Two Hundred Wines, Zero Mercy on Price
Haymarket · Lincoln · French-influenced contemporary American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 25, 2026
Wingman Metrics
Two hundred wines sounds impressive until you realize the list leans hard on the same Napa heavyweights you've seen at every steakhouse from here to Dallas. The European country inn vibe promises something considered and personal; the wine list delivers something closer to a hotel banquet fallback. It's not broken, but it's not trying very hard either.
The list skews heavily toward California — Cakebread, Rombauer, Caymus, Duckhorn, The Prisoner — names that sell themselves because people already know them, not because anyone curated them. There's a gesture toward Oregon with Sokol Blosser from Willamette Valley, and some European-inspired picks round out the edges, but the dominant mood is safe, familiar, and priced for people who aren't paying attention. For a French-influenced kitchen, the absence of any real Burgundy, Loire, or Rhône depth is a notable swing and a miss. A 200-bottle list should have more personality than this one does.
House wine clocks in at $8, which is approachable, and G.H. Mumm by the glass at $14 keeps the bubbly accessible — but that glass pour represents a 239% markup on a $38 retail bottle, which is hard to stomach. The by-the-glass program details are sparse beyond these data points, and without a visible rotating selection or any real curation signal, it reads more like a static afterthought than an active program.
Dom Pérignon Champagne NV — $325
At 30% over retail on a $250 bottle, this is by far the fairest markup on the entire list — the one moment where the pricing math actually works in your favor. If you're celebrating and going big, this is the only bottle where you're not getting squeezed.
Sokol Blosser
Buried among the Napa blockbusters, Sokol Blosser is the one producer on this list that signals someone, at some point, was thinking about terroir. A family-run Willamette Valley pioneer making restrained, food-friendly Oregon wines — worth seeking out here as an antidote to the Caymus crowd.
G.H. Mumm Brut Champagne NV (by the glass)
At $14 a glass on a bottle that retails for $38, you're paying a 239% markup for the privilege of drinking entry-level Champagne from a pour you can't verify was opened today. Order the bottle at $72 if you want Mumm, or skip it entirely.
Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2020 + Nebraska Wagyu Beef
Duckhorn Cab is built for exactly this moment — structured tannins, dark fruit, enough weight to stand up to local Wagyu without overwhelming it. It's the most logical match on the list, and at 75% over retail it's one of the more reasonably marked-up reds they're pouring.
❌ The Bottom Line
The Green Gateau is a lovely room with a kitchen worth visiting, but the wine list is a 200-bottle monument to playing it safe and charging extra for the privilege. Send your friend here for the food; tell them to watch their wallet on the wine.
South Lincoln · Lincoln · Modern Asian (Thai-focused with pan-Asian influences)
Issara has no business having a wine list this considered — and we mean that as the highest compliment. If you care about drinking well with your food, this is the most interesting wine list in Lincoln and it's not particularly close.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown · Lincoln · Wings / Sports Bar
The Watering Hole is a great spot for wings and a cold beer — the wine list is an afterthought and the pricing makes sure you know it. If you're here for a game and need wine, grab the Riesling or the Prosecco and call it a night.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
MIA
Set & Forget
Acceptable
South Lincoln · Lincoln · American grill and brewpub
Lazlo's South Lincoln is a reliable neighborhood brewpub that happens to stock a respectable short wine list — don't expect discovery, but you won't feel stranded if you're skipping the beer. Send a friend here for dinner knowing the wine won't embarrass anyone.
Crowd Pleasers
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
Downtown / Near South · Lincoln · French-influenced contemporary American
The Green Gateau is doing something genuinely uncommon: running a deep, fairly priced, award-recognized wine program in a mid-sized Midwest city without making a big show of it. Yes, send your friends here — just tell them to show up before 6 p.m.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Proper
Downtown · Lincoln · Contemporary American, farm-to-table
DISH is doing something genuinely impressive for a mid-sized Midwestern city — a thoughtful, sommelier-curated list with real depth and serious producers. The markups keep it from being a true Rager, but as a Wild Card, it earns every bit of that badge: you simply don't expect this wine list in Lincoln, Nebraska, and that surprise is worth the trip downtown.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Southeast Lincoln · Lincoln · New American with Italian influences
Carmela's is the best wine list in Southeast Lincoln, which is a low bar, but the Barolos, the Brunello, and the Chateauneuf-du-Pape prove there's real intent here. Markups on the prestige bottles are hard to swallow, but for a neighborhood bistro date night, this list delivers more than it had to.
Solid Range
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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