Wine List Reviews

Junto is doing something genuinely unexpected — building a thoughtful, globally-minded wine list inside a downtown sushi spot in Bentonville. Markups aren't doing you any favors, but the selection earns real respect, and the Riesling-with-sushi angle alone is worth the visit.

Hinoki isn't a wine destination, but it's not trying to be — it's a solid neighborhood Japanese spot with a list that covers the bases, keeps prices in check, and won't embarrass you in front of a date. Order the Oyster Bay, get the omakase, and call it a win.

Kanki is a great place for a birthday dinner, a family outing, or watching a chef flip a shrimp into your mouth — the wine list is not the reason you're here, and it doesn't pretend to be. Order the sake, enjoy the show, and save the serious wine drinking for another night.

Koi is a perfectly competent casino wine list — safe producers, limited range, and markups that reflect the captive audience. If you're here for the food and the vibe, order the Riesling and don't overthink it.

Kobe's is a fun night out for the hibachi show and the sushi — just don't expect the wine list to be part of that fun. Order a Japanese beer, grab the house pour if you need wine, and save the serious drinking for somewhere else.

Katsu-Ya is a perfectly solid Japanese restaurant where the wine list exists as an obligation, not a feature. Come for the katsu and ramen, order sake or a Sapporo, and if you must have wine, grab the Koshu and move on.

Kome isn't building a destination wine program, but they're doing enough right to drink well here — especially if you dig past the familiar labels. The markups ask you to pay for the ambiance, but the Taurasi and the local Grüner are genuine finds worth the trip.

Come to Sumo for the ramen, which by all accounts earns its reputation. But the wine list is a Lazy List through and through — order the nigori sake, skip the wine entirely, and no one gets hurt.

SakeTome is a Wild Card: a lively downtown sushi spot with a mostly safe wine list that hides genuine Oregon ambition behind a wall of crowd-pleasers. Come for the rolls, order the Meiomi by the glass or splurge on Walter Scott if it's available — just skip the Priorat.

Morimoto Napa is a genuinely good restaurant with a wine list that coasts on its address and its chef's reputation — the selection has real highlights, but the markups on mid-tier bottles are hard to overlook. Go for the Dom Pérignon or the Hirsch, skip the grocery-store Chardonnays at restaurant markup, and let the sommelier earn their keep.

Kenzo is a one-estate show, and it works because the estate is genuinely excellent and the food is designed around it. If you want variety and discovery, look elsewhere — but if you want a single, coherent wine-and-food vision executed at a high level, this is exactly that.

Miyako's wine list exists to check a box, and it does that — nothing more. Order the sake, order a cocktail, or make peace with a Canyon Road pour and focus on the hibachi show.

Makoto isn't trying to be a wine bar and it knows it — the list is short, the labels are familiar, and the prices are genuinely kind. Send your friends here for sushi and tell them to order the Malbec by the bottle; they'll be fine.

Come to Yuki for the sushi, which by all accounts earns its local-staple status. Come for the wine only if you're keeping it simple — stick to the Stoneleigh or the Wollersheim Riesling and call it a night.

Sakura isn't a wine destination, but it's an honest sake bar hiding inside a hibachi restaurant — and if you meet it on its own terms, you'll drink reasonably well. Stick to the sake, avoid the plum wine markup, and let the teppanyaki show do the heavy lifting.

Teppan Fuji is a genuinely fun spot for hibachi and all-you-can-eat sushi — just don't come here for the wine list. Order the sake, enjoy the show, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere else.

Arigato is a destination for sushi, not wine — but the list is sensibly built around what actually works with raw fish. Order the Kessler-Haak, eat well, and don't overthink it.

Mori is swinging bigger on wine than any casual Japanese spot in Bloomington has a right to, and we respect the effort. The markups and the California-red tunnel vision hold it back from being a destination wine stop, but if you're already there for sushi, there's a genuinely interesting bottle or two worth finding.

Bluefin is a solid spot for sushi and Thai food, but the wine list is an afterthought — overpriced commodity wines with no connection to the cuisine they're supposed to accompany. If you're coming here, order a sake or a cocktail and save the wine night for somewhere that cares.

Tokyo is a hibachi restaurant that happens to have wine, not the other way around — and that's fine, but don't make the wine the reason you come. Stick to the sake options, keep your glass price low, and enjoy the show.

Come to Nakamura for the sushi and Korean comfort food, which by all accounts are worth the trip — but order sake or a beer and don't give the wine list a second thought. Four bottles at $5.49 is a placeholder, not a program.

Come to Sushi Lover for the sushi — the wine list is clearly not the point and nobody's pretending otherwise. If you're drinking wine tonight, stick to the rosé or the plum wine and save the serious bottle for a restaurant that cares.

Miyako is a perfectly good neighborhood Japanese spot that happens to have a wine list that peaked in 2004. Stick to sake, beer, or whatever cocktail they're mixing — the wine program is here in body only.

Imoto earns its Wild Card badge because nobody expects a sushi lounge in Palm Beach to stock Domaine Weinbach and skin-fermented California whites — and yet here we are. Markups run on the steeper side (this is Palm Beach, after all), but the list has genuine personality and a sommelier who clearly put in the work. Go for the spicy tuna, stay for the Blanc de Blancs.

Slurping Turtle is a genuinely fun spot to eat, and the ramen deserves your full attention — but the wine list is on cruise control and nobody seems to mind. Stick to a glass of Riesling or grab a beer, and save your wine curiosity for somewhere that reciprocates it.

Nagomi is the rare sushi spot that made an actual choice with its wine program instead of just phoning it in with grocery store staples — a focused BC lineup at fair prices is exactly the kind of unexpected that earns a second look. If you're curious about Canadian wine and want a low-stakes way to explore it, this is your spot.

Come to Tomukun for the ramen — come for the bibimbap — just don't come for the wine list. Order a beer, or lean into the plum wine and have some fun with it.

Okatshe is a Wild Card in the truest sense: a Tokyo-inspired izakaya inside a Moxy Hotel in Allentown, Pennsylvania, pouring orange Chenin Blanc from South Africa and Finger Lakes Riesling to people who mostly came for the sushi. The markups are real and the list is small, but the curation punches above its weight — and that counts for a lot.

Miso is a sushi restaurant first and a wine destination never — but the Monday half-price bottle program and a well-placed Riesling keep it from falling into Lazy List territory. Come for the food, drink the Riesling, and show up on a Monday if you can.

Kamakura Sushi is a solid neighborhood sushi spot and you should absolutely go — just order sake, beer, or a soft drink and leave the wine list alone. The wine program exists in name only, and no amount of goodwill toward the kitchen changes that.