if you're meeting friends for dinner in Old Town and someone at the table insists on a glass, you won't be stuck with regret. Grab the Malbec or the Mawby rosé, let everyone else argue about the beer list.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Okemos · Lansing · Seafood and American
Real Seafood Company Okemos is a dependable neighborhood anchor where the wine list won't embarrass you or excite you — fair prices and familiar faces make it easy, just don't come expecting discovery. Order the La Marca with the oysters and leave the wine nerd hat at home.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Lansing · Lansing · Casual American / Tex-Mex
Chili's is a perfectly good place to eat a burger and drink a margarita — we mean that sincerely. But if wine is your thing, this list will let you down every single time, and you deserve better than a $8 Barefoot pour.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
West Lansing · Lansing · Steakhouse / Roadhouse
Logan's Roadhouse in Lansing is here for the steaks and the bucket of peanuts, not the wine. Order a cocktail or a beer, and save your wine ambitions for a restaurant that's saving some for you.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
South Lansing · Lansing · Steakhouse / Grill
Black Rock is here for the sizzling steak theater, and the wine list is clearly an afterthought that nobody's bothered to revisit. Order a cocktail, spring for the Chateau Ste. Michelle if you need wine, and save your serious bottle budget for somewhere that earned it.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Greater Lansing · Lansing · Steakhouse
Morton's Lansing is a safe, well-executed steakhouse wine list that will satisfy a client dinner without anyone raising an eyebrow — or an eyebrow in excitement. Send a friend here if they want familiar names done properly; send them somewhere else if they want to actually discover something.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
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