This is the perfect place to relax and enjoy  delicious pizza and glass, or two, of wine.  Since the addition of the wood-burning pizza oven the Lincoln Wine Bar has become more than just a convenient waiting place for a table at their mother restaurant, the Lincoln Cafe.
My first visit since the expansion was on a busy Saturday night, and I still found the staff to be warm and attentive. Â I ordered a duck egg, greens and bacon pizza, which exceeded my expectations. Â It was nicely balanced and the slightly charred crust was the perfect foil for the richness of the runny yolk and fatty bacon. Â I look forward to another visit and another excellent pizza.
I came to this restaurant for the first time  tonight.The waitress Margaret was so sweet and gave great customer service. Unfortunetely the female manager was very sour faced. Micromanaging the servers. It wasn't busy at the time I was there, so there was no reason not to visit. The brown haired, possibly the manager, never smiled and did not look like she enjoyed being there. Her negatively was obvious with her snarly looks. The pizza was amazing though, and besides the angry lady, the atmosphere was fun and lively.
Review Source:If you are a papa johns and Busch light kind of guy you will not like the beer, or be happy with the pizza here. There is only one pizza that has meat, the pork sausage, the rest are all vegetarian. It may be worth a try for something different but I prefer American light beers and thick meat lovers pizzas
Review Source:I have had the pleasure of dinning at the Lincoln Wine Bar on a few occasions. Â My dinner experience has been with both, my sweetheart and good friends. Â With that said, this has become one of my favorite places to eat! The Wine Bar has the ability of providing you with both the romantic feeling, as you are nestled next to your love on a date, along with, the casual yet classy environment, when enjoying dinner out with friends. Â This was my first exposure to pizza being cooked authentically. Italian style, wood fired pizza, is phenomenal!! I recommend the margherita pizza all the way. Â My nights there have been enhanced by live music, a definite plus for myself. Â You won't be disappointed in experiencing the Lincoln Wine Bar for yourself.
Review Source:I know this is blasphemous, but this tiny wine bar in small town Iowa has some of the best pizza I have ever had in my life.
I grew up in NYC and have had the privilege of trying some really outstanding pizza, but what they're doing here is even beyond that. All their ingredients are imported from Italy, and they know how to use them. Crust, sauce, and cheese were all simple and perfect... not drenched in garlic and oil, just plain high quality ingredients prepared right, with a great glass of wine.
The worst part is I'll never have it again... please expand to the east coast!
I've tried pizza all over the United States. Different variations, styles, toppings and environments. I've tasted Brooklyn's finest by Dom DeMarco, I lived in Chicago for the deep dish, I've had what I believed to be authentic napoletana style pizza. Â This is HANDS DOWN the best pizza I've ever had. Â It is the way pizza was meant to smell and taste. From the imported Italian products to the authentic ingredients and cooking method, it was like a trip back to old world Naples. Â I went with the original, the Margherita pizza for that exact reason. Â I will forever be comparing all pizza to the Lincoln Wine Bar's going forward. Â It is great to get such high quality food like this, in Eastern Iowa. Â True pizza experts know the difference of San Marzano tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. They know that you put basil on after the pizza is fired. This place gets it and has done their homework. Â Go for the pizza, stay for the great drink selection, live music and environment.
Property - 4 stars
Staff - 4 stars
Ambience - 5 stars
Food - 5 stars
Price - 5 stars
This place is fun and a real asset to the strip along Mount Vernon's 1st St. The beer selection is phenomenal with choices ranging from exotic to Schlitz. Prices are very reasonable and are about the same as you find at Hyvee. The wine selection is also very nice.
Great seating from a nice bar to high tables to couches and comfy chairs.
What makes it even better is that you can take your drink down to Lincoln cafe! Â Worth the trip and even better when paired with a trip to Lincoln cafe for dinner.
I feel like I should preface this review with the reason I set out to explore the area on this particular afternoon. Â You see, I have been teaching here at Cornell College, and I was in need of something that brought me back to who I am. Â Considering the weather (-1F in the afternoon) and my love of photography, I thought that a nice semi-arctic adventure into the area and an eventual landing spot of the Lincoln Wine Bar was in order.
I was about five minutes outside of my front door when I witnessed a hawk swoop out of the trees and tackle a large squirrel. Â This being a photography expedition, I already had my camera in hand and I proceeded to spend about an hour documenting everything from start to finish (if you're curious, let me know, I have the entire sequence of that hawk's hunting expedition on film). Â
If you haven't figured out that Mt. Vernon is a little isolated, I don't know what else I can tell you. Â What I can say is that it's a quaint little town on a hill surrounded by the plains of Iowa. Â On a good day in the winter, it almost seems like you're on an island, surrounded by frozen ocean.
Anyway, the reason that I bothered writing those last three paragraphs is that the Lincoln Wine Bar and its sister (mother?) organization the Lincoln Cafe are the squirrel. Â Those of us in search of a tasty meal that defies expectation are the hawks.
Everything closes by 10pm in Mt. Vernon, and this place is no different. Â On the weekend, they give you an extra 30 minutes (until 9:30!) Â before closing time. Â This being the 'bar' for the Lincoln Cafe, you get a lot of customers who come over to have a drink and wait for their table. Â The good part is that you can have the typical supper club experience (bar then dinner) with only a minor walk in between each place. Â The better part? Â The wine bar is a tiny sliver of awesome that lets you forget where you are (small town Iowa) for however long you want to stay.
The atmosphere is comfy and modern, nestled into the old brownstone building with nice updates like acoustic tiling to keep the place quieter laid out on the ceiling in a somewhat artistic manner. Â The paintings on the wall are obviously the inspiration for the paint job(s) throughout. Â Think...muddled mustard and lava lamp blue on varying walls. Â It sounds completely insane as I write it here, but it will work when you see it for yourself. Â The bar itself has a couple of styles for its seating, both very comfy. Â The bar is a modern, brushed steel look. Â The wine racks behind the bar hold the tasty offerings and there is even a smaller wine cooler for those wines that need a specific, cooler temperature for ideal serving temperature. Â Everything else is wine themed and the offerings by the glass are outlined in chalk within two large black, wooden 'bottles' that are hung right behind the bar and with writing that is large enough for anyone to read.
The overall wine menu is somewhere around 35 wines, and they are a very thought out sampling of a wide array of wines. Â Could there be more? Â Sure, but don't forget where you are. Â The prices are reasonable, as wine bars go, and you can even get a couple of snacks if you like (almonds, cheeses and even house cured pork). Â If you can't stand drinking wine, there is even a fine selection of "hard to find" beers that doesn't disappoint. Â There is a heavy belgian slant to these beers, but they are nicely done. Â The Pranqster at $8 is a great deal, and Bells' Hopslam shows you that whoever is buying for this place knows what to get (Hopslam is made once a year).
The service is amazing and knowledgable. Â At least, when I have been there this has been the case. Â The customers, as I mentioned already, tend to be waiting for dinner at the Lincoln Cafe. Â There is live music on Friday and Saturday, and even though it closes early it is a proven good time. Â
It is a perfect warm-up for the Lincoln Cafe. Â That Iowa's liquor laws don't allow one-bathroom establishments to have a liquor license has only given downtown Mt. Vernon two amazing places to enjoy the finer food and drink instead of one. Â So while I sympathize with those who realize how backward such a law is, I have to say that Mt. Vernon has only benefited. Â I can only imagine that the Lincoln Cafe and Bar have too. Â I will be back many times and every time I am in town.
Don't come here and let it pass you by.
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