Anyone know of a restaurant in Chicago that has an old reasonably priced wine list
Berns is unique. There is no where like it world wide I would say.
what about that place Italian place in or near Lake Bluff? 15 years ago they had a pretty deep and inexpensive cellar. It is or was pretty close to Froggy’s FWIW, I’m not saying that is is in any way the same as Bern’s just slightly similar
Nope.
If you want to purchase older reasonably priced wines and BYOB I would suggest checking out http://www.hdhwine.com
George
I think you mean Del Rio. Here’s a link to their site. They look to have a very interesting list but unfortunately there is non pricing information listed.
Yep that is the place
Webster’s (their new location) also has some very good reasonably priced aged wines on their list. But their food is less substantial, in portion size, so for a proper dinner probably not ideal.
Del Rio’s selection is great, though their list is viewable now on iPads *only at the restaurant, and it was maddeningly difficult to navigate to find things. Crappy software 
Those are the only two places I’ve been here which offer vintage wine. I’ve heard that Vinci in Lincoln Park used to have a 2nd list full of vintage offerings, but I was there last week and they said no more.
years ago Italian Village supposedly had a pretty good and well priced list. No clue if it’s that way now
They certainly have a list that reads like a phone book. The only downside is that they know wine geeks are willing to shell out the big bucks and they charge accordingly.
I paid $140 for 1995 Produttori Montestefano, that didn’t seem too* bad. It’s not bargain basement but I think they could definitely charge more.
The Italian Village’s list is indeed quite deep, however the place–food and service both–really is not what it once was. The more upscale ground floor dining room is a bit better.
Tru probably has the best harmony of wine selection, food, and service, with Spiaggia very deep on older Italian selections (though egregiously priced).
Les Nomades has significantly pared back their list, unfortunately.
The Boarding House, Sepia, Naha, Blackbird, G&tG and others all have nicely thought out, if significantly smaller, lists.
I would agree about Tru. However, our last two visits the wine service was poor. We’re not that picky but they really missed a couple of times.
JD
Long ago (maybe 1999?) I went to Del Rio in attempt to have an epiphany wine, and it actually worked. I told the waiter/host that we didn’t know much about Barolo, but we wanted to try something mature, like maybe a 1982 or 89 for around $100, if that was possible. I think he liked our enthusiasm. He brought out a 1978 Marcarini Brunate.
At the time we were mostly shiraz and zin drinkers, and we were used to big fruit. And to me the Barolo had no fruit at all but was still amazing. I described it at the time as smelling of old well-loved baseball glove and haunting cobwebs. In hindsight and with experience, of course the wine still had fruit, but it had mostly transformed into something other, and something better.
In the end, the wine was south of $100, too. It was an excellent night. I’ve been out of Chicago since 2008, and have no idea how Del Rio prices wines now.
Who are you NAdell?
Anyway, let’s not talk about the Italian Village. Food sucks. Cheesy decor. Decrepit wine list that used to have DRC cheaper than retail and where a friend got me a bottle of '89 Giacosa SSR.
No, let’s not talk about the Village.
Certainly not Bern’s, Salpicon in Old town has a pretty deep cellar of middle aged wines and good refined Mexican food.
I haven’t looked in a while, but the prices on some of their more collectible wines have definitely moved up. Still here are a couple that seem like a pretty good deal at a restaurant, especially the barolos:
Radikon Ribolla 2002 $79
Giacosa Rabaja 1998 $209
Giacosa Asili 1999 $229
Giacosa Santa Stefano $252
Giacosa Rocche 1999 $278
Vietti Villero 1996 $273
Unico 1986 $815
Pichon Baron 1990 en Magnum $550
Bollinger La Côte aux Enfants 1997 $179
Guigal Brune Et Blonde Cote Rotie 1994 $90
Avec has a great, but small list.
Agree here, but you have to put up with the questionable food and service. I did a quick walk around their cellar a lot of years ago when planning a friend’s birthday party there. Was surprised to see that the cellar was actually on the top floor. They had to air condition the heck out of the space to keep the wines from frying in the summer. But they got it to work.