St. Anselm
Meat-Centric Mayhem With a Serious Cellar
Washington · Washington · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
Walking into St. Anselm, you expect the wine list to be an afterthought — a converted garage in NoMa, butcher blocks everywhere, smoke in the air. Then you open the list and realize these people are dead serious: 250-plus bottles anchored by California, Italy, France, and a Madeira section that most fine dining rooms would envy. Wine Spectator has handed them a Best of Award of Excellence since 2022, and it's not a participation trophy.
Selection Deep Dive
The California arm is the backbone — Kistler Chardonnay, Talley Pinot Noir, Ridge Zinfandel, Shafer Cab — all the big names are here and they're chosen with intent, not just to fill prestige slots. Italy punches hard with Barolo royalty like Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa sitting alongside more adventurous pours like Scholium Project's The Prince in His Caves at $110, which tells you the buyers have range and aren't afraid to go weird. France covers Burgundy (Dujac, Faiveley), Bordeaux Cru Classé, and Rhône with Guigal, while the Madeira section — Blandy's and Henriques & Henriques both on the list — is a genuine differentiator in a city where Madeira is largely ignored. Gaps are few; this is a list built by people who drink wine, not just manage it.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty pours by the glass is generous for a steakhouse, running $12–$20 a pop, and the Monday half-price wine night means the whole list drops to genuinely accessible territory. Blandy's 10 Year Madeira at $16 a glass is an absolute no-brainer alongside anything off the butcher block. The glass program rotates enough to reward repeat visits.
Kermit Lynch Côtes du Rhône 2022 — $55
At $55 a bottle, this is the table wine you actually want to drink all night — Southern Rhône fruit, no pretense, and it goes with everything on the menu from bone marrow to bavette. It's the kind of bottle that makes a $100 dinner feel like a steal.
Blandy's 10 Year Madeira
Most tables skip right past it, but a glass of Blandy's 10 Year alongside the dry-aged ribeye is one of the better beef-and-wine moments you'll find in DC. Nutty, oxidative, totally unexpected — and at $16 a glass it's the most interesting pour on the list by a wide margin.
Gaja Barbaresco 2019
At $225 it's Gaja, so nobody's getting robbed, but this is a bottle that needs a decade in your cellar, not a loud steakhouse on a Saturday night. The money is better spent elsewhere on a list this good.
Ridge Lytton Springs 2020 + Dry-aged ribeye
Lytton Springs is a Zinfandel-dominant blend with the kind of dark fruit, pepper, and structure that doesn't flinch at a hard sear. The dry-aged ribeye brings the fat and char that gives the wine something to push against — it's a California steakhouse pairing done right, at a restaurant that technically isn't one.
Monday — Half-price bottles off the full wine list every Monday
🔥 The Bottom Line
St. Anselm is the rare place where the wine list earns as much attention as the beef, and the Monday half-price night makes it one of the best wine deals in Washington. Send your friends here — just tell them to skip the obvious bottles and let Jonathan or Eli point the way.
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