I do not know if it was/is illegal in Washington, but I had an open re-corked bottle refused at Whitehosue Crawford in Walla Walla, WA. They are now permanently closed, but I strongly suspect in that case if was house rules to force wine purchases off their list only.
To the OP, yes I prefer to open at home, decant and reinsert cork. Since the above experience I always call ahead and ask restaurant permission/policy.
always open and recork after double decant. how would you drive/uber there with an open bottle and not spill it?!
I almost always double decant my wines and havenāt had any issues in GA. I have a bunch of Rabbit stoppers I picked up using Total Wine rewards earned from Bordeaux futures that work better than reinserting the cork.
A few years ago at a restaurant in Cambria Ca. with the family, I popped a DomP to sip on while we waited outside for our table. Common for people to get drinks, and wait outside for their table, as there is no reservations. When they called us in, they saw the bottle(3/4 full) and asked if ātheyā had opened it. I said no, I did. Well, because they didnāt open it, I couldnāt bring it in. Bunch of BS I couldnāt talk my way out of, I asked for a cork to shove in, and promised not to open it at the table, but couldnāt find one small enough to fit. SOā¦I had to walk back to hotel(few blocks) and put back in the fridge. NOT a happy dinnerā¦and tore into the mgr. when we were done.
Any self respecting group would have had that bottle on fumes long before being called in. So you can only blame yourself, amiright? 