Cafe Escadrille
Old-school steakhouse flex, serious wine backbone
Burlington · Burlington · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into Cafe Escadrille, the wine list lands like a confident handshake — 400 to 600 bottles deep, anchored hard in California and France, with serious names up and down the page. This is a list built for the kind of dinner where someone orders the Filet and means business. It's a classic American steakhouse program done right, and Wine Spectator has been handing it a Best of Award of Excellence since 2017 for good reason.
Selection Deep Dive
The California section is the real engine here — Caymus, Jordan, Silver Oak Alexander Valley, Opus One, and Stag's Leap Cask 23 all show up, which tells you this list was built to satisfy a clientele that knows what they want and wants the greatest hits done well. France holds its own too, with Chateau Margaux and Louis Jadot Burgundy anchoring the old-world side alongside Chateau Montelena on the white end. Far Niente Chardonnay and Duckhorn Merlot fill out the mid-range California options for guests who aren't ready to drop Opus money. The list doesn't chase trends — no natural wine rabbit holes or obscure Georgian imports — but within its lane it's thorough and well-curated.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty-five by-the-glass options is a legitimately strong program for a Burlington, Massachusetts dining room, and it means you can explore the list without committing to a bottle. We'd push staff on what's pouring fresh and what's been open since the weekend — rotation details are unclear, and that matters when you're talking about quality pours at this level.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $45–$75
Jordan consistently overdelivers for the price in this tier — elegant, food-friendly, and a genuine alternative to the hype bottles sitting next to it. At a restaurant that skews steep on markup, Jordan is where the math works in your favor.
Chateau Montelena Chardonnay
Everyone in the room is staring at the Cabernets, and Montelena just sits there quietly being one of the most historically important Chardonnays in the country. The 1976 Paris Tasting called; this wine won it. Order it while the table debates steaks.
Opus One
Opus One is a trophy pour and priced like one — markups at restaurants like this push it well past the point where you're tasting wine and into the territory where you're mostly tasting the label. The wine is fine. The value is not.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 + Filet Mignon
Cask 23 is built for exactly this moment — structured but silky, with the kind of dark fruit and restrained tannin that doesn't fight a perfectly cooked filet, it completes it. This is the pairing the list was designed around.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Cafe Escadrille is a proper, old-guard wine list doing exactly what it set out to do — give serious diners serious California and French bottles to drink with serious food. No sommelier on staff and steep markups keep it from being flawless, but the depth and pedigree here are real.
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