Ivory Grille Restaurant and Oak Room Lounge
Historic hotel, surprisingly serious California wine game
Downtown Sedalia · Sedalia · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 16, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into the Hotel Bothwell — a historic landmark in downtown Sedalia — and finding a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence on the wall is genuinely surprising. The Oak Room Lounge has real atmosphere: old-school glamour, dark wood, the kind of room that makes you want to order a bottle instead of a glass. The wine list leans hard into California, which turns out to be less of a limitation than you'd expect.
Selection Deep Dive
This is a California-centric list, full stop — and the producers they've chosen are the respectable mainstream rather than the lazy supermarket shelf. Caymus, Jordan, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Cakebread Cellars, and Sonoma-Cutrer anchor the program with recognizable names that actually drink well. There's no adventurous detour into Rhône varieties, skin-contact whites, or anything that would raise an eyebrow at a natural wine bar, but that's not the game here. What they're doing is offering solid, crowd-pleasing California in a setting that makes those bottles feel at home.
By the Glass
Ten to sixteen pours by the glass running $8–$14 is a reasonable spread for a mid-Missouri steakhouse environment. Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay and Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve are likely workhorses on the glass list — familiar and inoffensive, if not exactly thrilling. We'd push the staff on what's actually open and drinking well that night before defaulting to the obvious.
Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $60–$80 (est.)
Jordan consistently punches above its retail price point in restaurant settings — it's a bottle that drinks far more serious than its mainstream reputation suggests, and in a room built for steaks, it earns its place on the table without drama.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
Most diners at a place like this will gravitate toward Caymus on name recognition alone, but Stag's Leap has the pedigree — Napa Valley history, real structure, and better balance. It's the pick for anyone who actually wants to taste the wine, not just drink it.
Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve
A perfectly fine grocery store bottle that you can grab for $12 retail. Whatever they're charging at the table, it's not worth the markup — order it by the glass if you must, but don't waste a bottle slot on it.
Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay + Seafood
Cakebread's Chardonnay has the weight and fruit to stand up to rich seafood preparations without steamrolling them — it's a classically structured Napa white that makes the kitchen's seafood dishes feel more considered than they might otherwise.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Ivory Grille is the Wild Card for exactly one reason: nobody expects a genuinely credentialed wine program inside a historic hotel in Sedalia, Missouri, and yet here we are. It's not a deep or adventurous list, but it's honest California done right, in a room that makes you glad you ordered the bottle.
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