Best Restaurants for Wine Lovers in Palo Alto
Four of the six restaurants on this list hold a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence dated 2026. They are Sundance The Steakhouse in Palo Alto, Macarena in downtown, Zaytinya at Stanford Shopping Center and Meyhouse in Downtown. Sundance also carries an exceptional wine program, with an extensive list beside classic steakhouse cooking, including slow-roasted prime rib and hand-cut USDA Prime steaks.
Protégé in Mayfield holds the Michelin star on this list, a one-star award dated 2026. Master Sommelier Dennis Kelly leads its exceptional, sommelier-led program, and corkage is allowed, with a tasting menu, a la carte and prix fixe. The Sea by Alexander's Steakhouse in Union Square also has an exceptional program, with an extensive wine list, a sake program and a tasting menu. Zaytinya and Meyhouse add tasting menus to wine lists, Zaytinya through Turkish, Greek and Lebanese mezze and Meyhouse through Turkish meyhane cooking.
How this list is chosen: Restaurants with a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award or a deep wine list, listed alphabetically. Updated October 8, 2026.
Macarena
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Macarena occupies a spot on Ramona Street in downtown Palo Alto, a block that has quietly become one of the Peninsula's more interesting stretches for independent dining. Confirm details directly before visiting.
Meyhouse
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Meyhouse occupies a quiet stretch of Emerson Street in downtown Palo Alto, operating in a dining tier where front-of-house coordination and kitchen craft carry equal weight. The restaurant sits within a Peninsula scene that rewards sustained attention rather than novelty, positioning it alongside a small cohort of Bay Area addresses where team discipline defines the experience as much as the food itself.
Protégé
1 Michelin star · Deep wine list
A Michelin-starred New American counter in Palo Alto, Protégé has climbed from Opinionated About Dining's Highly Recommended tier in 2023 to a ranked position at #152 in North America by 2025. Chef Anthony Secviar runs a format that reads as fine dining by conviction rather than formula, with a wine program that draws serious attention from the Bay Area's broader fine-dining circuit.
Sundance The Steakhouse
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence · Deep wine list
Sundance The Steakhouse has anchored El Camino Real's dining corridor for decades, drawing Silicon Valley professionals and Peninsula families toward serious beef and reliable occasion dining. The room carries the kind of settled confidence that newer steakhouses often imitate. For milestone meals in Palo Alto, it operates in a different register from the city's tech-casual default.
The Sea by Alexander's Steakhouse
Deep wine list
The Sea by Alexander's Steakhouse brings the same precision that defines the Alexander's brand to a seafood-focused format in Palo Alto, earning recognition from Opinionated About Dining's 2025 Casual North America list.. For the Peninsula dining circuit, it occupies a reliable mid-tier position between casual fish houses and the full fine-dining commitment of San Francisco proper.
Zaytinya
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Zaytinya brings the eastern Mediterranean meze tradition to Palo Alto's Stanford Shopping Center, offering a format built around shared small plates rooted in Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese cooking. The format suits groups and works across price points, making it one of the more versatile options on El Camino Real for a region better known for Cal-cuisine and pan-Asian dining.
Planning restaurants for wine lovers in Palo Alto
- Which restaurants on this list hold a Wine Spectator award?
- Sundance The Steakhouse, Macarena, Zaytinya and Meyhouse hold a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, each dated 2026. Sundance The Steakhouse in Palo Alto has an exceptional program and an extensive list of over 400 selections. Macarena in downtown serves traditional Spanish tapas and paella on a wine program with craft cocktails. Zaytinya at Stanford Shopping Center and Meyhouse in Downtown run programs, and both include a tasting menu.
- Which restaurant on this list has a Michelin star?
- Protégé in Mayfield is the Michelin-starred restaurant on this list. Its latest dated Michelin award is one star in 2026. The kitchen cooks Modern New American food from French Laundry alums, offered as a tasting menu, a la carte and prix fixe. Master Sommelier Dennis Kelly leads an exceptional, extensive, sommelier-led wine program, and corkage is allowed.
- Which restaurants on this list have a tasting menu?
- Protégé, Zaytinya, Meyhouse and The Sea by Alexander's Steakhouse list a tasting menu. Protégé in Mayfield also serves a la carte and prix fixe. Zaytinya at Stanford Shopping Center and Meyhouse in Downtown pair the tasting menu with small plates and a la carte. The Sea in Union Square pairs its tasting menu with a la carte service, an extensive wine list and a sake program.
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