Vino Volo Tysons

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  Solid three stars.
  
  I actually was lucky enough (thanks Yelp!) to attend the soft opening of Vino Volo a few weeks back, and I knew I'd be back. This is a great place to relax, have a few small bites and a flight or glass of wine. My husband and I decided to return this past rainy Thursday - thought it'd be a great place to unwind after getting our flu shots and two long days at work. This place has a really great atmosphere - lots of dark wood, comfy chairs, an inviting bar and lounge seating, and just a relaxed vibe.
  
  We arrived about 20 minutes before happy hour ended, which was great. During happy hour, they offer select small bites and flights of wine at a discount. The featured flight was Rioja, a region that we're not familiar with, so we decided to split a flight. We liked 2/3 wines in the flight (the other was just ok). I must say, this is one of the things I really like about this place - they have a great selection of wine, not just in the shop, but by the bottle and glass that you can consume in the restaurant. They also offer about 10 different flights, which is great for finding new wines. To start, we ordered the truffle popcorn - delicious and addicting - and a caramelized onion flatbread pizza (this particular pizza is only offered during happy hour). The pizza was perfectly crispy and extremely fresh mozzarella (no shredded mozzarella here). Once we finished our initial flight, we ordered two more - "world pinots" for my husband and "harvest reds" for me. Discovered a few delicious wines in those flights, which was great.
  
  We were still hungry, so decided to order two pastas and two glasses of wine. I got the truffle parmesan penne and my husband had the wild mushroom risotto. My pasta was delicious and extremely filling. My husband's dish was good, but when he was done there was about 1/4 cup of oil left in the dish, which was not appealing at all.
  
  Another thing that was not appealing - the waiter. He was really, really pushy and my husband said he felt rushed (I didn't necessarily feel rushed but the waiter was continuously there asking us if we wanted to order more). He was also pushing the featured bottle. I realize this is also a wine shop, but I really didn't like feeling pressured to "buy more" while I was trying to enjoy my food and wine. I admit, it really dampened our experience, which is the main reason this rating is 3 stars instead of 4.
  
  So, overall, wine is great, food is pretty good. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the pushy service was just this one particular waiter. Regardless, I'm sure I'll return and will update this review if my opinion of the service changes.

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  Posted on 10.12.13 Laurie W.

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  Vino Volo is located at Tysons 2 by the Cheesecake Factory.  They have a cute little patio which I would suggest you try before it gets too cold. The interior is cute, if smallish, and invites you to relax and get to know a few wines.  
  
  The place nearly filled up, with a lot of women (go figure, its a wine bar) and a well dressed crowd skewing from (30ish to 45ish).  
  
  They have about 6 different flights offered, 4 red and 2 white as well as an unlisted dessert flight.  I went with the pinot noir flight.  It was okay.  Two were very meh and one was decent enough.  I decided to stick to glasses of cab after the pinot.  They were passing but I was expecting a little more since it is a wine bar by name.
  
  I did really like their blocks with the tasting notes.  I thought it was cute and helped me remember exactly what it was that I was drinking.
  
  We got the pick three cheese/charcuterie with two cheeses and one meat.  The cheeses really bored me but I did quite enjoy the meat.. harhar..  
  
  We also got the salmon roll, chicken spread, and the asparagus.  The salmon rolls are not salmon rolls.  They are more like salmon crostini and were quite enjoyable.  The asparagus was pretty standard and came with an oversalted piece of bacon.  The chicken spread was my adventurous choice and I think if you like pate's in general, you'll most likely enjoy this choice.  It came with some olive spread as well which was pretty good.  For me, it just reinforced that I don't favor pates....hahaha
  
  After a flight each, and several round of drink on my side, and of course the food,  the bill was over $100.  I just don't think that this meal merited a $100+ price tag.  While presentation was on point, I felt the food and wine was mediocre.  
  
  Will I be back?  Who knows... maybe?  It's still an okay spot to unwind after work and catch a drink or two with a girlfriend.  The food and the wine is decent enough to get an A-OK rating.

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  Posted on 09.26.13 Sylvie S.

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  What a great experience at their pre-opening event!
  
  The location itself is a great spot at the very front of the Galleria, and I love that they have an open patio as well. The rustic casual decor is a great escape from the urban chic that Tysons is more notorious for.
  
  All the staff are very friendly and helpful, and they are generous in their pours and explaining the different wines they have available. Had a great wine from New Zealand that was tropical-y and light and grassy Italian wine as well. They do feature several local VA wines, and I hope that they expand that portion of their collection.
  
  The food that is available here actually matches the ambiance and level of service. Going more for small plates and light bites, there's everything from lamb meatballs to antipasti boards to salmon crostinis to flatbreads. Yes, it does swing towards an Italian and modern American flavor, but that works in my book.
  
  Overall, I can see this Vino Volo becoming a great spot for the area that has been in dire need of a slower-paced and more sophisticated entertainment experience. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a change of pace.

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  Posted on 09.25.13 Albert L.

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  Great food, great location, GREAT wine. I've seen several Vino Volo locations in my travels to airports around the world (read: there's one at Dulles), but I've never stopped into one because I'm always running to my next flight. Thank goodness they're expanding to the non-airport market, because this was an all-around great experience. I will definitely try to make more time for a quick wine flight (Vino Volo = Wine Flight -- how cute is that?) the next time I'm in need of relaxation before a long flight!

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  Posted on 09.24.13 Monica H.

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  I wish I had been able to make it to VV's reception prior to the grand opening, but am happy that VV is more accessible than waiting for a trip out of Dulles.  The interior is simple, modern.  They have a pretty good wine selection - we even ended up leaving with 3 bottles: 2 white burgundies and 1 cab sauvignon.
  
  We tried the two white wine flights.  Our favorites were the kabinett and the cab sauv.  I was feeling adventurous and tried the sommelier flight of two reds.  I liked the reds they offered, Monteleno and the other, I've forgotten the name.  Although my memory for the names is not so functional, I do remember their tastes.  They are both really good and complemented the food really well.  The un-named one is subtler, whereas the Monteleno is complex and is wants to be noticed up front.  Our server, Earl, told us the Monteleno always wins out, but I liked both - maybe the other more so; but I'm in the minority and they'll likely be pairing the Monteleno with a different red very soon.
  
  We started out with cheese/charcuterie platter:  NY Tumbleweed, Spain Drunken Goat Cheese and GA Thomasville Tomme; VA Surry Farms Ham, NY Spicy Coppa and NJ Bresaola.  Our favorite was the goat cheese, it had the right amount of tang to go with the spicy coppa  The spicy coppa was also smoky - it was just all around good.  The other two cheeses were very subtle in taste.  They didn't have the consistency of a creamy cheese, but it had a similar taste to brie.
  
  We also tried the roasted cauliflower, wild mushroom gnocchi, and the seared beef.  My husband dislikes cauliflower, but he liked the creamy sauce it came in.  There are capers in the sauce (another dislike), but it was tasty and the capers were easy to avoid.  We even mixed our gnocchi with the cauliflower.  The seared beef was very good - tender.  I like the brussel sprouts it came with.  The lemon vinaigrette was light and not overly citrus-y.  The sprouts and the mushrooms complemented the beef really well.  As is our usual problem, we had no room for dessert.  I'll definitely be back and hopefully it'll include dessert!
  
  Earl, our server, was very helpful and tried to match our taste buds with the appropriate wines.  We received great service and everyone there was willing to answer any questions we had.

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  Posted on 09.23.13 Joann B.

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  I can't even wait until I get home... I'm ready now half way through my tasting that I have to RAVE about this place.
  Wine - uh, it's all in their name and they live up to it, whether you have an amazing palate to appreciate the finer things in life or if you're a cheap wine connoisseur you'll love this place.
  Food -
  Cheese plate : average not bad but nothing memorable, stingy on the crostini
  
  Roasted cauliflower : I HATE cauliflower... On that note, this is the first dish I find awesome! Not highlighting the earthy bland cauliflower but it is extra cheesy buttery and salty :) I highly recommend a try.
  
  Truffled penne : a nice extra creamy cheesy play on Mac and cheese
  
  Pork tacos : dry on the pulled pork but if it was extra saucy you wouldn't be able to tell however there was a LOT of beans for one portion of tacos which deff didn't help attribute to the powdery dryness of the taco. I will say though, cilantro = bueno.  Advice: more liquid less dry.
  
  Seared beef : the best dish of the night, incredibly balanced with flavors. The bitterness from Brussels sprouts, earthiness from the mushrooms, red from the beef and then just as you think your taste buds can't be more SATISFIED... The soft corn bread consistency of croutons.. Blowwwww your mind away. Amazing. Awesome. Compliments to the chef ;)
  
  I will be back for more.

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  Posted on 09.12.13 Beekeeni N.

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