Ribs Are the Star, Wine Is the Understudy
Mall del Norte Area · Laredo · American steakhouse / ribs · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 26, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Tony Roma's Laredo’s wine list and gave it The Lazy List — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Tony Roma's Laredo reads like the shelf at a grocery store checkout — familiar labels, zero surprises. It's functional, it's inoffensive, and it tells you exactly where wine ranks on this restaurant's priority list: somewhere between the coleslaw and the extra napkins.
Fifteen to twenty-five bottles deep, the list leans hard on California and Washington State workhorses — Kendall-Jackson, Columbia Crest, Mark West, Apothic. There's no adventurous regionality here, no small producers, no Old World presence whatsoever. Washington State gets a nod via Chateau Ste. Michelle and 14 Hands, which is about as far off the beaten path as this list gets. If you've seen the wine wall at a Chili's, you already know this list.
Eight to twelve pours by the glass at $8–$12 is actually a reasonable range for a mall-adjacent steakhouse in Laredo. The problem is the options are all greatest hits from the mainstream New World playbook — nothing rotates, nothing surprises. You're not discovering anything here, but you're also not getting gouged.
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon — $32
Columbia Crest Grand Estates punches above its bottle price. It's a legitimate Washington Cab that can actually hold up to the baby back ribs and steak on the menu — and at the lower end of the bottle range here, it's the most wine for your money on the list.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay
Most people in this room are grabbing the Kendall-Jackson out of habit. Chateau Ste. Michelle's Chardonnay is the better wine — slightly less oaky, better acid structure, and comes from one of Washington's most consistent producers. It flies under the radar because the KJ label is just more recognizable.
Apothic Red Blend
Apothic Red is a supermarket wine dressed up in moody packaging. It's sweet, soft, and built for people who don't really want to taste wine. At restaurant markup, you're paying extra for a bottle you could grab at H-E-B for $9. Pass.
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon + Baby Back Ribs
The smokiness and char on Tony Roma's ribs needs a wine with enough structure to stand up to it. The Columbia Crest Cab brings dark fruit and just enough tannin to cut through the sauce without overwhelming the meat. It's the obvious call and it works.
The Bottom Line
Tony Roma's Laredo is here to serve ribs, and the wine list knows its place in the pecking order. Nothing wrong with it, nothing exciting about it — if wine matters to you tonight, manage expectations accordingly.
· Laredo · Italian
If wine matters to you at dinner, Laredo has better options than this. Olive Garden's wine program is a corporate formality — two labels do not a wine list make. Order the cocktail, enjoy the breadsticks, and save the bottle for somewhere that earned it.
Grocery Store
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Laredo · Modern Mexican
Casa Azul's wine list has no business being this interesting for a modern Mexican spot in Laredo, and that's exactly why it earns a Wild Card. The list is small and the by-the-glass program is thin, but the bones are good — Patient Cottat Sancerre and Drouhin Pinot Noir don't end up on a 22-bottle list by accident. If you're eating here, skip the safe plays and lean into the whites.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Laredo · Contemporary bistro
Lolita's Bistro is doing more with a 19-bottle list than most Laredo restaurants would bother attempting — the Domaine Delaporte Sancerre, the Barbaresco, and the Bolgheri Rosso tell you someone cares. Markups run steep across the board, especially at the top of the list, so bring a budget or lean toward the Albariño and Pinot Noir by the glass. Worth stopping in, worth ordering wine — just go in with eyes open on price.
Small but Thoughtful
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Laredo · New American / Latin Fusion
El Capataz Del Mar isn't a wine destination — it's a restaurant that happens to have seven bottles on a menu. The pricing is honest and the Garnacha options from AH-SO offer a slight spark of personality, but this list needs serious attention before it earns a real recommendation. Order a cocktail, or grab the white Garnacha if you want to say you tried.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Laredo · Steakhouse
El Asador is clearly a destination for the food — the wood-fired steaks, the Tuétano al Piquín, the oysters — and the margaritas are probably doing heavy lifting at the bar. But the wine list is a placeholder, not a program. Five unlabeled, undated-for-rotation bottles at a polished steakhouse in 2024 is a miss. Come for the beef, order a cocktail, and hope someone eventually hands this list to someone who cares.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
La Posada Hotel · Laredo · Steakhouse
The Tack Room isn't trying to be a wine destination, and it succeeds at being exactly what it is — a dependable hotel steakhouse list with some solid bottles hiding among the Cab parade. Order the Spanish or Argentine options, avoid the trophy-bottle markups, and you'll eat and drink just fine.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.
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