re: You can bring wine to a restaurant?

It is illegal to bring liquor onto a premises in Texas that has a private club license or mixed beverage permit. If the restaurant allowed it and had a mixed beverage or private club license, it was in violation of Texas law. If a restaurant does not have a private club or mixed beverage permit or if it has a beer/wine permit (no distilled spirits), you can bring wine onto the premises if the owner allows it.

This is direct from the TABC website:

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It is ILLEGAL to take any alcoholic beverage into a restaurant/bar that has a private club permit or a mixed beverage permit (distilled spirits in addition to beer/wine). You can't leave with an alcoholic beverage, unless it is a malt beverage produced by a brewpub, or you are leaving with a bottle of wine you bought with a meal and did not finish. Section 28.10 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code says, "A mixed beverage permittee may not permit any person to take any alcoholic beverage purchased on the licensed premises from the premises where sold, except that a person who orders wine with food and has a portion of the open container remaining may remove the open container of wine from the premises."

It is LEGAL to take alcoholic beverages into or out of a restaurant/bar that has a beer/wine permit (no distilled spirits), or an establishment that does not have a permit to sell alcohol. However, the business may have their own rules against it. If the business allows you to bring your own alcoholic beverages onto their premises, it is legal for them to charge you a fee. It is often referred to as a "corkage fee," especially when it refers to a bottle of wine brought into a restaurant. Some bars also sell "set ups" which refers to cups of ice or soda that the customer buys and mixes with their own distilled spirits.

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