Lab & Hound Wine Bar and Tasting Room opened its doors on Main Street in September of 2026. Owners Kara and Marc Baker are Half Moon Bay natives who are raising their family here, and the name comes from their three dogs — two chocolate labs and a rescued bloodhound. The wine list is deliberately kept small, sourced directly from winemakers across California, with a focus on smaller producers in Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles and the Santa Cruz Mountains that guests can actually visit. Craft beer and cider round out the bar.
The room divides into two halves: a communal front space and a private tasting area in back suited to small groups and events. Kara describes the look as speakeasy meets wine bar, with a Western rustic edge — dark coffee-stained birch, white quartz, and leather vintage furniture. For food, the menu leans local and simple for now, with meat and cheese boards built from Coastside farms, while smaller bites like bruschetta and tapas are planned for later.
Kara spent nearly a decade in Peninsula hospitality before opening Lab and Hound, starting out as a high school hostess at Sam’s Chowder House and later helping to open and manage its Palo Alto location. That background shows in what she’s built: a room designed less around the wine itself than around what happens when people sit down with a glass of it. Her hope is straightforward — that Lab and Hound becomes a place locals and visitors alike keep coming back to, whether they know their wine well or are just starting to explore it.
