Restaurant in Wayzata, United States
Serious wine list, easy booking, lakeside steakhouse.

Giannis Steakhouse in Wayzata holds a 2-Star World of Fine Wine accreditation, putting its wine list in a tier most suburban Twin Cities restaurants do not reach. Booking is easy, the lakeside setting is well-pitched for a special occasion, and the bar makes it one of the more practical late-evening options in Wayzata. Confirm hours and pricing directly before booking.
Getting a table at Giannis Steakhouse is refreshingly direct — booking difficulty here is low, which makes it a reliable option when you want a quality steakhouse experience on Lake Minnetonka without the advance planning that destination restaurants demand. That ease of access is worth noting: in a category where Alinea in Chicago or The French Laundry in Napa require weeks or months of lead time, Giannis is bookable closer to the date. The question is whether the experience justifies the trip to Wayzata — and the wine program, at minimum, gives you a concrete reason to say yes.
Giannis Steakhouse sits at 635 Lake St E in Wayzata, Minnesota, a small lakeside city on the western edge of the Minneapolis metro. The address alone tells you something about the positioning: Wayzata draws a well-heeled local crowd, and a steakhouse anchored here is playing to a clientele that expects a certain level of finish. Spatially, a steakhouse in this setting typically means defined dining rooms, a bar area that functions as a gathering point, and the kind of layout where a solo diner can settle at the bar without feeling like an afterthought , more on that below. The scale is intimate rather than cavernous, which is relevant if you are choosing between Giannis and a large-format downtown Minneapolis steakhouse where the room can swallow a small party whole.
The wine program is the clearest credential on record. Giannis holds a 2-Star Accreditation from the World of Fine Wine's Leading Restaurant Wine List Awards , a programme that evaluates lists on depth, range, and the quality of presentation. A 2-Star result in that framework puts Giannis in a tier that most suburban American restaurants do not reach. For a food and wine enthusiast making a trip to the western Minneapolis suburbs, this is the signal that separates Giannis from a competent neighbourhood steakhouse. If your measure of a good steakhouse dinner includes a wine list worth spending time with, that accreditation is doing real work here.
On the late-evening side: Wayzata is not a city with an abundance of late-night options at this quality level, and a steakhouse with a serious bar component and a strong wine list is one of the more reliable choices if you are arriving after the standard dinner rush or extending a meal into the later hours. The bar seating, typical for a venue of this type, allows for a more flexible entry point , you are not locked into a full dinner commitment if you want to eat at the bar after 9 PM. That flexibility, combined with the wine program, makes Giannis a defensible choice for a later-evening visit when alternatives in Wayzata thin out considerably. For a broader picture of what is available locally, see our full Wayzata restaurants guide, our full Wayzata bars guide, and our full Wayzata wineries guide.
Specific pricing, current hours, and menu details are not confirmed in our database at this time. Before booking, verify hours directly , particularly if you are planning a later-evening visit, as kitchen close times vary and are not published here. Contact details and a website are also not confirmed in our current data, so check Google or OpenTable for up-to-date booking and hours information.
For explorers who benchmark steakhouses against serious national competition, Giannis is not operating at the level of Le Bernardin in New York City or Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown , those are different categories entirely. But within the suburban Twin Cities steakhouse tier, the World of Fine Wine accreditation gives Giannis a measurable edge on the wine side that most local competitors cannot match. If you are also exploring what the wider region offers, our full Wayzata hotels guide and our full Wayzata experiences guide are useful for planning a full visit.
Book Giannis if you want a serious wine list in a lakeside steakhouse format and you are not willing to plan weeks in advance. The 2-Star World of Fine Wine accreditation is a real credential, not a local award. If your priority is food ambition over wine depth, or if you need a venue with confirmed late hours before you commit, call ahead , the data gaps here are real and worth resolving before you make the drive.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Le Bernardin | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
| Atomix | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
| Lazy Bear | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
| Alinea | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
| Atelier Crenn | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Giannis Steakhouse and alternatives.
Giannis works reasonably well for solo diners who want a serious meal without the pressure of an omakase counter or a tasting-menu format. The lakeside Wayzata address draws a mix of locals and visitors, so solo diners are unlikely to feel out of place. If bar seating is available, that is the better call for a lone diner — less commitment, easier service. The 2-Star World of Fine Wine accreditation means the wine list alone can make the visit worthwhile.
Specific dietary accommodation details are not confirmed in the available venue data. As a steakhouse format, the menu will skew protein-heavy, which tends to suit low-carb and gluten-aware diners but is less flexible for vegetarians. Call ahead if you have specific requirements — the address is 635 Lake St E, Wayzata, MN 55391, and contacting the restaurant directly before booking is the safest approach.
Specific menu items are not confirmed in the available data, so dish recommendations would be guesswork. What is confirmed is that Giannis holds a 2-Star World of Fine Wine accreditation, so leaning into the wine list is a sound strategy regardless of what you order. Ask your server what the kitchen is doing well on the night — that is a more reliable guide than any static list.
Yes, with caveats. The 2-Star World of Fine Wine accreditation gives Giannis a credible wine program that holds up for celebratory dinners, and the lakeside Wayzata setting adds to the occasion. Booking difficulty is low compared to destination restaurants in the Twin Cities, which makes it a practical choice when you cannot plan weeks ahead. For a milestone dinner where the room and theatre matter as much as the food, factor that in — this is a steakhouse, not a tasting-menu event.
Wayzata is a small city, so the competitive set is thin at the local level. For a step up in formality or a different cuisine format, Minneapolis proper — roughly 15 miles east — opens up more options. If the wine program is the main draw at Giannis, look for other World of Fine Wine-accredited venues in the region as a direct comparison benchmark. Without confirmed pricing data for Giannis, value comparisons against specific Minneapolis alternatives are difficult to make precisely.
Bar seating specifics are not confirmed in the available venue data. Many steakhouses in this format offer bar dining as a walk-in-friendly option, and it is worth calling ahead to confirm. If bar seating is available, it typically allows for a shorter, lower-commitment visit — useful if you want to sample the wine list without committing to a full table booking.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.