A wine bar - that's something Victoria, or at least The Little Piggy, needs. Yay, for wine bars.

Having attended a function at the new Vintage Wine Bar a few days before, I decided to return for a second visit and to do a review. I had no idea it would be their grand opening...oops. Despite being crazy busy, the Vintage staff did their best to accommodate us.

Located in the former Ingraham Hotel, now Super 8, you might think you're going to have a fairly low-brow experience. Much to my surprise, they've done a convincing  reno and if they lost the plastic ivy, I'd consider going so far as to say it's a sophisticated space. There are some nice design features and a good colour scheme, the lighting is above average and I really like the table settings.

For a wine bar, I think their 'by the glass' list is a little brief and a tad pedestrian, but there are some interesting selections. I'm a fan of the Liquor Plus store located below Vintage, for one because they bring in wines that are not available at the BC liquor stores - some of those selections are evident on the Vintage list. The design of the list is extremely user friendly, with wines categorised by character rather than by geography. That said, it's almost a little too user-friendly, if you know a moderate amount about wine, it'll seem simplistic. I think at some point, if they want to be taken seriously as a wine bar, they'll need to get more unusual wines on the list and have a greater selection by the glass.

The menu similarly, suggests that they don't yet know who there market is. Some of the dishes seem interesting and elegant, while others seem pretty boring (i.e. pizzas, Caesar salad). Instead of doing the overdone 'suggested wine pairing,' they link the character descriptions from the wine list to the food menu. For example, instead of pairing your beef with a Cab Sav, they make the suggestion you select one of the wines categorised as bold.

On this visit we started with the the braised beef short rib with spaetzle ($11).  I really liked this dish, the portion was substantial for a small plate, but not over the top, the meat was perfectly tender without losing its texture and the spaetzle delicate and nicely seasoned.

Ryan ordered the chicken breast wrapped in proscuitto with mushrooms ($19). He loved it. I'm not a big fan of chicken breast, but I was happy to see it advertised as from the Cowichan Valley. It was cooked properly and wasn't dry like chicken breast wants to be and the accompaniments added a little needed richness.

I was looking for something light, so I went with the Seafood Linguini ($19). It sounded like a bit of a snoozer, but upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised. As described, it wasn't creamy, just simply tossed with white wine and olive oil, tomatoes, mussels (not local of course, since there's a red tide warning), what I guessed were local spot prawns, a white fish and topped with shaved cheese. I was impressed by the light sauce and with the prawns, since the local variety is highly superior to the South East Asian imports you usually get in restaurants. Overall, I thought the dish embraced its simplicity, far better than I expected. 

As it was the grand opening, they weren't serving dessert, but our server obliged Ryan's sweet tooth a special trip back to the kitchen. He returned with a couple of truffles and physalis. Ryan was delighted and I was happy we didn't have to stop on the way home to get the sugar junkie his fix. 

Our server was a delight all round. He was really busy, serving the bar and us, and I wouldn't have been too terribly offended if we'd received less friendly service. Instead, he treated our food orders professionally and (thanks to kitchen, of course) got it to us much faster than I would have expected. He brought some special wines to our attention and was simply nice to chat with.

Clearly, the grand opening is not the best time to do a restaurant review.  That said, I was pretty impressed with the food and service, so if they can pull that off on a regular night they should be able to make a go of it. I look forward to Vintage figuring out who there market is and adjusting their food and wine list appropriately. I think on principle of being a wine bar, they should have a larger 'by the glass' selection and some more head turning wines. As a wino, I'm always happy to find a bargain, but I'm just as happy to pay $20 for 3oz of something high end and unusual. If a restaurant could give me that and could keep the selection variable, I would go there often. 

value of food 76/100

quality of food 75/100

wine and beverage 77/100

service 82/100

ambiance 72/100

average 76/100

Reviewed Jun 21, 06