Downtown Cleveland's Safe Bet for Cab Drinkers
Gateway District · Cleveland · Italian, American, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed March 22, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The Centro's wine list reads like a greatest hits album of American wine — the kind where you already know every song before the first note plays. Caymus, Rombauer, Meiomi: all present, all accounted for, all priced accordingly. It's a fine dining room with a hotel wine list, and that tension is very much on display.
The list spans 100-200 bottles with a California-heavy backbone, supplemented by Italian and French options that nod to the kitchen's roots. What you won't find is any real adventurousness — this is a list built to sell, not to explore. There's nothing wrong with Jordan Cabernet or Duckhorn Merlot, but when your anchor producers are the same five names every upscale hotel restaurant leans on, you're not really curating anything. The Italian and French sections feel underdeveloped relative to the California dominance, which is a missed opportunity given the pasta and pizza program on the food side.
The by-the-glass program runs 10-20 options, which is a reasonable count for a room of this size and ambition. Expect the usual suspects — something from Rombauer's Chardonnay, likely a Meiomi Pinot for the crowd that wants fruit-forward and easy — but don't expect the pours to rotate with any urgency. This is a set-and-forget glass program dressed up in a fine dining setting.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — null
Among the anchor names on this list, Jordan offers the most actual wine for the money — it's a polished, food-friendly Cab that doesn't demand your full attention the way Caymus does. If you're ordering a steak and want something that won't fight the food, this is the move. Pricing unknown, but Jordan generally lands more reasonably than its neighbors on lists like this.
Duckhorn Merlot
Merlot gets ignored at steakhouses because everyone's reaching for Cabernet, which means the Duckhorn often sits quietly on the list without much fanfare. It's a genuinely well-made wine — structured, plummy, with enough weight to handle a cut of beef — and the lack of hype around Merlot right now might mean it's priced a tick more reasonably than the Cabs.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus has become the default 'nice bottle' order for people who don't want to think too hard, and restaurants know it — which is exactly why it gets marked up aggressively at places like this. You're paying a premium for a brand name that's been coasting on reputation for years. The wine is fine. The markup is not.
Rombauer Chardonnay + House Made Pasta
Rombauer's butter-bomb Chardonnay is genuinely built for creamy pasta sauces — the oak and richness mirror what's in the bowl rather than fighting it. It's not a subtle pairing, but it works, and it's probably the most honest use of Rombauer on any restaurant list.
✔️ The Bottom Line
The Centro is a reliable pour for downtown Cleveland — the list won't surprise you, the prices will sting a little, but it's a competent wine program for a hotel steakhouse anchored in a beautiful room. Send a friend here if they want familiar bottles and a good steak; steer them elsewhere if they're looking for anything off the beaten path.
University Circle · Cleveland · Regional
Table 45 is a dependable hotel wine list that punches above its Cleveland zip code — it's not adventurous, but it's not embarrassing either. Send a friend here if they want recognizable, quality bottles in a proper setting; steer them toward Jordan and Drouhin and away from the obvious crowd-pleasers.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Flats East Bank · Cleveland · Italian
Lago East Bank is a legitimately strong Italian wine program in a city that doesn't always get credit for having them — the WS Award of Excellence since 2023 is earned. Markups keep it from being a great value play, but if you're going to drop money on a bottle of Barolo anywhere in Cleveland, this is the room to do it.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
Shaker Square · Cleveland · French
Edwins is one of the most genuinely interesting restaurant stories in Cleveland — a fine-dining French program run by people earning their place in the industry — and the wine list is good enough to stand on its own merits, mission aside. Send a friend here and tell them to order French across the board, from the escargot to the bottle.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Woodmere · Cleveland · American Steakhouse
J. Gilbert's is a reliable, well-stocked steakhouse list that plays it safe with California heavyweights and charges accordingly — nothing groundbreaking, but the Sunday wine deal is one of the better recurring specials in Cleveland and reason enough to plan around it. Come for the filet, drink better than you expected to.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Unknown · Cleveland · American Grill
J. Alexander's has no business having this good of a markup on their wine list, but here we are. It's a chain, it's comfortable, and it's offering pours like Austin Hope Cabernet at prices that would embarrass half the independent restaurants in Cleveland — send a friend here without hesitation.
Crowd Pleasers
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Near West Side / Hopkins Airport · Cleveland · American
Amp 150 is exactly what a good hotel restaurant wine program should be: fair prices, enough options to keep most people happy, and no disasters hiding in the list. We wouldn't drive across Cleveland for it, but if you're already here, you're in decent hands.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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