Chayote Barrio Kitchen
Old World wines meet New Latin cooking
Winter Park · Winter Park · Caribbean, Latin
Reviewed April 12, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into a Caribbean-Latin kitchen in Winter Park Village and finding Guigal and Prunotto on the wine list is exactly the kind of pleasant surprise that makes this job fun. The list is tighter than you'd expect from a neighborhood spot, but the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence it earned in 2025 isn't a fluke. Someone here thought about this.
Selection Deep Dive
The list clocks in around 100-150 bottles and leans hard on France, Italy, and California — a classic triumvirate that works even if it doesn't chase trends. Burgundy gets respectable coverage with Drouhin and Louis Jadot anchoring the French side, while the Rhône shows up via Chapoutier and Guigal. Italy brings real heat with Prunotto and Ceretto holding down Piedmont and Antinori and Ruffino covering Chianti Classico. California rounds things out with Jordan and Stag's Leap Cab plus Rombauer and Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay — crowd pleasers, sure, but at least they're the right crowd pleasers. The gap here is anything adventurous: no natural wine, no Iberian representation, no by-the-glass rotation that pushes outside the comfort zone.
By the Glass
Ten to sixteen pours is a healthy by-the-glass program for a restaurant this size, and the $10-$18 range keeps it accessible. We'd love to see more of the French and Italian producers make their way onto the glass list rather than just sitting on the bottle menu, but there's enough range here to drink well without committing to a full bottle.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $35 (bottle entry range)
Jordan consistently punches above its retail price point, and at the lower end of Chayote's bottle range it's one of the more honest pours on a California-heavy list. It's a known quantity that over-delivers for the money.
Chapoutier Rhône Selection
Most tables at a Latin kitchen are reaching for Cab or Chardonnay. The Chapoutier Rhône offering — Grenache, Syrah, or a blend depending on the cuvée — is built for food with spice and char, which describes half the menu. It's the overlooked move.
Rombauer Chardonnay
Rombauer is a fine wine, but it's also the most marked-up Chardonnay on almost every restaurant list in America. You're paying for the name recognition more than the juice. Sonoma-Cutrer at the same table is the smarter play.
Ceretto Barbaresco + Octopus
Barbaresco's high acidity and earthy backbone cut right through the char and brine of a well-executed grilled octopus. It's an unexpected pairing on a Latin menu, but Nebbiolo and seafood with some smoke is a genuinely great combination.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Chayote Barrio Kitchen is a Wild Card in the best sense — a New Latin kitchen in suburban Orlando that earned a Wine Spectator nod with a focused, well-curated Old World list. It's not going to blow a wine obsessive's mind, but it's absolutely worth ordering a bottle here, which is more than we can say for most places serving yuca fries.
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