Pretty Room, Punishing Markups, Pass the Cocktail Menu
Downtown Waco · Waco · French, Brasserie
Reviewed April 14, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The room is genuinely stunning — restored Art Deco bones, warm lighting, the kind of space that makes you want to order a bottle just to sit in it longer. Then you open the wine list. It's a greatest-hits parade of grocery store darlings dressed up in hotel pricing, and the magic fades fast. The setting is doing a lot of heavy lifting for what's inside that leather-bound folder.
The list leans on California workhorses — Cakebread, Duckhorn, La Crema, Mondavi — with a nod toward France and Spain that feels more like a gesture than a commitment. There's nothing wrong with these producers per se, but in a French brasserie with a serious kitchen, you'd hope to find some actual French wine beyond the implied regional focus. No Burgundy producers called out, no Loire, no Rhône — just familiar California labels that sell themselves and require zero curation. The Spain angle is similarly underdeveloped based on what's visible, and the 40-80 bottle range suggests depth that the actual selection doesn't quite deliver.
Eight to sixteen by-the-glass options is a reasonable range on paper, and at least there's something to sip while you decide. But when the bottle list is this safe, the glass pours are likely pulling from the same familiar pool — Kim Crawford, La Crema, and friends. No evidence of a rotating program or anything poured with particular intention.
Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 — $95
At a 46% markup, this is the least egregious bottle on the list — still steep, but Duckhorn Cab at $95 is at least buying you something genuinely good. Everything else here is marked up harder for considerably less wine.
La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2022
Most people sleep on La Crema because it's approachable and widely distributed, but the Sonoma Coast Pinot actually drinks well with brasserie food. At $52 it's still marked up, but it's the most food-friendly bottle on the list for the French menu they're running.
Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
A $14 retail bottle at $32 is a 129% markup on a wine that belongs in a supermarket wine aisle, not a hotel brasserie. This is filler priced like a feature. Hard pass.
La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2022 + Steak Frites
The Sonoma Coast Pinot has enough red fruit and acid to cut through the butter and beef without overpowering the dish. It's the right weight for bistro food, and it's the one bottle here that actually makes sense in context.
Wednesday — Half-price bottles of wine all day Wednesday — the only day the markups make any sense here.
❌ The Bottom Line
Come for the room, seriously — Hotel 1928 is a beautiful place to eat. But the wine list is a collection of safe bets marked up aggressively, with no real French wine in a French restaurant, and the Wednesday half-price promotion is the only reason to think about ordering a bottle. If it's not Wednesday, order a cocktail.
Central Waco / Richland Mall area · Waco · American gastropub / brewery fare
BJ's wine list exists because it has to, not because anyone loves it — this is a beer destination first and everything else is an afterthought. If you're here on a Wednesday during happy hour, grab the $5 Dark Horse and call it honest; otherwise, just drink the beer.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Central Waco / Loop 340 · Waco · Casual Chain Italian-American
Olive Garden Waco's wine list is a corporate afterthought dressed up with Italian flags — gouge-level markups on supermarket bottles, no staff expertise, and zero ambition. Order the cocktails, drink the endless coffee, or BYOB if they'll let you. The breadsticks don't need wine anyway.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Southwest Waco / I-35 corridor · Waco · Steakhouse
Texas Roadhouse is a great place for a hand-cut steak, cold beer, and line-dancing servers — but the wine list is essentially a placeholder. Come for the food, order a Lone Star, and leave the wine ambitions at home.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Central Waco / Valley Mills Drive · Waco · Steakhouse
Outback Waco's wine program is what happens when a corporate chain treats wine as a line item instead of an experience — overpriced grocery store bottles with zero staff expertise and zero reason to explore the list. Order the beer, order the cocktail, or BYOB if they'll let you.
Grocery Store
Gouge
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Central Waco / near Richland Mall · Waco · Steakhouse
Saltgrass is here for the steak, and the steak is genuinely good — but the wine program is an afterthought wearing a price tag. Order the ribeye, split a bottle of Decoy if you must, and don't expect anyone on staff to help you think beyond that.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Woodway / Marketplace area · Waco · Steakhouse
135 Prime is doing more with a wine list than Waco has any right to expect from its steakhouse scene, and the weekly specials show genuine curiosity. Just keep your guard up when the dessert wine list arrives — that's where the house cashes in.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.