Quite Pleased with my Valentine's day date at Volo. Made 3-Course prix fix menu reservations through <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gdine.com&s=cb731bb689931cbd3ba7f75496e71209698a4a1742bebec3ff3dc18d1c84fbda" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.gdine.com</a> and freedom of not worrying about price or the check was refreshing - recommended! The food exceeded expectations and the small plates' portions did not leave us hungry for more. February 15th was a tad chilly on the heated/enclosed patio, but, as other yelpers have alluded to, the environs make it a sexy date spot.
Review Source:I just went to Volo for an after dinner beverage. The woman who worked at the bar was incredibly rude. Â We were there for less than an hour, spent over $30 for two glasses of wine and she actually took our water away - her subtle hint to ask us to leave. Â She was a complete snob. Â The hostess was actually embarrassed by her. Â It truly was shocking. Â We will not go back.
Review Source:I just came here last night and I have to say that I'm so glad I did! Great service, AMAZING wine, and delicious food! I also loved the general atmosphere and have to comment on the great selection of music. I definitely plan on coming back here because it just had that great intimate and friendly feel to it - my favorite type of restaurants. Also - please try the lamb tacos, I had to order two portions (they only have small plates) because they were so good.
Review Source:We closed the house down and enjoyed every minute.
Drinks -- Bordeaux Blends Flight and Bubbly Flight.
Cheese Plate -- Lamb Chopper, Humbolt Fog, and Camembert de Normandie with honey nuts and jam. Â I am surprised that honey nuts and jam is a side order for extra fee. Â Cheeses these days are served with complementary flavors.
Black and Blue -- flavorful steak served on a delicate bed of mash potato.
Crisp Chicken Liver -- served with red cabbage salad. Â I usually hate red cabbage, but somehow...it went well with liver (I was going for maximum iron count) and finished the dish.
Beet Salad -- lots of beets than the goat cheese.
Caramel Cheese Cake -- perfect. Â Creamy and not too sweet.
Venue -- small, casual and all females! Â Where did the single guys go?
Service -- fabulous! Â If he doesn't like his Tiffany jewelry anymore, I am first in line as beneficiary. Â :-)
* * *
TIP: Â Oyster and Pork Belly Happy Hour from 5-7 pm nightly.
Groupon Caution: Â Based on the maximum set price, not the types of dishes included. Â As you order the pricier cheese selection, the lesser the discount.
I've been here twice. Not bad. Dinner was 4 stars. I enjoyed the sweet breads, tartar and oysters. I found for a wine bar their list was a bit lacking
The inside is a bit cramped, but intimate. The outside is very sexy, it's a nice date spot. The crowd is on the older side, so it's not the most hip of places.
Host and waitstaff were incredibly rude. I fancy myself somewhat the foodie and do not like being talked down to like a couple of children. I live in Roscoe Village, this was both times a fallback when we couldn't get into an actual fine dining establishment. I may return in the summer for the patio, but I kind of doubt it.
Lots of hard surfaces and sitting very close to other customers makes this place tough to have a conversation. Â I liked the wines that I tried and I would probably return for a glass of wine. However, I have eatten here twice and I will not get burned again. The food prices are outrageous for the quality and quantity. Â We got 2 tiny chicken croquettes that tasted bad-mushy inside. Â We only ate one and left the other it was so gross. Â Price was $6 or $7. Â We got 2 falafel, which were ok, but again, small and $6 or $7. Â We also got two tini tacos, which I did not try as I don't like duck. Â We spent $92 for the aforesaid food and two rounds of drinks. We had to go to Village Tap to get something eat afterwards. Â The "small plates"
are way better at Tini Lounge, Iberico, and any other "small plates" I've been to in Chicago. Â Service was fine.
So I ended up here with some girlfriends during Oysterfest. We wanted something to nipple on and to enjoy a glass of wine. So I assume some of the chaos that was Volo was attributed to the larger than normal comings and goings of the general population at large (good thing to know)..
For ambiance, I can definitely see this being a cozy, chill night with the girlies or intimate date. If you want some ruckus, you can have your fixins' at the community table or sit outside when the weather allows.
So when we finally got seated, we looked at the menu and had a ton of questions. The server was pretty knowledgeable which is always nice. We opted for calamari, crispy chicken croquettes, marinated beats and goat cheese, and the mussels. I thought of our selection the calamari was my favorite and my friends said the liquid (not the actual mussels) was there favorite. The other items I felt were more bland than I expected, which was unfortunate.
If I lived in the area, I would possibly give this a round 2, but since I don't.. it's hard for me to say "you must go".
Went last night for the 3rd or 4th time now and decided to finally write a review.
I think that Volo has gone through some significant changes in the recent past which has made it much better for diners:
1. New decor. Communal table idea is cool. There's more room to walk around now, which is great. Chalkboard wall is awesome.
2. New menu items. They recently re-did the menu for the fall season and we were able to try a couple things - they're all really good.
3. Service staff. Great staff (we were waited on by Erin - she's awesome. Very attentive and made some great food suggestions)
My friend had the red wine on tap and she loved it. We split a couple plates:
1. beau soleil oysters - my first time having raw oysters. really, really good. definitely something i would try again. thanks Erin for the suggestion!
2. ahi tataki - i love me some ahi tuna, and this dish was really good. just perfectly seared and the oil that was drizzled on top was good.
3. roasted lamb tacos - a little too salty for me, but the dish overall was good.
4. black and blue - this is one of my go-to's and i'm glad they didn't take it off the menu. perfectly cooked sirloin and delicious bleu cheese potatos. SO GOOD.
5. duck confit - another new menu item. i'm not usually a big duck fan, but this was delicious. moist, perfectly cooked, well seasoned.
and to top it off, we got to try a cookie platter. pretty good desserts.
overall, another great experience at Volo. Definitely worth trying at least once - and they have a great outdoor space in the back that is perfect for that special date :)
I LOVE this place. Â This is one of my boyfriend and my favorite local spots. Â The food is always AMAZING and they have a fabulous wine list. Â We always order the cheese plate, the bacon wrapped dates are to die for and I LOVE their seasonal spreads. Â Oh and their roasted garlic olive oil and crispy freshly baked bread is delicious!! Â Â
The outdoor seating in the back is a hidden gem and the service is always top notch. Â We will continue to come here as long as the food and service stay this great!
A decent place to get wine and cheese.
The secret garden thing they have going on in the back
makes it worth going up, and pushed it to 3 stars for me.
I've had 2 really bad experiences there and one good
experience - so I find the place to be kind of a schizo.
If you live in the area I'm sure it'd be a fine place to grab
a glass of wine and some bites if you have 2 hours to kill
waiting for it all to come out.
I personally would rather cut my losses and run over to
Webster's and use that extra time and money spent at
Volo on getting warm and fuzzy elsewhere.
Volo was okay. Â I'd go back for a drink but probably not for dinner. Â One thing is truly exceptional though, the back patio/wine garden. Â It is a true asset for this restaurant. Â We did not sit there but we wish we had. Â It is not to be missed.
I will say that our intitial service was slow and this theme continued on throughout the night (with one exception, they guys filling the water were awesome/ninja like refillers, which I love).
Wine list was pretty good but not that big for a wine bar. Â Please add more. Â And I liked the keg wine which I've read about in Food & Wine, etc but never tried. Â Fun! Â
Also of note, the wine pours were wildly inconsistent. Â I had 3 glasses of wine, and I'd call them the 3 bears. Â Baby bear, 4 ounces, Mama bear 6 ounces and Daddy bear 8 ounces. Â Obviously Baby bear made me mad and Daddy bear made me happy, but really we should be getting all pours of at least 6 ounces.
Outlined below is what we ate. Â Note these are small plates and we kept ordering them tapas style and they came out staggered, which is nice.
Shrimp & Corn Fritters:
Dry with minimal shrimp. Â Skip them.
Bone Marrow:
Your standard fare bone marrow. Â Either you love it or hate it. Â The serving was exceptionally large and they brought us more crackers upon request. Â A few of the bones had slightly burned marrow but pretty good. Â
Sweet & Sour Chicken:
Very light and crisp for a fried item. Â Well cooked and had a nice tang but perhaps could have used something to make it a little more sweet & sour. Â Good but not great.
Bacon, Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Flatbread. Â This was just okay. Â It was a little dry and the mushrooms dominated a little bit. Â It needed some oil or something to soften it.
Black & Blue:
The best thing we ate. Â Cooked medium rare to perfection. Â Tons of flavor. Â Blue cheese potato was fun and very good.
Our bill came out to $100 plus tip. Â For 5 glasses of wine and 5 small plates that may be a bit above average. Â In the end, the food is average at best, the service was a bit below average, the wine was good and the ambiance was great.
2.5
I was disappointed by Volo. Â As my first outing via gDine, my man and I made a Friday night dinner reservation. Â We were seated in their back outdoor patio area as requested - that was the high point because from there on out, things seemed to go s l o w l y downhill for the rest of the evening. Â
Our water glasses were filled promptly after we were seated, but we weren't greeted or acknowledged from the two waitresses for 10 - 15 minutes. Â After staring them down repeatedly, finally the two waitresses converged nearby, and after some whispers and pointing to our table, one of them finally came over to greet us with a meek apology for the wait. Â Mistakes happen, I understand that - but her apology was lame and she never did anything to make it up to us - like at the very minimum: provide us with good/quick service; or on the other end of the spectrum: comp us a little something?
Our gDine included a three course meal of 1 app, 1 small plate + 1 dessert. Â We also opted for the wine flight. Â
App:
We both ordered the shrimp + corn fritters. Â These were good; not great. Â Several small fried fritters, with no real shrimp or shrimp flavor. Â
Small Plates:
- Bacon / mushroom / goat cheese flatbread. Â This was loaded with bacon, too light on the cheese, with large mushrooms. Â The flatbread was dried out on the edges and throughout as well. Â You normally can't go wrong with mushrooms and goat cheese, but this was not that great.
- Sweet + Sour Chicken. Â Fried mixed pieces of boneless chx, good flavor / sauce. Â
- Tuna + Pork Belly. Â (I didn't order this)
Dessert:
The Sundae - "cake" aka a hard, overdone-brownie-like disc, topped with chocolate / hazelnut semifreddo, honey choco sauce + fresh whipped cream. Â The semifreddo was delicious, but that "cake" was not cake, or if it was, it was very old cake.
The restaurant has a sleek look to it, and the outdoor patio is nice, but nothing about our meal makes me want to return - especially given the small (small) plates and highish prices. Â Are my feelings due to our lackluster / slow / not that friendly or attentive waitress? Â Were we treated as gDine outcasts? Â I don't know... Â But I was expecting much more from the food and service, and left feeling let down.
I work within the area, and a couple coworkers and I decided to venture down for after work drinks. Let me start off saying the wine was very good. They have wine flights which is always a great thing!
But the service and food were terrible! Not only are they completely overpriced for nothing, but we sat on the back patio and there was mice running around. We brought the mice to the servers attention and she looked at us like we were the ones with the issue. I am not a fan of rodents, especially when concerning my food, so when I brought up the issue to the server I assumed a table switch, or glass of wine for our experience.. instead she basically told us not to freak to scare anyone else. Wierdest and worst experience ever! I'll never go back and would definitely never say it's chicago's best!
My suggestion if you go: eat beforehand (the food won't fill you up), just go for drinks, and don't sit on the back patio near the "garage" because you will see critter and the servers apparently don't care.
Wow, what can I say except I'm SOOOOO disappointed and a little mad. Â I live in the neighborhood but had not been to Volo for several years. Â I remember the wine list, food and patio fondly and had high expectations for a beautiful summer evening sipping wine and eating small plates on their beautiful patio. Â
We were seated on the patio to the tune of screechy Creedence Clearwater Revival blasting too loudly over the crackling speakers right next to our table. Â Yes, we were treated to the entire album. Â This was at dinner time, not midnight - no one is drunk enough to listen to that junk for an hour!
The wine choices are rather limited for a wine bar and our selections were meh. Â The food ranged from mediocre to downright gross. Â Everything we had was fried, breaded, over-sauced, generic, and lacking any freshness, flavor or delicacy of hand. Â By the time we got to the cheese plate, we were expecting Kraft singles to come out of the kitchen. Â The cheeses were tasty, however as one other reviewer noted, came without anything else on the plate (how about a garnish of dried fruit, a few nuts, a little jam to dress things up?). Â For these prices, I really, really expected better. Â We paid $100 for this mess and vowed never to return. Â
It's really a shame, because the space itself is so cute and could be so much more.
With that great space, they need to put in sometin good...
Brought some friends here. Saw it listed on DailyCandy's Chicago's Best Spots for a Birthday Bash for their adorable outdoor patio. I made a reservation for 10. From the moment we arrived we were given attitude by the waitresses (literally stink face and eye rolling). The service was awful; reason enough not to go back. But the food, the food was so disappointing...
I was looking forward to the 'baguette trio'. What a let down. warmed artisan bread? more like cold subway bread. and the spreads were nothing to write home about.
My friend literally had to move the 'house-made pickles and olives' to another table because they tasted and smelled so bad.
Two stars for the patio and the wine, which in a city like Chicago, should not keep you in business. My advice: skip it!
Really bad service, not just inattentive, but a really bad attitude from our server. Â She didn't seem very interested in serving our drinks, seeing as my glass sat there for 20min at one point. Â The food was okay at best. Â I'd highly recommend not going in a group because apparently the guaranteed gratuity will make the server treat you like trash.
FYI, this place was far from being packed when we went, only two other tables outside and maybe half full at most inside!
This place was a full-on let down from every angle.
Sorry but Vo Lo is a No Go for me. I found out about it from a viewing of Chicago's Best - it made everything look so good, but I think I may have to reevaluate the show - more like Chicago's Best Marketing.
The restaurant is pretty cute and adorable, very nicely furnished inside and the outdoor patio is charming. I will throw a request in for some seat cushions on the patio chairs, owww. Â
My husband and I ordered:
Mussels
Chicken and wild mushroom croquettes
Sweet Pea Flat bread
Brussell Sprout Salad
The mussels were the only good thing we had...they were pretty delicious, I will say - great sauce and decent portion size. Ask for some bread to get all the sauce.
Everything else was either completely tasteless or worse, tasted bad. Â The Brussell sprout salad had totally competing flavors and had the mild taste of stinky feet. It had no acid or brightness to speak of, only a thorough black pepper flavor that permeated the entire sad dish. Â
The Chicken and wild mushroom croquettes were disturbing. Not only were they dark brown and turd-like in both size and color, but they tasted imaginably just as bad. Â We sent them back asap - our server was attentive and friendly, and took it off the bill for us.
The sweet pea flat bread, which was highlighted on Chicago's Best, was just bland and mushy...the flavors just didn't go together and texturally was odd.
All in all, wasn't a great experience. I'd go back for wine and cheese, but really, what's the point of that? Â Our bill for those 4 TEENIE tiny plates and 1 glass of wine was 50 bucks. Still hungry and with the faint flavors of feet and turd still lingering on our palettes, we heaved home.
Oh, Volo, how I adore you so!
This wine bar has it all: Â a huge variety of wines, several cheese options, fresh and meticulously executed snacks to nosh on, desserts that sing in your mouth. Â What else can one ask for?!?
I could have easily knocked back several servings of the cold tuna, eggplant, pea flatbread, and mussels. Â Each item blend well together and are extremely fresh. Â I am salivating just thinking about the menu!
The servers are all helpful and work well together. Â We never found ourselves with an empty glass!
As for the decor? Â Love the community seating and tall tables in the front windows. Â The front patio is cute and the back patio is a hidden gem in the city.
I don't think I have ever been there less than two hours and would probably have no problem staying from open to close! Â As for my cousin who joined me in the fun this time?!? Â She does not always enjoy driving from the Southside; but said she would regularly, if we always stopped at Volo! Â If that isn't an accolade, I do not know what is....
My friends and I decided to go to Volo because my friend had a Groupon. We didn't have any idea what to expect.
For starters, all of Roscoe Village is adorable. It looks like a wonderful place to live and hang out. When you arrive at Volo, it looks like a bar that fits in to the area. A dark but modern looking bar. When you arrive, ask that you sit in the garden area because it is adorable.
The food and wine are very good. Small plates, so expect to pay a lot if you're really hungry. The wine was great and the service was fantastic.
Overall a great atmosphere with great service and good food.
Definitely worth checking out at least once.
My friends and I were just here yesterday and we had a very lovely time. Dano was our server and he was super quirky and fun! Definitely someone who I would like to hang out with during every dinner : )
We each loved our meals and we all tried oysters for the first time as well. Delicious.
Thanks Volo! Your atmosphere is incredible.
Not very good. The wine was fine, but there's so many places to get some good wine in this town you don't need a special trip to come here.
Good: Bread/spreads plate and the tuna
Bad: Mussels were bad, seemed like they were 2 weeks too old. As a meat eater, the meat selections left alot to be desired.
Everything on the menu tasted sweet. It just wasn't good. So many good places in this town, skip this one.
Nothing too special about this place.
I reserved a table at 9:15 and I was glad that I did. We walked in, and one super teeny, super crowded table next to the door was open. That was our table.
My husband and I each had a wine flight - he had the red and I had the French white. I honestly wasn't a fan of any of the wine I sampled. We went here for drinks and dessert to celebrate his birthday, so we also got the gelato sampler. The gelato tasted like it was straight from the carton and wasn't very good.
Maybe it's just me, but the place felt way too crowded. There's one long bench against the wall, and a bunch of tables in front of it. Now, I'm not huge, but I found getting to the bench extremely awkward. The tables are just way too close together. I could hear every conversation happening around me, and I said "What?" every time my husband said a word.
This was totally not worth the $40 check. Luckily, we had a groupon, so it wasn't too bad. We didn't have any trouble using the groupon, so I guess that counts for something.
I have had several great experiences at Volo, so was extremely surprised to see  Foodie C's 1 star rating.  His or her description of the service there could not have been any more opposite of all of my experience there.
After looking into foodie c' s profile, I realized it is a brand new, anonymous, and only other reviews are the same restaurant group copy and pasted.
I have no idea what this is all about, but it is clearly personal and holds no value.
The food here is pretty good, and the staff/atmosphere exceptional.
I tried this place back in 2008 with my wife/parents and it was below average then. Â I'm not sure why I thought it would be any better 4 years later, but it actually was worse. The bartender was piss drunk, which was actually quite ridiculous. Â He was so wasted that he didn't even greet us with a hello or drink offering. Â It was more of a glassy eyed get the hell out of here followed by him running off to the bathroom. Â I'm not sure if he was a mute, overly drunk or sick from the disgusting wine, but this behavior was completely unacceptable. Â
After the drunk wandered off, a waitress actually had to serve us at the bar and she seemed quite frustrated with the events as well. Â To make matters worse, she said the kitchen was closed (not her fault) and they did not have oysters or cheese available. Â If we showed up at 1AM, I could understand, but it was 10PM!!! Â We were not given a reason why it was closed, and to be honest, I'm glad we didn't ask. Â I knew we should have just left then, but we proceeded to order a glass of wine each from a very poor selection of reds. Â Big mistake as the wine tasted like vinegar and was served warmer than room temperature. Â This may be the reason the bartender was unable to speak and likely vomiting in the bathroom.
I'd rather go to Binny's and drink a bottle outside in a brown paper bag before ever setting foot in this joint again. Â Shame on me for giving them a second chance.
Though a small restaurant, I had a great experience with friends looking for good food, wine and a unique atmosphere. I do want to point out that I am not a wine connoisseur by any means, and that was not an issue at Volo. Our group decided to each order a different flight of the various wines the restaurant offered. We also started out with cheese and bread plates to go along with the wine.
Food wise, we decided to get an assortment of several small plates to share. The entrees ranged everything from mussels, beef tenderloin, roasted beets, marrow bones, ahi tuna, duck confit and many more. All really complimented the wine really well. (I don't feel I have the expertise the say that, but it was really good!)
Overall, it was a neat experience. It was a small, dark wood atmosphere with great food and drinks. Recommend to all who want to take a trip to Roscoe Village for a night out.
Being a big fan of wine and tapas, I was eager to try Volo on a Friday night with my fiancee. The place was small but rowdy, with tables in close proximity to each other and most sharing one long padded bench on one side. No big deal, we tend to get pretty boistrous with some wine in the gut so that wasn't an issue.
Got a white flight, and the three options were tasty and the glasses were about half full, which I can live with. Would have preferred 2/3 but whatever, nitpicking. We also got a bottle of a tangy red and dove right into the food. I tried the bone marrow, the steamed mussels, and my fiance got the tuna. We also got a cheese, which was very solid. The mussels and tuna was awesome, but the marrow was almost nonexistant. Mostly bone and dried out marrow, with barely anything inside. Meh.
If I could give it 3.5 that would be most accurate but the service, wine, and tuna made me round up. Give this place a shot.
My friend had her wedding here on a Friday night and shut the entire restaurant down. Â The food was mostly appetizers and having a cold I showed up late but seriously, Volo did a bang-up job!
Beautiful patio space that has cabana-like tables allowed guests to sit and enjoy outside space, with a little bit of an intimate feel while still feeling like part of the festivities. Â There's a back room behind the outdoor patio that was set up to include a polaroid photo booth and had additional tasty hors d'oeuvres. Â The food was yummy and the wine was just delicious.
Also, my friend didn't have a dj but rather a playlist for the intimate soiree  The audio was throughout the space and the staff was really attentive without being at the center of anything.
I will definitely be back here to check it out for a wine night with some friends or family, or I know that I could also host an event here too!
I've been to Volo twice now for different events, a baby shower and a wedding, and I have to admit I'm a little torn on how I feel about them.
The space and the service are both great and the wine is fab, but the food fell a little flat on both occasions. Â Not to say that I didn't like it, because I definitely put down some of their fancy schmancy apps, but it just failed to really satisfy. Â Maybe it was the fact that they were events, but the food that was supposed to be hot wasn't hot and the food that was supposed to be cold wasn't cold. Â For one of the events we had lamb for a main course and while tasty, it was a little overcooked and just didn't really do it for me.
I think they did a great job handling both of the events and had a great presentation, but the food could use a little fine tuning.
Yay for discovering Volo!
Volo has a great atmosphere, and I was especially enamored with the back patio. Very romantic-- prime date territory. The wine selection is solid and reasonably priced. We tried the summer whites and spanish reds flights, and they were quite good. The vino serving size was much more generous than some other wine bars.
We loved the manchego, montchevre, and grana padano cheeses and the roasted beet salad was really tasty.
Volo has definitely made my short-list of favorite wine bars in Chi.
Volo has been pretty consistent in my book. Whenever I have gone, the service has been very friendly and efficient. As a wine bar, they obviously have a wide selection of wines from which to choose. I typically go with a glass, although I have tried their flights which introduce you a variety a wines from different parts of the world.
The food that I've tried has also been quite good, although I mainly stick to the flatbread goat cheese, mushroom and bacon pizza thing. I'm kind of a finicky eater, and I do not eat many meats, so their menu is not the most tantalizing for me. I've always liked the flatbread, but the rest of the items don't ever seem that appealing to me because they are too meat-centric. There is not a whole lot from which to choose, especially if you have a particular palate, or prefer not to eat meat.
The outdoor patio in the back is amazing. Lots of little nooks to sit in, which is why I think this would make a great date spot.
Volo is in my hood, and on all the times I have patronized this business, I have definitely been pleased.
Advice to all industry folks: when someone is in the middle of a meal, under no circumstances do you ask them to move tables.
Half way through our bottle of wine and cheese plate, the server told us she didn't mean to seat us at the corner booth (which fits four) and politely asked us to move to a two-person table. Â Even though that's bs, I said yes -- and she thanked us and promised a couple glasses of wine on the house. Â As soon as I got up I felt like an idiot for saying yes. Â We weren't going to be there for three hours...couldn't these people wait...?
...here is where it gets really bad.
After 20 minutes, I glance down to the corner booth we vacated -- and low and behold -- there are TWO people sitting there. Â They looked as comfortable as we did.
So, that's it. Â I'm pissed - you don't ask someone to move - especially if you just want to give your friends or whoever a better table.
I asked for the check - she brought it - nothing on the house; full price -- but the good news is the two people in our original booth were having a really good time.
We called the server out asking why she asked us to move (I made a mistake, I'm sorry) and why she didn't compensate us as she offered (I made a mistake, I'm sorry).
Yeah, me too.
It pains me to write this review. Â I really, really, really wanted to like Volo. Â It has the makings to be my kind of place. Â A wine bar, lots of small plate options, classy vibe inside and the kind of outdoor patio dreams are made of. Â However, it just did not come together for me at all.
The service? Â Lackluster in every way. Â Our server could not have looked any more uninterested in serving our table. Â He was bored, unenthusiastic, didn't offer any suggestions and basically sulked around for the duration of our meal. Â The timing of our food delivery was poor. Â We ordered the cheese plate well before any of our main dishes, yet the cheese came out after our meals. Â The only explanation we received was, "Yeah. Â The hot side and cold side of the kitchen operates separately." Â That's it? Â When he saw that we barely touched our meals, I would have thought that he would ask if we had a problem with the food. Â But nope. Â Nothing. Â Sorry buddy, but the restaurant wasn't even busy, so you couldn't have been too in the weeds to check in.
I can forgive bad service if the food is great. Â But you know what? Â It wasn't. Â The menu offered a selection of six cheeses, but Volo has only offered five of the six for quite some time. Â UPDATE YOUR MENU! Â I ordered the crab salad and the bacon, goat cheese and mushroom flatbread small plates for my meal. Â The crab salad was just... gross. Â There was a very thick mound of icky avocado paste on top of the crab salad that made the entire dish taste terrible. Â I won't even get started on the red, salsa-esque sauce on the plate. Â Yucky and ill-advised. Â While my flatbread was good, it was so rich that it was nearly impossible to eat more than a few bites. Â My dining companions also commented that the duck confit was dry and agreed that the crab salad was... off.
Okay, so if the service is bad and the food isn't good, maybe it's a great value right? Â I'm by no means cheap, but I thought the food was way overpriced. Â The small plates (and they were just that: SMALL!) were about $11 each. Â The larger plates were in the $20 range. Â And my beloved cheese plate? Â For a small selection of five cheeses (with no garnish, flair or anything) was $16. Â I don't know... it just seemed to super expensive for dishes that were nothing special.
So I paid the bill and with my tummy still rumbling, I asked, "Can we go to Starfruit?"
....and Volo back down you go!! My original review (written prior to our nifty update system) previously stood at 2 stars until the management redeemed by contacting me and pleading their case for an add'l star... oh yeah, and bribing me with free food. Fine, bribery works sometimes in my book, sorry. However, in this case, bribe all you want Volo-ites, my opinion stands... you're sucky!
It's definitely not the worst of the worst, but is consistently disappointing. My waiter last night was so aloof and off-putting at one point I actually had to challenge his blase attitude. No, I'm not just going to sit here and be ok with off service... he continued to force-feed irrational excuses down my throat and it was at that point I resigned any attempts at enjoying my time here.
The dishes are not impressive by any means. Granted, some are ok (the flatbreads and butternut squash fritters), but some are downright bad (the peeky toe crab salad and duck confit)... the $16 cheese board features an anemic serving of incredibly basic cheeses (gouda, grana padano, herbed goat, blue, triple creme) and positively no accompaniments save a few small pieces of dry bread. How 'bout some olives? fig jam? nuts? Oh... I got my nuts alright... because I'd be downright nuts to hit up Volo again.
Lovely Volo.
After Sideways, I was subjected to many bad pinot noirs. Â It has made me shy away from trying them when I go out. Â We went to Volo recently though and my date got the pinot flight. There was one from Russian River that was out of this world! Â He had forgotten to keep the glasses in order so we had to ask the waitress if she could tell which it was. Â She took one sniff and knew exactly. Â No pretension here. Â Just staff who know and love wine. Â
I love the symbols on them menu that help you match your food and wine selections. Â It makes it an easy, not intimidating, place to go with people who are just getting to know wine. Â Speaking of the food... the bacon pizza is a fantastic match for that pinot I mentioned earlier. Â I am not going to go into detail about the hazelnut chocolate cake because then I'll need to go get some. Â Delicious! Â They also have a really nice cheese selection.
The only reason I am giving it a 4 is the noise level. Â (I wish there were 4 1/2 star ratings) Â It gets so loud inside. Â Kind of hard to have a conversation. Â Otherwise, it would be the perfect date spot. Â That being said, it is perfect for a girl's night out. Â If you are going for a date though, I'd go in the warmer months and aim for the gorgeous back yard.
Not only is Volo a perfect, neighborhood spot for a casual meal...Mondays are half price bottles of wine night! Â Lucky (or dangerously) for me, my first visit to Volo was on a Monday night.
Ever since Kirsten F. reviewed Volo as her favorite neighborhood dining spot, I have been wanting to try it. Â Don't you know, I showed up on her doorstep, overnight bag in hand, and begged and pleaded to go there. Â Well, not really - but I would have!
Immediately when you walk in, there is a cool, comfortable vibe. Â Even on a weekday night, there were tables of people clearly having a great time, and we were no exception. Â The atmosphere is dark with low lighting, rich and inviting, with a friendly staff. Â
We shared a bottle of Russian Hill pinot (great choice) and to go along with that, we ordered several small plates to share. Â I was very impressed with the elegant presentation of the dishes. Â To start, we had the steak tartare, which is so good I believe that it could convert a non-red-meat-eater into one. Â It almost has an Asian flavor and is very spicy, served with flatbreads - I could have eaten a bowl of it. Â Following that we had the fried green tomatoes - very tasty, and not heavy at all with a crunchy cornmeal crust. Â Next we had the crab salad which was refreshing and light, mixed with avocado - a beautiful dish and a great presentation. Â We ended with the beet salad which was delicious, with nice big portions of red & yellow beets, a perfect round of goat cheese, and lightly dressed greens.
Oh, and by "ended", I mean that after we polished off that bottle of wine, we thought we would indulge in a cheese plate and a glass of dessert wine. Â
I had a wonderful time and Volo and would definitely recommend it - for a date, catching up with a friend, or a larger party - it is the definition of your friendly neighborhood bistro. Â I'll be back!
Closer to 4.5 stars. Â I love Volo - the only thing keeping this from being a 5 star rating is that I would like to see the menu changed more frequently, since I tend to want to go every week to try everything there!
Great small plates that combine classic flavors in interesting ways. Â Well-priced for the quality of food you receive. Â The wine flights are also reasonable compared to other area restaurants.
The chefs and servers are what I consider true foodies - people who love food and want to enjoy it creatively without being pretentious or snobby. Â The staff seems really excited to help you navigate all of the delicious offerings - and my favorite server always remembered us (and my food allergies). Â The atmosphere is casually elegant, very comfortable. Â Fantastic spot for a date.
The outdoor cabanas are cute for drinks, but I prefer a table for dinner. Â Parking in the area can be tough, especially on weekends.
All in all, highly recommended.
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