Bardea Steak
Wilmington's bold red list hiding in plain sight
Wilmington · Wilmington · Italian, Steakhouse · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 11, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into Bardea Steak, the wine list signals ambition immediately — this is not a restaurant treating wine as an afterthought. A 150-plus bottle program anchored in France and Italy, with a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence on the wall since 2023, tells you someone in this building actually cares. Wilmington doesn't have many places like this, which makes it worth the drive.
Selection Deep Dive
The list leans hard into the classic red wine canon, and for a steakhouse, that's exactly right. Piedmont is well represented with Barolo producers sitting alongside Brunello di Montalcino for the Italy contingent, while the French side covers Bordeaux classified growths and Burgundy Pinot Noir with enough depth to keep things interesting. Napa Cabernet makes its obligatory steakhouse appearance, and there's a nod to the southern hemisphere with Barossa Valley Shiraz for anyone who wants their tannins with a little more grunt. The gaps are on the lighter, more adventurous end — don't come here hunting natural wine or anything left-field. This is a list built to sell alongside a bone-in ribeye, and it delivers on that brief.
By the Glass
The by-the-glass program runs 12 to 20 options, which is respectable for a room focused on bottles. We'd expect the pours to skew toward the big reds that anchor the bottle list — Cabernet, Sangiovese, maybe a Bordeaux blend — though rotation appears limited. If you're flying solo or testing the waters before committing to a bottle, there's enough here to work with.
Amarone della Valpolicella — $90-$120
Amarone at a steakhouse tends to get slept on in favor of the Napa Cabs, but this is exactly the wine you want next to a plate of dry-aged prime beef. Rich, dried-fruit intensity, serious structure, and at the lower end of this list's pricing, it punches well above its position on the menu.
Barossa Valley Shiraz
Everyone at this table is going straight for the Barolo or the Napa Cab, and that's fine — but the Barossa Shiraz is the sleeper. Full-bodied, dark-fruited, and built for red meat, it often sits at a friendlier price point than its Piedmontese neighbors and delivers a completely different kind of power.
Bordeaux Classified Growths
The prestige names are here and the markups are what you'd expect at a special-occasion steakhouse — which is to say, steep. Unless someone else is paying, the classified Bordeaux will cost you considerably more than drinking the same bottles at home. The list has better value elsewhere; save the grand cru budget for a dedicated wine bar.
Barolo + Bone-in ribeye
Barolo's firm tannins and high acidity are built to cut through the fat on a bone-in ribeye, while the wine's tar-and-rose character adds a layer of complexity that Napa Cab just doesn't bring. It's the Italian steakhouse pairing that makes complete sense the moment you try it.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Bardea Steak is a legitimate wine destination for Delaware, even if the pricing leans toward the steep side and the staff isn't quite sommelier-level. If you're eating a serious steak in Wilmington and want a serious wine list to match, this is your spot.
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