Wine Vault and Bistro pairs a menu with wines for dinner on Sat and Sun. All are multi-course and the menu is based on what’s seasonal and fresh, changing weekly. If they are not doing a winemaker dinner, it a Chef’s 5-course tasting menu on Sat. only. All wines served at dinner are available for purchase by the bottle to take home. It opened in 2005 as a wine shop offering tastings of wine and cheese. Our winemaker dinner had a 6-course tasting menu at a bargain price point around $140 per person, including food and wine. There is limited parking and you need to climb several sets of stairs but then you find yourself in the communal dining room where seats have been assigned. The bar opens 45 minutes before dinner, which starts promptly, so don’t be late. At the bar they have limited offerings, like $9 glass of red or white wine or a $15 martini. I saw no one try to come in late, in fact most were there early and lined up for a drink at the bar. There were basically 2 rooms with a variety of seating options. In our room it was long communal cloth-covered tables topped with paper but the other room had more tables for four. The bar was in between the two rooms. The wine was brought out in decanters for each couple so you could divide it how you wished. The chef offered an explanation of the food to come at the beginning. It wasn’t the friendliest crowd but it was fine. Overall the wine was better than the food. Continue reading
