Vinocity Kirkwood

Kirkwood is such an interesting area. This place is in the middle of nowhere but in a subdivision that is in the process of being built up — great potential! I did like the ambiance of this place. Well decorated with a touch of class, yet homey and welcoming at the same time.
As for the appetizers, we got the ceviche, wings, and calamari. Excellent, excellent ceviche. Definitely my fav appetizer. The wings and calamari were oh so good too.
I ordered the salmon for my entrée and it was good… not disappointing in the least bit but also didn’t make me raise an eyebrow when I took that first bite.
The ice cream and brownie did raise both of my eyebrows in delight. Nothing beats a warm decadent brownie with vanilla ice cream.

I just wanted to give everyone a warning about dining at Vinocity in Kirkwood. This place is owned and managed by thieves. We recently ate there and the food was not good and was way over priced. But, that is not the worse part. We ate there on Jan 25, 2010. Later that week, I checked my bank statement and they had charged me twice for the same amount, on two different dates (the 25^th and the 27^th). I filed a dispute with my bank and they told me that the vendor (Vinocity) had swiped my card on the date we ate there and then 2 days later, they manually entered my card number for the 2^nd charge. This means that they are keeping card numbers and entering them in on a different date for the same or different amounts. Please use caution when deciding to eat at this place. I don’t want any of you to have to go through what we are going through to get this settled.

This was a really nice place. The atmosphere was nice and I have to say the food was outstanding. The service was good and the wine was good too. The music was very good too and not loud at all. Our server recommended a very nice wine that we were very happy with. I would give this place 5 stars but for one thing. Way too expensive. 2 entrees and 4 glasses of wine between us and we were looking at 65 bucks. Other than that, I would say this place was worth going to. It makes for a great place to take a date.

Armed with a BOGO free Savvy Shopper coupon, I experienced the Vinocity dinner scene on a Friday night. From the get-​go, the host and waiter exuded friendly vibes, making me feel good about the evening’s restaurant choice. I began with an Old Fashion cocktail: bourbon with maraschino cherries, a couple orange slices and a dash of sugar. My boyfriend seemed impressed with my dude-​ish drinking.
The entrée I unfortunately ordered confirmed my deep detestation of grits; for some reason, I thought the Shrimp and Grits would change my mind about this mediocre food. While the shrimp arranged atop the white heap was fresh and delicious, the grits – swimming in soupiness – reminded me of snow cream. The first couple bites tasted great, but each subsequent spoonful left me feeling more and more nauseated.
I envied my boyfriend’s delectable entrée: grilled salmon laid across a bed of orzo and vegetable salad, with faint flavors of hazelnut and lemon. It was wonderful. I squinted at it with jealousy.
I would return to Vinocity, since the staff was so nice, the drink was so strong and I mistakenly ordered shrimp with snow cream.

This place confused me at first. I got a gift card half off so we had to try it. From the name I figured a nice wine restaurant. When we got there it was more like a bar with tables. Looking up to the second floor, it was cloudy with smoke, but I couldn’t see anyone smoking…
On to the service, we went on a slow night so we had plenty of face time with the server, cute clumsy guy.
I wasn’t impressed with the wine list, and for being a wine bar that was weird… We ended up getting a pitcher of Sweetwater IPA. Looking at the other tables, no one else had wine either, weird.
Food was good, we started with an order of 10 chicken wings, which they gave us 12. I had the black bean veggie burger and fries… both AWESOME! Bf had the club and salad and great as well.
All in all had I good experience, but confusing on the wine/​bar/​restaurant idea… choose one and go with it!

Really good at being bad. From start to finish this was a complete bust and the problems were not isolated to our table as the others around us were having the same experience. I rarely am so disappointed in a place that I feel the need to tell others (Rosa Mexicana I’m talking to you), but I actually signed up to Unilocal as the experience was that bad.
Let me start with a summary, and then go into more detail. We made a reservation but got stuck in a table next to the coat room, and had attitude from the guy at the door. They were out of the wine my wife ordered, took forever to get the first glass she ordered and never got the second glass. My mixed drink was very weak, they forgot the appetizer, the server was friendly but absent. Three of the four tables around us were complaining about not getting drinks, cold soup, no service, etc. Food had good portions, but was average with above average prices. My wife did say the broccoli was cooked perfectly. This place looks great and has potential, but needs some serious management and attention paid to it.
Okay, on to the reservation. I had called a week ahead and set up a reservation for Saturday night for dinner and then check out the Michael Tolcher show. The girl on the phone was very friendly, but clueless as to the details and kept asking my questions to the girl next to her. I was eventually handed off to that girl who was also very friendly and actually helpful. I reserved a table near the stage and was told tickets were $ 8 but could not be purchased there and I had to go online to ticketalternative.
Saturday night we show up for dinner excited to try a new restaurant and see some great music. We had been unable to get the tix through ticketalternative due to site problems but luckily (we thought) they were selling tix at the door. Except now they were $ 15 each — what??? When we told the guy at the door we had called earlier and the tix were $ 8 he started getting annoyed so we dropped it and said we’ll skip the show and just have dinner. He liked this even less, gave us a shocked and annoyed look and let us in.
Go to the hostess, give our name for the reservation and as we look around we notice there are no open tables at the stage. No problem, there is a booth behind the hostess stand that a couple had just left. Asked for that and they said no, that was reserved, and proceeded to seat us at the table in the corner next to the coat room. WTF? (Keep in mind we got our reservations 1.5 hours before the show and would be gone in plenty of time to seat others)
Now our great mood is continuing to spiral downwards and after a minute we decide that rather than be forgotten we would switch outside and eat on the patio. After a few minutes our server shows up, but when when we try to order a glass of wine from their not-​so premier wine list — they are out of it so the server recommends another. A wine bar out of their wine — more laughable than annoying. We take his suggestion and I ordered a coke.
As we wait for our drinks the table beside us is complaining to their waiter they still hadn’t gotten their drinks, their server didn’t know what the daily soup was and when they did the soup they ordered it was cold.
Finally he comes back with her wine, but no coke for me so I switch mine to Captain and coke and put in our appetizer (hummus) and main meal (Filet Mignon and Chicken Roulade) as I can tell I better order everything now. Sure enough, after a while our food comes out — but it is our main order. No appetizer tonight, but hey, I know it is tough to throw together a hummus plate in under 20 minutes.
To be honest I don’t eat a ton of steak, but I have never had a filet mignon that wasn’t a perfectly round cut, and when mine came out one side of it had two chunks coming out from it. Not a huge deal, but I had ordered the steak medium and that side of the meat came out well done. The chicken roulade was not bad either, the chicken was nice and moist but the inside spinach stuffing mix could have had a little more flavor. Mashed potatoes were plentiful but too whipped for my taste, and as I mentioned earlier the broccoli was cooked perfectly.
We never really saw our waiter after that, either to bring that second glass of wine or to even check on us, so when he finally did make an appearance we flagged him down and got our check. Again, not an isolated case as other tables were going to the hostess stand to get their check as they got tired of waiting too.
The one thing they did deliver on was their website says to come there for a dinner to remember, and we will certainly not forget this experience… as much as we would like to.

This is my neighborhood spot! Even though I dont live in Kirkwood, its still close enough to my house to call it that. I always bring out of town guests here for the food, atmosphere and wine. My boyfriend and I have bought so many creative loafing coupons we have to eat here once a week!
My «go to» meal is always the grilled chicken pita with their awesome fries (I ask for crispy)! For something light I go for the tomato basil soup. You cant go wrong with their fab hummus and calamari either. Dont skip out on the specials… that will be your best bet for a full entrée.
The atmosphere is the big selling point for me. We always sit at the bar or in the comfy lounge chairs. You know you’ve found a great place when your bartender can recommend the perfect glass of wine while discussing the current game with you (Mitch is the best!). Its not a sports bar but we always go here to watch games on the flat screens behind the bar.
Also, if you need a great place to accommodate friends for a birthday party… look no further. I had a group of about 20 hang out in the lounge/​bar area for my birthday and I wouldnt have asked for it any other way! Thanks for helping me bring in 2 – 5! One of my friends followed suit and did the same for her big day.

We had two omelets and sandwich at our table. Nothing was special or out of the ordinary about any of our meals. Also, I found everything we ordered to be overpriced for what it was. I’d go into more details, but I don’t really find this place worthy of that. Just avoid it– there are so many great restaurants in Atlanta that need your business, so don’t bother with mediocrity!
Oh, and to the person that mentioned this would be better suited for a hipper location– there is a Vinocity off 12^th street in Midtown and also one on Glenwood Ave between Moreland and Boulevard. At least the one in Midtown has a lush outdoor patio– I would recommend that one if any.

I finally was able to drag my GF to Vinocity with a coupon from Creative Loafing. Ok. The coupon was at least two years old and came from their last location. They get four stars because the management accepted the coupon!
We had brunch and a pitcher of Mimosa’s. The food was really good. The price’s are a bit too high. They do have specials, but $ 8 for a sausage and egg sandwich is just too much.
Another plus is they have Magic Hat #9 on draft! WooHoo!

This is a solid place. The décor and style definitely help boost the «coolness» factor. But, I have a feeling that if Vinocity was nestled in Midtown or some other more traveled route, it would be a lot cooler.
I sat a the bar for a short while waiting to be served. I think the manager saw me and came over and told the bartender to take my order. After all, I was the only one at the bar unattended. Once the manager gave the bartender a gentle reminder that people are there to eat and drink, things definitely picked up.
I ordered Edamame to start which was actually the best dish I had. It was perfectly steamed and seasoned just right. Kudos to the chef. For my main course, I had the crab cakes. These were a nice size and moist inside. One major star loser was that I bit into crab shell a few times. Now, that seems that like a rookie chef mistake.
All and all, it was descent atmosphere and descent food.

Even after reading the mediocre reviews of Vinocity, my husband and I decided to give it a chance when we got a coupon in the mail. We were very impressed with the colorful and lively indoor seating space — complete with a crooning cover duo singing schmoltzy 90s ballads.
That was where our inspiration ended. After perusing the bland menu, only one entrée was a vegetarian dish — a collection of flavorless sides. I was chastised by our waiter and told I had to order an entrée to use the coupon (even though the Black Bean burger was $ 10 less than the $ 22 chicken entrée my husband ordered). Apart from the caper mayo I requested after tasting my hodge podge of greenery, it was apparent that flavor (or service) was not the restaurant’s ultimate goal.
Strong suggestion — stick to pub food and sandwiches, lower your prices, and admit that 4 beefsteak tomato slices are not worth $ 3.75. We were rushed with the check — without asking if we wanted dessert or another drink. Even with the coupon, we felt like it was a rip off.

You would think a place called Vinocity would have a good wine selection. I really could not believe how bad the wine list was. It literally seemed like a child went to Kroger and picked out random wines. I ended up getting a beer (despite loving wine). Something about seeing «Newman’s Own» as the nicest wine on the list just didn’t do it for me. I was hoping for a Tempranillo or something like that – there were virtually no reds that weren’t from Napa Valley. It was honestly weird, I couldn’t really believe it.
The staff is… young. And they seem inexperienced. The whole place seems young and inexperienced. It seems like it is a place aimed at 30+ year-​olds run by teenagers. It just does not work.
The food is not good. It is bland, it kind of freaked me out. And holy moly! Overpriced! Very expensive.
Physically, the place works. But they need to overhaul the service, the products, and the price… pretty much everything they are offering. Offer some GOOD wines, some GOOD food at reasonable prices, get some servers that aren’t weird semi-​punks, and find an identity.
Overall, this is not a good place.
I give it two stars because I like the concept. If it was executed well, Vinocity would be a really neat place. I would love to watch sports and drink a good glass of wine. But I don’t want to watch sports, drink crap for wine, pay a ton of money, be annoyed, etc… This place falls on its face and won’t last unless it overhauls its offering.

I was really surprised by all the negative reviews of this place. My partner and I went here for the first time last night and we were very satisfied.
For starters, our server Heather was a sweetheart. She came to check on us, just often enough to seem genuine but not hovering. The space had a relaxing atmosphere and I loved the mellow rhythms playing over the speakers.
For an appetizer we got the cheese board. Now I’m not a cheese snob by any means, but I could tell this was good stuff. Came with nicely warmed pita bread wedges, yum.
I ordered the steak salad and I cleaned the plate. The steak was well seasoned, perfectly tender. (I didnt even need a toothpick at the end of dinner!) The dressing was REALLY good, they called it balsamic vinagrette but it tasted a little sweeter than most vinagrettes Ive tasted.
My partner got a swiss n mushroom burger with fries and he wolfed it down, said he liked it.
I don’t know if I will try the brunch here as I think lunch/​dinner are Vinocity’s stronger territory.
As for the price, it does seem a little steep BUT there are so many specials going on you shouldn’t pay full price. We used a $ 25 off coupon that was mailed to us from somewhere, but I see coupons for this place in Savvy shopper all the time. Plus they have theyre own specials. I believe tuesday is buy one get one entrée free. And they have the same special for brunches before 11.
Do your homework, save some dough!

Stopped in for dinner on a Friday night and really enjoyed the atmosphere — warm colors, dark woods and soft lighting in a contemporary loft space. There are a few flat screen TV’s above the bar and also a huge projection screen, which seemed out of place to me for what touts itself as a wine bar.
I ordered the calamari to start. There was really nothing notable about it and the marinara was bland. I guess for $ 12, I expected it to be more than average. Also, had the reuben sandwich with homemade handcut fries. The pastrami was very good — fresh and thick cut. The fries were not to my liking — tasteless and limp.
Definitely liked the atmosphere more than the food. It was pretty busy on this Friday night and I could see where this would be a cool spot to gather if you live in the area. The service was very good.
I can see myself coming back for a glass (or two) of wine and will give some other menu items a try. For some reason, I want to like this place.

Vinocity is right in our neighborhood, so despite our experiences being generally less-​than-​stellar, we’ve been several times. I think we keep hoping it’ll suddenly come up wonderful.
Last night we gave it another shot. I think Vinocity’s problem (well, one of them) is that it’s trying to be everything to everyone, sort of the classic Jack-​of-​all-​trades-​but-​master-​of-​none. It’s a sports bar, it’s a wine bar, it’s got live music, it’s a fine dining restaurant. We’ve been there when it’s been super-​loud with crowds watching football, and we’ve been there when it’s been nearly-​deserted, like last night.
The beer list is small, but not bad, with five or six options that go beyond your standard domestics. We started last night with the hummus, which was a little dry and sticky but tasty on the cucumber slices (less so on the also-​dry pita). The vegetarian options have definitely improved over our first visit, perhaps a year and a half ago — I had the veggie plate, a pick-​your-​own combo of four side items, and only one or two of the choices weren’t veggie-​friendly. That first visit, very few of the sides didn’t contain any meat at all, and even the vegetable risotto, which I first took to be their token vegetarian item, was made with chicken broth. My veggies last night were okay, not exciting — but at least they were safe.
The bottom line, I think, is that Vinocity’s fine-​dining prices just aren’t justified by their food or atmosphere. If they took it down a few notches, I could see them being a great neighborhood spot, but as it is, it doesn’t quite fit. If nothing else, we’ll be back when it warms up and we walk down with the dog for a beer on the patio (well…sidewalk).

How come no one has mentioned the bloody marys yet? Mmmmmmm. I’m not even a bloody mary fan-I’ll normally take a mimosa. But these go down soooo smooth, I’ll be drunk by noon if I don’t make an effort to limit myself! I love the spices they rim the glass with.
So, 5 stars for the bloody mary and around 3 stars for the food. I’ve been for brunch twice, and here were my experiences:
–I thought the challah french toast with cream cheese/​brown sugar topping was delicious, but the slices of challah weren’t thick and it didn’t fill me up. I’m always embarrassed when I’m not full after a sit-​down brunch. Also, the apples laid atop the french toast were on the raw side, which was fine, but they seemed a bit out of place and I would rather have had an extra slice of french toast!
–My second time I had the belgian waffle with strawberry butter. I like that it comes with eggs. The strawberry butter did not impress me — it tasted like fake candy strawberry rather than fresh strawberry preserves. I guess maybe I was expecting something more like what they serve with popovers at Neiman Marcus, which I could literally eat with a spoon? The belgian waffle itself was a little hard, but tasted good. We also ordered a basket of 4 biscuits, which we thought was a bit pricey at $ 10.
4 stars for the atmosphere — It has a high ceiling and some mezzanine seating, and overall has a classic and comfortable feel.
But yeah. Bloody marys are themselves worth the trip.

I stopped by Vinocity for lunch today and had a delicious Trucker’s Sandwich. The bread was grilled and buttery, and the buffalo chicken had a good spicey flavor to it without tasting too much of vinegar. The fries that came with it appeared to be cut fresh rather than frozen, which was nice.
My girlfriend had a chicken salad sandwich, which also got a thumbs up.
I can’t really comment on the wine selection since I’m not a wine drinker.

My wife and I joined another couple in the Kirkwood village this past Friday night to check out Vinocity (not Vino-City)…if there was a way to give 4.5 stars, I think that would be about right. We started with a few appetizers… make sure and try the «Free Form Ravioli.» Our server raved about it and she didn’t lead us astray. Other shout-​outs (as the kids say) go to the Fried Green Tomatoes and the Bibb Salad.
The 4 of us all ordered different things and passed them around so everyone could get a taste. Nathan B. (who never reviews, but does have a Unilocal account) went for the filet, and he just wouldn’t shutup about it…“maybe the best I’ve had, blah blah.” He gave me a bite, and it actually was really good. Maybe my favorite bite of the night belonged to the Chicken Roulade, it was stuffed with some red peppers and was just kicking with flavor. I was eating the Shrimp N’ Grits (which were good), but after having a bite of the chicken I couldn’t focus on my dish anymore. My wife got a chicken salad melt that was solid, but her potato salad was awesome (they fry the potatoes).
The fun didn’t stop there… huge portions of bread pudding and oreo cheesecake came out for dessert. Not a bite remained.
Overall, this is much more than just a winebar… they have a decent (could be better) beer list and food that exceeded expectations (maybe b/​c of Steve H’s review below). Everyone in our party was extremely happy with the place… and they aren’t the easiest people to please (complainers). My only complaint is that it’s slightly overpriced… but that wouldn’t keep me from returning. Friendly service, nice atmosphere… after reading the brunch menu, I will be going back very soon.

Great place if you enjoy feeling like an imperious plantation owner. Grab an outdoor seat and smirk at the poor fucks walking by who hate you and can’t afford the shitty food while you demand another julep.
Also, Vinocity is a stupid name.

Frankly, it was terrible.
Having enjoyed several very positive dining experiences at the former Midtown location, I was excited to learn that Vinocity indeed lives again at its new location in Kirkwood — so my wife and I reserved a table and made the short trek from our home in Grant Park.
First of all, I was happy to see that I did not actually have to pay for parking (paying for parking at a restaurant in this designed-​for-​drivers town is a particular pet peeve of mine). Too bad that the free parking was essentially the end of our positive experiences.
Okay, I will get right to it:
Service — nothing noteworthy but no major demerits
Décor — a strangely familiar cross between a sports bar and any generic midrange restaurant
Food — Total Rubbish — I wouldn’t serve what we were served to people I don’t like. We ordered an array of small plates and sides. The culinary carnage is as follows:
— Fried Green Tomatoes — bland, greasy, too thickly breaded, no tart tanginess whatsoever
— Calamari — basically a pile of rubber bands
— Crab Cakes — no large chunks of crab, raw on the inside, burned on the outside
— Nam Sod — square chuncks of dry pork in a flavorless somewhat acidic goo
— French Fries — actually, they were not bad.
Add two glasses of forgettable wine and you have the biggest waste of ninety bucks I have ever had the displeasure of parting with.
We notified our mostly absent server of the horrific condition of our «food» — to her credit she apologized profusely and promised to notify the manager immediately. Well, that was lip service — no manager or waitstaff even bothered to come to our table at any point after that other than to bring the check.
Fair enough, I will not bother to ever, ever return to this place for a meal. Touché Vinocity.