Two colleagues and I worked a bit late last Thursday, 5/23/13, and were looking for a place to wind down with a good glass of wine and a few small plates. Â We elected to go the The Vine as none of us had been there before and were in the mood to try something new.
We arrived around 7:15pm, and there were very few people in the establishment - only one or two couples and a table of 3 ladies. Â This; however, was not a turnoff, as the atmosphere gave the impression that it wasn't going to be a rowdy place. Â We were presented a substantial wine list, and each of us selected one of the pre-designed wine flights. Â I selected one designed by our server, Tim. Â I did enjoy the flight as it included a nice progression of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvingnon. Â Each glass served about 3oz of wine, which was plenty, especially for the cost, which was $25. Â The wine was good, and I enjoyed the presentation.
We ordered a cheese and cracker plate and 2 paninis to share. Â Nothing special, though the quality of the ingredients was good. Â We also ended our evening with the chocolate fondue - again, it was good but tasted like melted Nutella...nothing to write home bout.
I will say, that as the evening progressed, the busier it got, and the less attentive our waiter became. Â Tim, who initially couldn't do enough for us, became overwhelmed as the tables filled and we barely could grab his attention, forgetting the water we ordered to the table...twice. Â I do not blame the server, as it is merely due to insufficient staffing as he was waiting on the entire establishment. Â He was an excellent waiter. Â
In addition, there was a live "musician" performing around 9:30pm...it took the mood down as he sounded more Rock Band than rock star. Â We left shortly after his 3rd or 4th song.
I'll certainly be back on a night when it's a bit less crowded and when there's no "entertainment" scheduled.
A stylish little wine bar tucked away in a small strip center. How cool?! This was a fun find for me and my girlfriend one night after work while looking for a new haunt.
Vine Wine bar is a culmination of wine flights and regular pours as well as a small but useful food menu consisting of mostly cheeses, panini's and salads. The wine selection is enjoyable and offers you a chance to try something new in one of their various flights. And the cost is reasonable coming in around $20 per flight of four glasses of wine.
I'm not a huge wine aficionado, I barely know my Bordeaux from my Pinots but the waitress/bartender was more than happy to explain each glass of wine and offer up her "picks".
This was a lovely little find for a quiet chat with a friend.
Corks aren't the only things getting screwed at The Vine Bar-customers are as well.
I planned a surprise birthday gathering for my husband at The Vine, being that he grew up in Merrick, and because many of our friends now live in Merrick. Further, my husband is a wine aficionado, and I worked for over a decade in the catering field (I now work in the medical field), and I was INITIALLY impressed ("initially" being the operative word) with what Dara (a Vine employee) offered for a package deal. I was first told that for parties of less than twenty, an open tab or per person charge were options. When I told Dara that I would possibly be hosting more than twenty people she mentioned that a per person charge was the only payment option, to which I agreed. I asked when I could sign a contract and she said they "don't offer contracts". She said the room would be available for two hours, and after two hours, although the fee typically is 100 dollars/extra hour, if I "took care of bartenders" (tips), the fee could be waived. I then mentioned that I would like to bring a cake to which Dara informed me that they would provide cake. No problem. My husband and I arrived after our guests, who already were enjoying wine. When I reminded our server Joe (the only saving grace at the Vine-he was unbelievably hard working!) that we were paying per person (so e could accurately count the number of guests), he said that the owner said we were running an open tab. I asked to speak to the owner, who unfortunately, was smug, dismissive, and rude. She continued to pull me from the party to argue the point. She kept waving an employee script/policy sheet (whatever that is?!) in front of my face. Â When she finally realized there in fact was nothing signed stating her point, she pretended that she was going to "work with" me and offer me the per person price. When the party ended, I paid an overpriced exorbitant fee for the room (charged one hundred extra dollars for an hour), drinks, guests (was overcharged three guests), and cake (50 dollars!!) I missed more than half of the celebration because I had to continue to rehash details of the party that were agreed upon weeks in advance. Thumbs down to the Vine Bar. Save yourself the aggravation and book your party anywhere but there!
I am completely in love with this place!
The service is always great. Â The staff is friendly and they are pretty knowledgeable about the wines that they serve.
There's a ton of stuff to choose from but we always get the Red Sangria. It's the best sangria I have ever had. Â I highly recommend it! I'm not a huge fan of the White Sangria. Â It kind of just tastes like juice, but maybe that's how it's supposed to taste, idk. Â Red is definitely a winner though. You can get a pitcher for only $20. Â
I haven't tried all the foods, but the desserts are nice. Â I don't have a much of a sweet tooth, but my friend seems to like them. Â The crab cocktail is very good. It's a nice light dish so you can fill up on wine and not feel like a fatass if you get something to eat. Â
They also have events going on there, live music, psychic nights, etc. I haven't been to any, but I've heard good things. Check it out if you're into those kind of things. Â
The atmosphere is lovely. Â Very classy and intimate. Bathrooms are always clean. Â If you come with a big party, you can sit in the lounge area, or reserve the back room. Â
This place is great from a date night or to just catch up with girlfriends. Â I HIGHLY recommend it!
I came here last Saturday at about 7:00 with 5 other people (triple date night). The place was empty save maybe two other couples. At around 9-10 o'clock the place did start to fill. We were promptly seated and ordered drinks. The drinks were decently priced. A bottle of decent wine was about $35 and beers were maybe $8 a piece. The prices are about right for the place it is trying to be.
"The Food" as it is called in the menu contains nothing more than sliced meats, cheeses, and salads. We ordered a parmesan cheese and honey plate with almonds which was tasty, a tuscan salad which wasn't bad and a meat and cheese plate. The meats and cheeses were plainly presented on a dish and pretty basic on taste (most likely sliced off blocks that I could find at my local King Kullen). The food took over 30 minutes to come out which, in my mind, is pretty unacceptable considering the most complicated "dish" for the table was a grilled cheese with tomato (which was mysteriously missing the tomato). They clearly wanted us to hang around and order more drinks.
For the most part, the waiter was MIA, and found it necessary to put on a 20% gratuity for a party of 6. I'm sorry, but an applied 20% gratuity on a check is a bit of a stretch especially considering we could never find the guy and the service was mediocre at best.
The place is pretty small with a NYC-ish vibe and the bathroom was pretty nice, I'll give them that. They also played some pretty solid tunes (Pearl Jam, Toadies, and Radiohead to name a few).
Overall, this place was OK. Nothing wowed me. Luckily, we were in good company so the waits weren't that bad. I probably wouldn't come back. There are plenty of tapas and wine bars on Long Island that I'd choose over The Vine such as The Phoenix in Seaford or Novita in Garden City.
Ever since I moved out to LI, I'm constantly looking for cool haunts in the area so I can lure my Queens and Manhattan residing friends to me rather than the other way around as is most often the case. I haven't been successful yet, but I'm hoping one of these days it'll happen and we'll come to The Vine Wine Bar.
J and I serendipitously found TVWB after dinner out in Lindenhurst months ago. It is located in a little shopping strip as most businesses seem to be in Long Island, but that just means you don't have to drive around looking for parking, so that's a win to me.
They have a pretty extensive list of wines by the bottle, as well as sparkling wine, and they also do wine flights. Ask the sommelier for a recommendation; if it is available by the glass, they are most likely going to be nice enough to let you have a taste before purchasing the whole bottle. Also, hits for me are their martinis - they have about 10 on their menu and can probably satisfy every tastebud, whether you like sweet or strong or fruity or chocolaty. The espresso martini is ridic! Strong and bitter (in the great way espresso is), it is really smooth and not artificially sweet as some espresso martinis can be. The bar tender says it's because they brew fresh espresso for each order instead of using some cloyingly sweet fake espresso flavored vodka. AH-MAY-ZING. If you like something on the lighter, creamier and sweeter side, their Coconut Martini is great. I can't have more than one per visit because I'm not really a sweets girl, but J had 3 the first night we went.
Food wise, I haven't tried very many as each time I've gone after dinner, but I've had the DIY chocolate dipped strawberries one night when we got a bottle of sparkling wine. Whimsical and fun and also a good complement to any bottle of bubbly. I've also tried the grilled cheese panini which unfortunately I thought was not good at all. It's on chiabatta and I think there's just too much bread for the cheese you get and because it's pressed, the cheese isn't really melted and gooey once served. But, I did eat my whole half (we were sharing), so I guess it wasn't quite horrible, eh?
I really liked this place!!! Â we went on a saturday night at about 9:30 and we got a table right away..i think we got lucky that night! Â its a small place soo people do wait long...remember people are there hanging, talking and drinking wine...not a fast turnover. Â we did the wine tasting and i ordered veg table burgers and they tasted ok. Â cheese with crackers..enjoyed that!! Â and we had chocolate fondue with bananas..pound cake..pretzels.. that tasted fantastic!!! i really enjoyed the evening. i just would of liked some good music playing...i felt like that would make it even better! Â we are definitely going back!!!!
Review Source:I absolutley love this place! Great staff who are very knowledgeable of wine and also very friendly. I love how large of a selection they have for wine by the glass, also if you ask your server about a certain wine and it isn't by the glass---they will check to see if they have anything that tastes like it and will let you try some of it. Their wine flights are changeable--also a big plus! I would pass this place on to anyone who was looking for a great wine bar with a wonderful atmosphere. This place is great for a first date and super affordable. I keep coming back!
Review Source:Love, Love, Love this place ! Â Menu is constantly updated and wine selection is endless. Â So many options I never know what to choose! Â The Sangria is also fantastic. Â I love coming for live music nights and girls night. Â I highly recommend the Antipasti Platter for 2, its huge and delicious. Â The desserts are amazing as well. Â The is one of my favorite places in Nassau County.
Review Source:i would pass this place many times and always put off till 2nite,stress from work/kids/$  led my wife and i here 2nite,to our surprise we were pleasantly delighted!the place had more to offer then just wine!we are talking small panini menu,cheese pairings,chocolate parings,desert menu and j walker/martinis,champagne,sangria & beer selection,avg price  for glass a wines 10 bucks,wifey and i ordered rice crisp.,banana & strawberry fondue! and 3 glasses a wine ..came out to 40 somethin....not a bad price to pay for delicious wine,Merrick s. shore clientele,chic atmosphere,ample parking and a good time w friends..loved ones!Also met owner Steve  who was overseeing things and he was very hospitable and welcomed us,highly recommend for something different!fyi fyi i also noticed they welcome/host corporate parties,business meetings, and girls nite out for all u single lovely's and cougars!or just wine and cheese w sig.otherlol!;)
Review Source:Place was just as I had hoped. Â They had a very nice selection of reasonably priced wines. Â The food on the menu was better than described and presented beautifully. Â Service was on point and friendly.
Texted a friend when I was there and described the place as an Upscale Wine and Cheese place like back in the day.
Will be back soon.
Still love it, just wanted to update my description. Either I hadn't noticed previously or it's a recent addition, but there's now a semi private room behind the main dining area, lounge-y looking, very nice for a medium sized group. The wine list is enormous, and the food selections have expanded as well, which I'm very happy to see because I want this bar to be successful, I love coming here later in the evening to share a bottle and pick at tasty meats and cheeses.
And the Sangria! The red was delicious, fruity but not too sweet, and it still tasted like wine, but not just fruity wine. It was the best Sangria I've had in a while.
Friday night plans fell through, so off we went to discover a new place. Â Definitely the wise choice. Â We wanted something a little laid back and relaxing rather than the usual bar scene for a Friday night, especially after work. Â My boyfriend picked me up from the LIRR and we headed right over. Â There was no wait (at about 8pm) and we were helped immediately. Â We weren't starving but decided to order the Antipasto for Two which was HUGE. Â There was so much food on the plate but it was So delicious we finished it all. Â We ordered a bottle of a Classic Red Blend, Chateau LaGrange Clinet, which paired beautifully to the food. Â We will definitely be visiting this place again. Â This place is a local treasure that you would drive past if you did not know it was there.
Review Source:There are not many places on Long Island where you even go out for just desert. So the picking is kind of slim. The wine list was good. The deserts were good.
The seating on the other hand was terrible. I came with a group of 7 and was put in the back room that already had a group of 6. It felt like a awkward party, no one could really talk in either group without everything being overheard.
When it comes to paying pay cash only, they will authorize your card for the full amount and not for just what you want to pay. When I asked about it it took owner five days to call back to apologize and say that I should know that this kind of thing happens anytime someone uses a debit. I've been out to eat enough times to know that this does not happen. I come to the island several times a year and I will go somewhere else next time.
I would go there again had the owner just apologized and left it at that. Or had they call the next day, at least.
Been back 2x since my last review. I sooo wanted this place to work out. Unfortunately, each time I've been back it has been nothing but disappointment. Don't get me wrong--food is tasty and the wine list isn't bad. However, the seating is "still" a problem.
A friend of mine said "you have to go early to get a table on the weekend around 7:30pm." Well I did that....and was sadly disappointed twice. If it's just a party of 2 then you're fine, but walk in there with a party of 4 and you'll either wait until 11pm for a table or they offer to seat you in the back room where you feel like you've been sent to your room away from the action.
You'll wait ALL night for a table of 4 to become available. Collectively my party spent $200 on munchies and drinks as we sat at the bar waiting and our husbands stood on their feet for 3 hours until a table finally opened up.
I know I sound bitter, but like I said...I really wanted this place to work out. Â For large groups check out Antonette's down the street on Friday nights. Its a blast!!!!! You'll see what I mean :)
Excellent selection... Excellent combinations.. Excellent atmosphere.. all around excellent!!
No need to be a connoisseur to enjoy this venue. Â Hostess are more than happy to break down their selections and even give a couple of recommendations. Â They even offer several options for flight wines including a few locals. Â As of today their food selection is limited so come prepared to sample wines NOT to eat dinner.
Reasonably priced and great location. Save yourself a trip to the vineyards.
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