Best Restaurants for Wine Lovers in Kansas City
Four restaurants on this list hold a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence for 2026: Farina in Crossroads, JJ's Restaurant in West Plaza, Pierpont's at Union Station in Midtown, and 1587 Prime in Downtown. Each pairs the award with an exceptional wine program. Citywide, eight restaurants in our guide hold that same award.
Room 39 in Midtown and Chaz on the Plaza in Country Club Plaza are on the list with exceptional programs and extensive wine lists. Room 39 is farm-to-table contemporary American food, daily-changing, with a list selected by sommeliers. Chaz on the Plaza is sommelier-led modern American fine dining, with live jazz nightly and a prix fixe format alongside a la carte. 1587 Prime in Downtown is sommelier-led. Farina in Crossroads is modern Italian from James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Smith.
How this list is chosen: Restaurants with a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award or a deep wine list, listed alphabetically. Updated October 8, 2026.
1587 Prime
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Deep wine list
1587 Prime adds a steakhouse lens to Kansas City dining, a city better known nationally for smoke, sauce, and beef handled over live fire. The useful way to read it is through the cuts: ribeye for fat and char, strip for cleaner structure, filet for tenderness, and tomahawk for table theatre rather than subtlety.
Chaz on the Plaza
Deep wine list
Chaz on the Plaza occupies a polished dining room at 325 Ward Pkwy in Kansas City's Country Club Plaza district, positioning itself in the upper tier of Kansas City's American fine dining scene. The room draws a crowd that values serious wine service and a menu calibrated to the rhythms of an established, neighbourhood-anchored dining room rather than trend-chasing experimentation.
Farina
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Deep wine list
On Baltimore Avenue in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District, Farina occupies a position in the city's growing conversation around ingredient provenance and responsible sourcing.
JJ's Restaurant
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Deep wine list
JJ's Restaurant is a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program in Kansas City, MO.
Pierpont's at Union Station
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Deep wine list
Pierpont's occupies the restored grand hall of Kansas City's Union Station, a space where Beaux-Arts architecture sets the stage for a dining room that still carries the weight of the building's history. The wine program and classic American steakhouse format position it firmly in the formal dining tier, making it a reference point for the kind of occasion dining that Kansas City's downtown does well.
Room 39
Deep wine list
Room 39 on West 39th Street has earned a firm place in Kansas City's conversation about occasion dining, where the format leans toward American comfort with enough culinary intention to anchor a milestone meal. The 39th Street corridor puts it within a walkable cluster of the city's more considered independent restaurants, making it a natural anchor for an evening built around a celebration rather than just a meal.
Vita’s Place
Deep wine list
Book Vita’s Place for a quiet, wine-forward night in Crestwood Shops, especially as a date, solo stop, or second-visit grazing plan. The $$ small-plates format works better when shared in waves, with seasonal specials, Blackhole Bakery bread, and a wine list organized by flavor profile rather than region.
Planning restaurants for wine lovers in Kansas City
- Which restaurants on this list hold a Wine Spectator award?
- Four restaurants on this list hold a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence for 2026: Farina in Crossroads, Pierpont's at Union Station in Midtown, JJ's Restaurant in West Plaza and 1587 Prime in Downtown. Each of those restaurants has an exceptional wine program. Farina, JJ's Restaurant and 1587 Prime also have an extensive wine list, and Pierpont's at Union Station has an award-winning wine list.
- Which neighborhoods are the wine restaurants in?
- The wine restaurants on this list are in Crossroads, Midtown, West Plaza, Downtown and Country Club Plaza. Farina is in Crossroads. Pierpont's at Union Station and Room 39 are in Midtown. JJ's Restaurant is in West Plaza. 1587 Prime is in Downtown. Chaz on the Plaza is in Country Club Plaza.
- What wine service styles appear on this list?
- Every restaurant on this list has an exceptional wine program. Extensive lists appear at Farina in Crossroads, JJ's Restaurant in West Plaza, 1587 Prime in Downtown, Room 39 in Midtown and Chaz on the Plaza in Country Club Plaza. Sommelier-led service appears at 1587 Prime and at Chaz on the Plaza, and Room 39 has a list selected by sommeliers.
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