The Wine House

Wine and cheese were great but the food was sub par. May have just had a bad night, reading some of the other reviews... I hope so!

The waitress did not seem very knowledgeable about the wine.... its called the Wine House...

It has potential.

This was my first time at The Wine House, and I am sure I will not return.  I went there with my wife and her family for her birthday, from the moment I walked in, the experience was not worth it.

I am not sure what the concept of the restaurant is supposed to be.  A little wine bar?  An upscale but casual restaurant?  A trendy/overpriced French/American/Italian restaurant (the menu is all over the place)?  Walking in, there are only a few tables.  Each table is set very high with very uncomfortable high chairs.  Definitely not a place where you can just relax.  The waitress who came to us seemed to do so with a scowl on her face the whole time as if we were inconveniencing her.  As we received the menu, we asked about the specials which were written on a small chalk board across the bar (not able to even read it).  She rattled off the choices which included a seafood stew stating it was with halibut, mussels, and a scallop (yes, a meaning 1, not scallops).  After debating our choices for a bit, my father-in-law ordered the pork belly appetizer, my mother-in-law a salad, my wife the mixed green salad (advertised with fresh mozzarella), and I got the asparagus soup.  For the main dishes, I ordered the rack of lamb, my father in law the crab cake, mother in law the mussels, and wife ordered the vegetarian lasagna.  This ended up being our choices because anything we tried to order, we were told 'we are out of that today'.   Additionally, after my mother in law ordered the seafood stew asking specifically if there was salmon in it (she is allergic) the waitress came back and stated that what she quoted us was from Saturday and not Sunday.  Indeed there is salmon in it and not halibut.

First the appetizers.  My asparagus soup was one of the worst soups I could ever recall.  When received, there was a layer of oil on the top. Granted the menu does say 'with basil virgin olive oil', but I would never expect the whole soup to be layered with it.  I thought I would overlook that and try getting to the soup itself.  It was flavorless, the asparagus seemed raw, the broth was indescribable, and the oil overpowered the whole thing.  My wife took a bite and almost spit it out.  I usually never send something back, but in this case, there was no way I was going to eat it.  My father in law's pork belly looked good, so I thought I would order that.  Not surprisingly, when I tried, I was told 'that was the last one and they are out of it'.  For a restaurant that has choices on the menu, it was absurd to have that many unavailable.  I told my family I really didn't want anything, but after much prodding, I got the Wine House Baguette that came with three different sauces.  Nothing to write home about, basically bread with side toppings.  My wife was disappointed in her salad as the advertised 'fresh mozzarella' was forgotten by the chef.  She indicated to me that she thought it may just be a green salad, but upon seeing another guest's same salad, the mozzarella was there.  She was really disappointed about that.

Following the appetizers, the server came back to the table to let me know that although my rack of lamb was supposed to come with gratin potatoes, they (not surprisingly) were out of them.  She offered me roasted potatoes or mashed.  Since two other potatoes were offered, I was curious as to why they couldn't make some gratin potatoes out of that, but didn't bother to ask.

My rack of lamb was very underwhelming.  The salt overpowered the dish, the sauce was watery, and that lamb itself was too chewy.  The roasted potatoes were cooked too long and actually tasted like frozen potatoes.  My wife's vegetable lasagna was overcooked, the 'sauce' (if you can call it that) was all watery, and it basically had two pieces of eggplant in the middle.  She said that a frozen lasagna would have been better.

This would have been one star if it was not for the dessert.  We all shared a piece of the cheesecake, which again, was nothing to write home about, but not bad.  Since it was my wife's birthday, they stuck a candle in it to wish her a happy birthday, but would not have had anything if we did not order a dessert (usually a comped dessert for a birthday is expected at places such as this).

Needless to say, this is an overpriced mess of a place.  Not sure if they are trying to gain a market for a more upscale restaurant in Fairfax, but if you are looking for a nice place, this is not the place to go.  I am pretty sure I will not be back again.

The Wine House continues to deliver great wine at terrific prices (retail plus a $10 corking fee). The menu is elegant, but expect the dishes to be on the small side. I highly recommend the filet and the pork belly. Plus, the charcutarie and cheese plate is great fun. I agree with other posters that the seating isn't exactly comfortable. Still, focusing on the great wines plus the really good food will help.