C'est Le Vin

C'est Le Vin is a cute spot located right in Shockoe Bottom next to the 17th Street Farmers Market.  The interior is gorgeous and tastefully decorated (although I'm not a huge fan of their "cafeteria-like" tables/chairs).  They feature a different artist every month and you can view and/or purchase the artwork which is great.  Staff is super friendly and happy to give suggestions on wine and food.  I'm not a wine expert at all, but it seems to me that they offer a good variety of wines at decent prices.  Food is decent but not memorable.  I am a huge fan of those poquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese though; they're divine!

C'est Le Vin's best feature is that they do weekly special events with dance classes, live music, and DJs.  We really enjoyed one group that consisted of 2 guitarists, 1 violinist, and a singer; they did all cover songs but performed it in their unique, folky style.  I'd return for casual wine drinking with friends, eating a few nibbles, and soaking in the music.

We checked out the place after buying a Groupon and reading some decent reviews. The quick and dirty is I would not come back UNLESS I had another Groupon.

Atmosphere: 3/5
The place definitely has some charm that is not over-modernized like the other restaurants in the area. The cement floor gave it an industrial look while the faux tin ceiling gave it some elegance. They have paintings along the wall that you can buy but the variety is limited and not very interesting. The chairs are the metal black banquet/Diner chairs that have no place in the environment. The tables are meh with plain white tablecloths and you get Dixie style napkins. While the atmosphere was acceptable and clean, the finishings need some work (better chairs and tables, more interesting art, better flowing table arrangement, etc.).

Staff: 5/5
Our waitress was very nice, helpful, and on par with our drinks and clearing the table (small tables for just 2 and tapa plates add up quickly!). In my opinion, the service is just as important as the food and I was not disappointed.

Food and wine: 3/5
Half of our food was fantastic and the other half was forgettable. First, the good with pricing (small/double portion). Seared Polenta ($4/8) was amazing and I whole heartedly recommend to any Polenta fan! She crab bisque soup (special $12) was out of this world and should be on the menu at all times. Chefs antipasto platter (special $13) was filled with all kinds of good cheese, meat, and vegetables. A great sharing type of entree with a little bit if everything for everyone. Now for the forgettable. The roasted potatoes ($5/10) were just normal (and frankly undercooked) potatoes tossed in a boring spicy sauce. Very overpriced for a small portion. The peppered crab and asparagus ($8/16) was just as it sounds, asparagus with crab dumped on top. It wasn't bad, just not worth the price and the eventual bad smelling pee. I wanted so badly to like their meatballs ($6/12), ground sirloin and chorizo sounds like a winning combo. The end result was a meatball with ok flavor but too dry and begging for some more natural fat.

The wine was fantastic and doesn't disappoint in the selection. I had a great cabernet sauvignon and my fiancee had a peach moscato. Top notch and reasonable in price at 8/glass.

Conclusions:
Overall, our bill was $65 for 2, which isn't horrible for a tapas restaurant. I was just looking for maybe a more homie and cozy type of atmosphere with a larger, more unique menu selection. I believe that $65 is just too much for the product we received, especially for some dishes that just weren't worth the price. I recommend you go with lowered expectations and hopefully become pleasantly surprised.

Tapas werent all that grand, but werent expensive neither. Had a glass of red wine the waitress suggested based on her 'feeling' of what I would like.... And. I bought a bottle!! Loved it.