A wine and drinks list with its own unique identity, featuring options that pair with the restaurant’s food and style across a range of prices.
There are many roads to take at this buzzy new Spanish-leaning grill, but they all lead to pleasure. You might begin sensibly: manzanilla or vermouth, something salty to snack on. Then someone mentions champagne. A bottle of txakoli, the Basque region’s signature sparkling wine, might follow, all Atlantic snap and salt. The list pulls you inland towards navarra garnacha and rioja as the food gets hotter, darker, meatier.
And then comes the dangerous bit: the plates are cleared but the list holds yet more intrigue. Madeira. Port. Grappa. The Basque liqueur Izarra. A sauternes cocktail or reviving Shakerato of Braulio and coffee. There are big-ticket wines here, but you can drink royally on a less regal budget. Good bottles sit between $70 and $80. You can wander by the glass. Perhaps you’ll split a half bottle, or disappear into Burgundy if the evening has taken a turn. Thoughtful non-alcoholic options reflect today’s habits.
You don’t even need to commit to dinner to enjoy the possibilities of Cote Basque, the latest restaurant from the Trader House Group. Walk into the handsome wood-trimmed bar, order a champagne cocktail and a crab tart, and congratulate yourself on a good decision. That’s the brilliance of drinks guru Leanne Altmann’s list. It feels drawn from the same world as the menu: generous, a little hedonistic, built for lingering.