In summary - they have very nice wine selections. Â Their food is 4/10. Â Good live music the night we were there.
We arrived on a Sunday evening. Â Greeted quickly and seated in a nice booth. Â Atmosphere is 9/10. Â They had some really nice live music - a female vocalist and acoustic guitar player with a talented bass player accompaniment.
Waitress was decent in knowledge of wines and menu. Â 6/10.
Wine selection, as you would imagine, was extensive. Â We ordered a carafe of a really nice French Bordeaux. Â It was exceptional for the price. Â 10/10. Â It was a 3 glass serving of the by-the-glass offering. Â None of the wines listed the year (perplexing), except on their super expensive "special" rare finds by-the-bottle list.
We had the $18 cheese platter. Â It was mediocre at best. Â Very little cheese and a few crosentini with weird tomato paste. Â We asked for some bread or plain crosentini, and they brought a nice cracker with sea salt. Â I think any place that is serious about wine should offer a white wine cheese platter and a distinct red wine cheese platter with unique selections. Â No such offering here. Cheeses were grocery store quality and nothing special.
We decided to try an entree. Â We ordered the filet mignon medium rare. Â It arrived quite rare. Â In addition it was drowned in a sea of green and red sauces. Â It was clearly a case of trying too hard and a bit of ameaturism. Â Food overall was a 4/10.
For music and wine...quite a fine experience. Â We won't be back for the food. Â That is a shame. Â Better food would make this a repeat date at least every-other week. Â Not sure when we will return due to the mediocre food.
Went to Vinology for restaurant week and was looking forward to dining here... I was the first to arrive and while I waited, I ordered a glass of wine... it was the most expensive wine I had... and the best! Â I loved the wine.
Once everyone got there, we all knew what to order... I went with tostada salad, Salmon Francese and for dessert went with Bananas Foster Belgian Waffle Sundae.
Tostada Salad - it was alright... the chorizo was cold... i wouldn't spend money on this dish.
Salmon Francese - salmon was excellent, moist and hot... the only problem with the dish? Â the citrus risotto was overcooked and cold.
Bananas Foster Belgian Waffle Sundae - not bad.. the waffle was cold and some of them were on the burnt side...
Overall - the salmon was the best... all others were decent.
Service - the waiter was prompt and checked upon us... unfortunately I can only give two stars due to the food experience.
I'll visit again outside of the restaurant week to see how well they compare...
Hit or miss for vinology. Been here for restaurant week twice and enjoyed that. Also been here for a sponsored dinner and enjoyed that. Came here for a birthday and did not have the best experience- service and ambience were fine, just that the food did not justify the prices. While they can definitely serve up some good food at times, not sure we'll be back unless its in a high value setting such as restaurant week or a sponsored dinner given the hit or miss experiences.
Review Source:I have been there multiple times, and the last time I went was as exceptional as every other time. I took my girlfriend there for a special meal, and it did not disappoint. Made a reservation and had to wait for 25 min. It was a Friday night, and I think it was graduation weekend. The hostess, instead of ignoring us or staring right through us, did a wonderful job of apologizing and keeping us up to date. I don't mind waiting, epically when you feel as though they do care about you.
We were seated and promptly greeted. Â Our server was the perfect combination of friendly and professional. She was wonderful and made the meal so much more memorable.
On to the most important part of the meal, the food. The small plates allow you to maybe try something more and share you meal. I love this concept. We started off with the Yorkshire pudding slider hamburgers. The beef was perfect, the pudding was a great twist on a bun, and the sides were a great blend to fix your sliders. We split three small plates. The first was the duck pastrami, which was unique and so tasty. A really interesting combination. The second plate was a lamb porterhouse. Cooked to perfection and the flavor was intense and amazing. The star of the night was the "surf and turf." Â The surf was a seared tuna steak (actually, the only average thing we had, which is kind of shocking); Â however, the star was the braised veal belly. I have had many braised meats, and a lot of veal, and a lot of belly, but never the three combined together. It was amazing, full of flavor and melted in your mouth. Had a great desert and a nice cappuccino.
As for the wine, we had two great Italians that are reasonably priced. One nice little touch was the "director of food and beverage" stopped by randomly to say how much she loved the wine we picked. Se caught the bottle out of the corner of her eye, she didn't have to stop but it was a nice touch.
All and all, if you want a wonderful meal in the area go to vinology. The meal is not inexpensive, but perfectly priced for a great evening out with someone. Can't wait to go back again.
I like how the menu is constantly changing. What I was going to recommend is no longer on the menu anymore. Â I would like to try a happy hour here or a flight of wine with cheese plate since dinners are so pricey. Despite having a nice time/atmosphere/food and wine, I can't exactly forget the horrible waitress who grabbed/snatched the bill from my friends hands before we were ready to pay (just reviewing it). She tried to be super chatty and friendly after after finding out we were all hospital and dental; nice try. Being rude will not get you a better tip.
Review Source:A loooooong overdue review for Vinology during Restaurant Week back in January-ish. But here it goes..
For starters I got the Ribollita Soup. No comments really on it, other than it was really strong and thick. Not to say it wasn't good, but just thicker than I imagined. It was fine. My friend got the Thai Spring Rolls, and just note that it comes in two.
Entree: Short Rib Steak...meh I ordered it medium rare and it came out medium well. ugh. A little dry, and not really tender. Not my favorite. Especially not for a $28 dinner.
Dessert: I got the Chocolate silk tartlet. Really thick and sweet.
I didn't get a chance to drink the wine ( I know...Vinology but no wine?!) because I had to be a responsible driver.
TIPS: Make your reservations a couple days in advanced. The place was packed, as expected.
PARKING: Parking was in Washington structure was like $2 per hour on a Tuesday night.
I think this place is slightly over-rated.
Good:
Decor was hip, upscale and aesthetically pleasing.
Service was great.
Flight of wine was different, cool and good.
Meh:
If a menu could be pretentious this was the menu to do it.
The presentation of the meal was mediocre at best- I think they were trying too hard then it got ugly and sloppy.
The name of my meal was Scallop & Shrimp with the description of tandoori scallopS indicating there would be more than one. Â I got one scallop. Â Just one. And two shrimp. All this for $21.
My sister had to ask how to eat her caesar salad then had to chop and toss it herself.
Tip: Â Yelp says the attire is dressy- it's Michigan so its never dressy. Â If you're from any major city then you know what dressy is- this is not dressy. Â You can wear dressy and be fine but do expect to see people in a soccer T-shirt, jeans and black runners.
Would probably come back for wine...thats about it.
Been back a few times since my last review and it just gets worse. Even ignoring my husband's oh-god-these-gelatinous-lamb-chops-still-have-a-Âpulse experience it's pretty bad. Yes, the wine list is brilliant but the food? It's trying to be overly pretentious. How about this? Focus on making it good.
That said, the inspired cheese plate and wine allow for a solid four star evening. Just don't be tempted by the menu.
If you're looking for really slow, really bad drink service - look no further. Â If you are fortunate enough to catch your server's attention, an added bonus is being served a beverage you didn't order...which starts the looooong wait all over once again. Â Then being told they don't offer what you want - while you point to it on their wall board of offerings adds to the hilarity. Â Demonstrating their own sense of comic relief, a 20% gratuity is automatically added to your check. Â Charming.
Review Source:I. Love. Vinology.
It's pricey, so you either have to be willing to spend a bucket of money or know when to go or what to get. Happy Hour is 11 to 6 and all their wines are half off. Their pizzas are so good. I like to get a carafe of the sparkling wine they have on tap (yes, you read that right-- sparkling wine on TAP. It used to be Detroit but now its Sex, both of which are quite good;)) and split a pizza. Their other food is tasty, but not as amazing as the prices would lead you to believe. The real gem is their extensive wine list and friendly staff. Also, the decor is fabulous, it's very romantic and cozy there. So, if aesthetics enhance your dining out experience, as they do mine, Vinology is a great choice.
This is one of my top 2 happy hour spots. Â Every day is a different flat bread special but the half off sliders is consistant. Â Happy hour half off wine by the glass starts at 11am and great if you feel like a glass with lunch. Â
I often meet a friend for happy hour and order a cheese flight ($18). Â The flights change and are always interesting. Â It is an exprience in flavor combinations and accompaniments.
I would highly recommend trying it out. Â If you aren't sure which wine to try, ask for just pick. Â At half off, you can afford to be adventurous.
Love it.
My wife and I have been going to Vinology since it opened and have attended a number of its wine tastings and wine dinners through the years. This place was always a good concept and we have been really rooting for it to come through. It has been through several chefs and menu styles through the years and has always been good, but until now, I would never have called it great. However, I now think that Kristin and family (owners) have finally hit the nail on the head with the hiring of Chef Jim Leonardo a year or so ago.
The place always had good service and great wine choices, but now he has taken the food up to an excellent level. He uses local and sustainable ingredients in very creative ways which adds to, rather than distracting from the dining experience. There are other restaurants in Ann Arbor that are trying very hard to be "creative" but the food just doesn't taste that special. I believe that the taste of the food should always be the number one priority and then you work on the other aspects of the dining experience. When the Vinology kitchen is firing on all of its cylinders (which is, fortunately, now most of the time) the food there is equal to the best places in NYC, Chicago, and SF. Really. If you tried Vinology a few years ago and thought it was nothing special, I urge you to go back now. It's the best place in Ann Arbor.
Two words - Roasted Tofu! Â Unbelieveable. Â A group of us from work met for lunch during restarant week. Â I had worked out right before and when I saw the lunch menu I knew I wanted the roasted tofu but I was afraid it wasn't going to be enough food since I was starving. Â I went with it! Â Not only was is amazing, I was full! Â The presentation was beautiful too. Â
Two more words - Happy Hour! Â I thought this was just for restaurant week, but, NO! Â Happy Hour everyday is 11 am to 6 pm. Â I got a glass of Smoke Screen Chardonnay for $5.50! Â YUM! Â
The lunch was amazing and I encourage you (even if you are not a vegetarian) to try the roasted tofu. Â You will love it!
My boyfriend and I had a date here during restaurant week. Â
He got the Thai spring rolls (nothing special), short ribs (delicious) and the chocolate silk tart (pretty good, nothing that will blow your socks off though). Â I got the fennel sausage purses (my favorite dish of the night, I wish I could have had an entire plate of just this as my entree!), the salmon (I didn't like it. My fish was dry and flavorless. I did like the polenta cake though), and the coconut quinoa pudding (cool idea, but nothing spectacular).
The ambiance was nice, as were the staff. My boyfriend was beaming by the end of the meal, claiming that we just had a 5-star experience. Â I'll give it four-stars... I'm not sure I would be willing to pay the regular prices for the quality of food they serve... I did have a nice night out though!
We ate at Vinology (not for the first time) the first night of Restaurant Week--a great way to start the week! We had good service, liked the options, and were generally very pleased with what we had. Of the RW appetizers, our group ordered all three options and were happy (the Thai Spring Rolls were voted best). For our main courses, we had the salmon involtini, vegetable pho, and "chicken and waffles." The salmon was great (loved the tomato crema!), and the chicken/waffle dish was very well received. The desserts were all appreciated (bougatsa won that round of voting). All considered, a lovely meal. We were also very happy to be seated downstairs in more intimate, less bustling "bubble room"--a beautiful, interesting place!
Review Source:I wanted to have a fancy dinner out with my friends so we chose one of the less expensive "fancy" restaurants. We walk in, the atmosphere was nice, got seated quickly. We ordered calamari for an appetizer thinking nobody could mess up calamari - we thought wrong. It was disgusting and was placed on even more disgusting rice dish. We ordered food - lamb, chicken, steak and pizza. lamb was alright, steak was spit out into a napkin, chicken was too small to even be considered a main dish and the pizza was inhaled. 1/4. Next, being idiots we decided to order desert.. the apple crisp something  NASTIEST DESERT WE'VE EVER HAD IN OUR LIVES. I spit mine out in my napkin. First desert I've ever not finished. Our waitress visited our table about every twenty minutes and acted as if we had an IQ less than 70 because we didn't know what a few things on the menu were.
When I spend $120 on ameal and $20 om a tip I expect the food and service to be worth it.
The manager was nice though.
The manager is the only reason I'm giving two stars... and the cute bartender.
I have dined here a few times and am impressed. i enjoyed a appetizer which had tofu and doctor pepper soda pop flavoring in it ( it sounds gross but it hit the spot!) and enjoyed a drink with fig liquor and vodka called The Perfect Figure. They definitely know their wines and can make delicious and inventive drinks for buddies who don"t drink. The desserts look divine. Next time...
Review Source:Came here late night for some wine and dessert, so I can't attest to their food menu.
There was a reasonable selection of wines by the glass, however when I wanted to try one of their sparkling wines by the glass, they were out. Â Disappointing, especially when they only offered three selections.
We ordered two desserts; the Gala Apple Crisp with bacon ice cream and the Flourless Chocolate Cake. Â Both were terrible. Â The apple crisp was deconstructed and the ice cream was way too heavy on the bacon flavor, and the chocolate cake was extremely dry. Â At $8 and $10, they were both way over-priced and not worth it. Â
The atmosphere is nice, and perhaps they're better at dinner options than dessert. Â But I probably won't be back.
How can I not have reviewed this place!? Â This is, so far, my most favourite restaurant in AA!
I've been there twice: once with my husband and his colleagues, and another time with just my husband. Â Both times, I was very happy with their food and their service. Â I couldn't complain about anything! Â
I don't quite remember what I had the first time, but I do remember having the samosa, which I loved. Â Whatever else I had, I enjoyed all of it! Â And I really loved the selection of their dessert too! Â Again, I can't remember what I had (it was more than a year ago), but my husband had the milk shake, which they make with liquid nitrogen, and the "performance" was certainly pretty cool! Â
The second time we went, we actually tried their restaurant week deal, and we were, again, impressed by the quality of their food! Â Sometimes, the food can be a bit off during the restaurant week, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the case for Vinology. Â
I had the Thai spring rolls as an appetizer, and salmon roulade for entree. Â I loved the spring rolls, which was plated very beautifully, and the salmon was also very fresh. Â My husband had the steak house salad and the steak, and he also loved his food as well. Â
There are so many restaurants on Main St. that I'd still like to try out, but of all the places we've tried so far, Vinology definitely  tops of the list.
Was here on a busy Saturday night - UM parents weekend. It was quite busy. The service was uneven but a restaurant like Vinology should be up to the challenge. The menu is ambitious - there were dishes including goat and rabbit the night we were there. The food is quite good but on the pricey side. $30+ for full sized entrees is high for Ann Arbor, although there are half portions, appetizers and flatbreads for less. The chef here loves sauces and there were just too many sweet flavors for one plate.
Review Source:I love this place and given how often I go to Vinology, I can't believe I'm just getting around to writing a review of the place. As far a a wine bar goes, Vinology is one of the best I've been to. From the owner to the staff, everybody is extremely knowledgeable about the wine and there's a great selection to choose from. For those who want something other than wine, there's a full bar available. And you can't beat their happy hour prices. With regard to their food, I've eaten at Vinology a few times (most times I just stop in for drinks), and the food has certainly met my expectations, with the exception of dessert, which is certainly creative, but a bit over the top from my perspective. If you're there during happy hour, get an order of the sliders. They're great. And if you sit at the bar, you'll be lucky to have Steven as your bartender. He's a nice guy and a great bartender.
By the way, this place can get extremely busy, so make a reservation, or be ready to wait for seats at the bar, which is first come first served.
The happy hour food isn't great but the wine of course is. Half off wines.
The dinner menu is excellent, but portion sizes are quite small, even for a fancy place.
The liquid nitrogen shakes are more for the visual appeal than the actual taste.
The restaurant week deals are great, and they always come up with a unique menu.
I was looking for somewhere special to celebrate a family anniversary in Ann Arbor. I booked Vinology largely based on the Yelp recommendations and due to the fact that we had a larger party of 9. I was more than under-whelmed and frankly, shocked that the Yelp community gives this place such good reviews. I am wavering between a 1-2 actually.
I made early reservations for a party of 8 at 4:30 on a Sunday (early because our 9th member was a toddler in a high chair). The table was not set-up when we arrived (and we were seated right next to the bathrooms). When I made the reservation I indicated that it was for a special occasion (and what that occasion was). Never once was it acknowledged in any way. Another pet peeve of mine - automatically including the gratuity on the bill. I realize that with bigger parties this is somewhat common (and I was a server for 6 years so I get it) but it just bothers me. I tend to over-tip given my history and when the gratuity is automatically added I don't leave any extra. The waitress was not very friendly or helpful throughout the entire meal. I could go into details but I'll save my energy for the food.
OK, so I can forgive the "experience" part of things even with paying a premium but what I can't forgive is the food. YUCK. The plating, the presentation, and the saucing all felt like I stepped back into the 1980s. With a party as large as ours I got to sample many things. The overwhelming flavor of the entire meal was sweet - there was hardly any other flavor including like zero use of salt or any other seasoning. We ordered appetizers - the cheese flight (eh - ok but nothing spectacular and every cheese chosen was bland and boring); the crispy duck wings (gross, covered in sticky sweet  sauce with a side of super bland potato salad); and $ 8 olives dripping in oil and hardly a variety. You can order 1/2 orders or full orders -the half orders are plenty big. The full orders are ridiculous. All are very expensive for the quality of the food. Everything on the menu seems like it will be really interesting. It is not. I ordered a salmon dish with soba noodles. My husband had the skate - both had an Asian flair. However, the chef at Vinology must think that Asian translates to sickly sweet. It does not. Ruined two perfectly good pieces of fish by dousing in super sweet sauce. Other entrees included lamb chops, scallops and shrimp, steak, and smoked duck breast. Every single thing came with lots and lots of extra "stuff" on the plate and a boatload of whatever sweet sauce the chef thought went with that particular protein. No salt on anything.
Dessert was the most interesting course (they say they are house-made but mine did come partially frozen still). The menu is not seasonal - most of the menu was very summer based.
The place is super expensive. The atmosphere lack-luster. And the food was sub-par at best. Oh and being a wine place you'd think they'd have more of a selection. They don't.
The only saving grace of the place is that the food seems like it is trying to be interesting and they have good deals (and interesting offerings) in their wine flights.
I went to Vinology for a belated b-day celebration with a group of 5. Since going back to grad school, I've reverted back to my 21 year-old self, and so it was nice to break free from the dive bars on South U/ remind myself that I actually can class it up for a night. Â (Side note: for all you U of M men out there trying to convince a special lady that you can drink more than fish bowls and pitchers of beer, Vinology is for you. )
Honestly, even if the food at Vinology wasn't great, I'd probably return, since I love a good wine bar. I also loved the exposed brick and dim lighting. Luckily, Vinology has some solid food options. All of the large dishes can be served as tapas, and there is something on the menu to please everyone. We started with a cheese plate and flat bread. Both were good but not good enough to warrant 5 stars. We also tried some salads and main dishes.
I definitely look forward to returning and trying out some more options. And maybe one day, my prince charming will take me just to prove he knows more than a Ricks or Charley's Fish Bowl.
THE CHEESE FLIGHT. JUST DO IT.
Other thoughts:
- A bit pricey, but good portion size. Our party of 3 ordered 1 entree each (intending to share) plus an appetizer, and we ended up stuffing ourselves to finish.
- Scallop dish was excellent.
- Boyfriend enjoyed the wine flight. Good amount, good variety, distinct flavors.
- Nice ambiance.
- Great server.
Was here last weekend for a joint 30th birthday and ordered a ton of really good food.
I love that this restaurant provides the option of ordering half portions on the main courses allowing us to taste a wide variety of dishes.
We also ordered a flight of wine - 4 different types, 12 half glasses of wine. I couldn't tell you what they were but I drank them all and they were all delicious!
I wouldn't recommend the lamb pizza. It's soft and doughy - too much dough, not enough lamb. Lamb pizza done right should be thin, crispy and covered with lamb.
The only other dish I remember being really flavorful and packed with flavor is the crispy duck wings. Do order the next time you're there. You will not regret it.
At the end of the meal, the server brought out our icecream cake with candles lit which was really nice. After the candles were blown out, they cut the cake into even slices and served it to us on individual plates.
Because we were all going out afterwards and didn't want to take the remainder of the cake with us, the restaurant let us keep leftover cake in their freezer till the next day.
Not bad for an upscale restaurant in Ann Arbor!
A couple weeks ago I went to a Yelp elite event and a fellow attendee (Beth H) told me that her favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor is Vinology. It just so happened that I was going to attend a surprise birthday party at VInology a week later. A week has gone by and I would like to say that I am a fan of Vinology.
The place is definitely fancy. A good place to go on a date or a work meeting, I saw a bunch of guys working on something. Watch out if you are sitting by the walls, you might end up hitting your head of their wall displays.
We started off with wine, Cascinetta Vietti, moscato d'asti. It was amazing. I want an entire crate for myself!
I ordered the half size of the  SCALLOPS AND SHRIMP (kataifi wrapped shrimp seared sea scallops herb linguine tomato fondue saffron cream) 20
For the half size you get a pretty big scallop and a shrimp over some noodles, veggies, and half a tomato. Everything blended well together and surprisingly the veggies were really tasty. The tomato had a funky taste to it. I think they infused it with wine or it was old? I am not sure, it just didn't taste right. If you are not planning on ordering dessert or is a big eater go for the full size.
I would give this place 5 stars but the ladies restroom was inhabited by flies. They were hanging out on the toilet seat when I opened the door. It was a bit gross. Â One bathroom for women's and one for men's. Spacious.
Despite the flies and the funky tomato I would come back. The food is good or I'll just come back for the wine.
There are many reasons why I keep going back to this place. Two worth mentioning: Service and wine selection.
The service here is exactly what you would expect of a respectable restaurant on Main Street. Â Everyone is all on the same page- hostess, server, bartender. They are all courteous, well-informed, and knowledgeable. One particular Bartender, I think his name is Michael (I could be wrong), recommends great wines. Â He's made great recommendations in the past that if he told me to drink cow piss, I just might.
Selection: Go to their website and see their pages and pages and pages of wine list.
The food is wonderful. The menu is very fresh and eclectic. I have never had a bad dish here. Don't go to this place looking for ridiculously large portions.
This place was great when it first opened and the wine selection is still fantastic but the food is not what it was when it first opened. I agree with another reviewer who said that being creative with dishes just to be out there doesn't mean that the food tastes good. The "cheese" plate isn't even a cheese plate...it's a bunch of little snacks that may or may not contain cheese.
I would always come back here for the great wine selection if I was craving a nice glass of wine while in Ann Arbor but there are definitely better places for food in Ann Arbor. And the prices put some expensive (better) restaurants in NYC to shame.
I really want to like this restaurant and, to that end, we've tried it twice. Â The first time was 'meh' and, unfortunately, this recent time was only slightly better. Â I give it credit for being creative though, creative just for the sake of being "out there" doesn't always translate to dishes that taste good.
I had the hanger steak which, in itself, was cooked fine, if a little bland, which just speaks to the qualify of the meat. Â But all the fussy stuff on the plate -- and there was a lot of random disjointed components on there -- didn't mesh with each other. Â It was like eating at a potluck buffet. Â We were a party of four and tasted each other's plates -- duck wings, short rib steak, grape leaves, one of the fish dishes.... We all had the same reaction. Â Exception were the salads, which were all quite good. Â
Service was very great; perfect balance of casual and professional. Â Wines were interesting and fun.
I'm all for complex tastes and creative dishes but, imo, I think the kitchen at Vinology need to sit down and try their own plates once in a while. Â I'm sure they taste each of the components but the combination of them on the plate? Note sure that they have.
For all that's holy in this world, someone open something like Vinology somewhere closer than 600 miles from my home.
I have nothing negative to say about Vinology and lest you think I don't get out often and maybe I was just happy to not be eating a frozen entree pulled from a freezer, oh no. You couldn't be, uh, well, wronger. Food-wise, and drink-wise, I get around. in fact, I'm kinda a food whore, yeah, I said it.
In the course of less than two hours, I checked off my mental grade card of Vinology:
- Genuinely friendly service
- A great wine selection, from which we all chose the same organic pinot (and then another round of the same)
- Two vegan appetizers
- One unique entree of Winter Tamales
For the sake of full disclosure and to prove I'm capable of critical thinking, the tamales were a little drier than I thought they should be. But! I ate them and enjoyed them none-the-less.
Can not wait to get back to Ann Arbor and Vinology.
It's time for Ann Arbor to rediscover this place.
Vinology has improved dramatically in the past two years. This is Ann Arbor's best dining experience with an extensive wine list, a seasonal menu, and locally-sourced foods (when possible).
Tonight's meal started with a generous portion of the White Salad, prepared with frisée, jicama, pear, lychee, mushroom, and fennel. It was topped with a delicious champagne vinaigrette. Seriously, the portions of the salads were huge. I would be tempted to come here for an appetizer or two and then indulge in the salads.
The main entree was the Roasted Venison Loin with quark spaetzle, brussels sprouts, bacon, huckleberries, braised cabbage, and topped with a white peppercorn sauce. The sweetness of the huckleberries with the earthiness of the brussels sprouts made for a surprisingly good combination.
What I love about Vinology is that you can order half-plates and full plates for each entree. Personally, the half plates are perfect for enjoying a full course meal that includes an appetizer, a salad, an entree, and dessert at the end. I wish more restaurants would do this so that you are not wasting food.
Finally, the meal ended with an Aztec Pave, this gourmet s'more-like morsel of yumminess inspired by the Yucatan. This spicy chocolate mousse-like dessert that included a guajillo chile marshmallow. It was truly the highlight of my meal and nearly moved me to tears.
To top it off, the service was impeccable tonight. I've complained about service in the past, but it has changed. For a last meal as an Ann Arbor resident, I couldn't have asked for a better experience.
When I return home, I plan to return to Vinology. When others ask about where to eat in Ann Arbor, Vinology will top the list.
This is specifically for their LUNCH menu plus happy hour specials. My husband has been telling me that their burgers were great so we went yesterday.
I had FONTINA & BRAISED RED CABBAGE and it was perfect. First, the presentation is very cute. Don't be fooled by the size though... it looks small, but it will fill you up.
The burger was juicy (get it medium) and had great flavor. The fontina cheese along with slightly sweet and sour red cabbage was a nice combination. It is served with crispy skinny fries (or side salad). The bun is toasted and it doesn't overwhelm the burger.
If you are looking for a gourmet burger (only $11) that will satisfy your meat craving, you won't regret!
Wines - great selection, and both the reds I tried were delicious. I can't wait to go back with friends and get a flight.
Dinner - Love that they have half plates. I went there with my bf and we split three dishes. The monkfish was great, and omg it was cooked absolutely perfectly. The skirt steak was also great, and the little mushroom puff things that came on the side were really delish. We had the lamb osso bucco also, but that dish was just ok. The lamb was a bit overcooked, but the polenta that came with it was nice.
I have only ever visited here for lunch (twice) but I am planning a happy hour stop and possibly a dinner. Lushy me has never had a sip of wine here, as I tend not to midday, but I plan to imbibe here soon.
The variety of burgers for lunch here is incredible, the quality is over the top. Great flavors and good sides to boot. Thus far I have sampled (or actually eaten): the caprese, the duck burger, the gyro burger, the salmon burger and the cowboy burger. All had their merits, with fresh ingredients and good levels of seasoning. My personal faves are the cowboy and the gyro but I would not be too sad with any of the burgers off the menu.
Sweet potato fries are tasty as are the frites and the truffled potato salad is a must try. We split a three bean salad as a side and that worked too. Speaking of salads, my mom was a fan of the smoked salmon one too. I like that there seems to be something for everyone at the lunch hour.
Staff is friendly and very helpful with suggestions. Â Atmosphere is very Ann Arbor trendy. You get attention here though, drinks refilled and staff on the whole seem to care about the experience you are having here. I kinda like that.
Try it out, lunch at least is very reasonable for what you get. Those milkshakes look way cool when being made too. I have to try one sometime!
I was sold on this place just after hearing the name...I have a fondness for anything that has to do with wine. So the incredible food was just an added bonus!
Unfortunately, there would be no wine for me at vinology since I visited on one of my detox days, but a girls gotta eat. Â Scallops? Wall-eye? Tuna? So many good things to choose from! At my waitress's insistence I opted for the brioche crusted wall-eye with some sort of mushroomy sauce and potatoes. OMG it was insanely good!! Â And Mariah seemed to really enjoy her tuna as well. Â
I'm going to guess that you can't go wrong with anything at Vinology. They use ingredients from local farms (gotta love that!) and anyone will feel at home in their trendy yet cozy atmosphere.
I definitely plan on more nights in Vinology when I'm in town next...and next time I'm going for the wine!
Wow, I feel like my experiences here just keep getting better. I stopped in again the other evening with my co-yelper Andrea R for a late dinner and some time to unwind and bounce ideas around.
First of all, I was glad to see that they were open until 10 on a Sunday evening -- sometimes the selection gets limited for eating out late on Sunday in Ann Arbor.
I ordered the Ahi, which was tender and full of flavor. Â The eggplant garlic sauce was a perfect compliment. Â I was excited to try the duck fat potatoes, but frankly I couldn't taste the flavor difference in the lesser cooked potatoes. Â The ones that were allowed to get a bit crispy, though? Â Woooow, there was where I could really notice a difference! Â Now I (finally) think I understand what people rave about when they eat duck fat fries!
I again found the little "key" on the wine list helpful... though I always feel like the symbols are a little cartoon-y, I do indeed need them, and appreciate a little extra guidance in making my selection.
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