I’ll admit it: I enjoy a nice glass of wine or two when I’m out to dinner.  In the past, I used to only drink wine when I went out to a restaurant because my husband is a beer man.  Then I figured out how to save wine for later. With the ability to drink decent bottles of wine at home, I started buying better wine to keep at home.  As such, I have a hard time paying $15 for a glass of wine when it costs $20 to buy a bottle at the store.  I started thinking, what is the wine corkage fee at some of these restaurants.  If you go to a restaurant and bring your own wine in Chicago, is it a good idea?  More importantly, if you bring your own wine in Chicago, are you saving yourself money?

The first thing to consider is how expensive is the wine that you order at a restaurant?  Do you usually order one glass, two glasses, or more?  Do you buy bottles of wine when you are out at restaurants?  If your wine spend is ever over $25 at a meal, it’s about time you bring your own wine in Chicago restaurants!  Corkage fees in Chicago | Bring your own wine Chicago | Chicago Travel Blogger | JaimeSays

Bring Your Own Wine in Chicago: Bucktown/Lincoln Park/Logan Square

-Gemini (2075 N. Lincoln): $25/Bottle; $40/Magnum
-Longman and Eagle (2657 N. Kedzie Avenue): $25/bottle if you bring your own wine but if you also buy a bottle from them, they will waive the corkage fee
-Lula Cafe (2537 N. Kedzie Avenue): $25/Bottle
-Mia Francesca (3311 N. Clark St.): $20/Bottle

Bring Your Own Wine in Chicago: Ukrainian Village/West Loop/West Town

-Arami (1829 W. Chicago Avenue): $25/Bottle
-A Tavola (2148 W. Chicago Avenue): $25/bottle
-Au Cheval (800 W. Randolph St.): $50 unless you share a glass with anyone else in the restaurant, including your server, and then the fee is waived.
-Bad Hunter (802 W. Randolph Street): $25/bottle
-Duck Duck Goat (857 W. Fulton Market): $30/bottle; 2 bottle Limit. Your wine can’t be on their wine list.
-Girl and the Goat (809 W. Randolph St.) : $30/Bottle
-La Sirena Clandestina (945 W. Fulton Market): $30/bottle
-Le Bouchon (1958 N. Damen Avenue): $50/bottle but they prefer you order from their list
-Kai Zan (2557 W. Chicago Avenue): $15/bottle; two bottle maximum
-Momotaro (820 W. Lake Street): $25; 2 Bottle Limit
-Swift and Sons(1000 W. Fulton Market): $35/bottle, $70/Magnum–Two Bottle Limit

Bring Your Own Wine in Chicago: Gold Coast/River North/Streeterville

-Bavette’s Bar and Boeuf (218 W. Kinzie St.): $50 unless you share a glass with anyone else in the restaurant, including your server, and then the fee is waived.
-Capital Grille (633 N. St. Clair St.): $35, 1 bottle per table
-Chicago Cut (300 N. LaSalle Dr.): $25/Bottle–One Bottle Only, and cannot be on their wine list.
-Eight Bar (8 W. Maple St.): $50 per every 750 mL, limit of 1 bottle per two people
-Flemings (25 E. Ohio Street): $25/bottle
-Joe’s Stone Crab (60 E. Grand Ave.): $25/Bottle, $50/magnum
-Maple and Ash (8 W. Maple St.): $50/Bottle , limit of 1 bottle per two people
-Mastro’s (520 N. Dearborn St.): $35/Bottle; $70/Magnum
-Naha Chicago (500 N. Clark St.): $50/Bottle but if you buy another bottle off of their wine list, the $50 fee is waived
-Somerset (1112 N. State Street): $35 and cannot be a wine that they carry

Bring Your Own Wine in Chicago: Loop/Printers Row/South Loop

-Acadia (1639 S. Wabash Ave.) : $65/Bottle, Two Bottle Max.
-Cochon Volant (100 W. Monroe Street): $25/bottle
-Kurah Mediterranean (1355 S. Michigan Avenue): $20/bottle
-Sociale Chicago (800 S. Clark Street): $15/Bottle; Two bottle maximum.

If you purchase a bottle of wine at a restaurant or bring your own wine in Chicago restaurants, did you know you can have the restaurant cork the bottle so you can take it home?  The rules aren’t the same in all states, but you can find out what the rules are in your state by clicking here.  If you are visiting Chicago for a weekend, you’re already spending money on the getaway. Why not stop by a local wine shop to pick up a bottle of wine for your dinner out?  If you are privy to any other information about abut restaurant corkage fees in Chicago or your next of the woods, leave me a comment!