Tandoori and DRC in the Cornhusker State
Lincoln · Lincoln · Asian, Indian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
You walk into an Asian-Indian restaurant in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the wine list lands on your table with 350-plus bottles anchored by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Château Lynch-Bages. It takes a second to compute. This is not the list anyone expects here, and that is exactly the point.
The Oven has held a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence since 2010, and the list earns it — California and France dominate, with serious depth in Burgundy and Bordeaux sitting alongside German and Austrian selections that most restaurants in far larger cities don't bother stocking. Names like Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, Trimbach Clos Sainte Hune, and Château Pichon Baron fill out a list that clearly has a point of view. Italy gets a seat at the table too, though the European heavyweights are the real story. With two sommeliers on staff — Chad Hoffman and Jordan Vanek — this list did not happen by accident.
Twenty to thirty-five pours by the glass is a serious by-the-glass program for any market, let alone Lincoln. Prices run $12 to $18, which is reasonable for the caliber of wine being served. The glass selection gives you a real entry point into the list without committing to a full bottle of something unfamiliar.
Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune — $40+ (bottle range entry)
Clos Sainte Hune is one of Alsace's most important wines and consistently underpriced relative to its Burgundy-tier peers. Finding it on a list in Nebraska at a restaurant entry price point is the kind of thing worth building a dinner around.
Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune
Most tables at The Oven will reach for the Caymus or the Kosta Browne without a second thought. The Clos Sainte Hune is the wine the sommeliers are quietly hoping someone orders — precise, electric, and a genuinely thrilling match for the kitchen's spice-forward cooking.
Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus Special Selection is a crowd-pleaser and a prestige pour, but it is also one of the most marked-up wines in American restaurants. With Château Pichon Baron and Lynch-Bages on the same list, the Caymus is the safe, expensive choice that leaves a lot of wine on the table.
Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune + Tandoori lamb
The Clos Sainte Hune's high acidity and bone-dry precision cut right through the char and fat of tandoori lamb while the wine's aromatic intensity holds its own against the spice. It is the kind of pairing that makes you realize why someone built this list the way they did.
🎲 The Bottom Line
The Oven is the most surprising wine list in Nebraska and would be a legitimate destination in any city — a kitchen cooking bold, spice-driven food with a sommelier-driven cellar to back it up. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Caymus.
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
Haymarket · Lincoln · French-influenced contemporary American
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.
Crowd Pleasers
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
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
Menlo Park · Menlo Park · Asian, Indian
An Indian restaurant with a Wine Spectator award, a real sommelier, and a Wednesday half-price wine night is exactly the kind of place Raging Wine exists to find. The markups skew steep on the headline bottles, but the program has genuine intention behind it — and that makes all the difference.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Active Program
Proper
Miami Beach · Miami Beach · Asian, Indian
JAYA is a serious wine destination wearing a beach hotel's clothes — the cellar is deep, the sommeliers know their stuff, and Wednesday half-price bottles make one of Miami Beach's best lists suddenly accessible. Markup is steep across the board, but if you pick smart, you'll drink very well here.
Deep & Eclectic
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Active Program
Proper
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