Vino Napoli Wine Bar

Disappointment
Slow to welcome. Slower to serve. Good value. Nice setting. Service made the experience a downer.

It was late for dinner… and it was President’s Day long weekend, also Valentine’s Day weekend, and Pro-​Am Golf at Pebble Beach happening during the same weekend. So, I really couldn’t complain about how busy it was in town. Almost everywhere we went to had 30 – 45 minute waits, even a few stopped taking names/​reservations for dinner. I was hoping to score a table at Little Napoli (one of my bookmarks), but they stopped taking names too.
With open seating, and a more lively atmosphere, we ended up at Vino Napoli next door. We found half a table to sit at, thanks to an older couple that welcomed us. The menu consisted of only appetizers and pizzas from the Little Napoli kitchen. For simplicity and our level of hungriness, we thought the menu looked just fine. Pepe’s Famous Garlic Bread, their Burrata Mozzarella, and Fried Calamari caught our attention at first glance of the menu… so we ordered them quickly, along with their house Malbec.
Our favorites of the night were their tasty Burrata, their mouthwatering Tiramisu (a late order), and the Malbec that we enjoyed all night (should’ve bought a bottle). Thanks to these three menu items, lovely company, a celebrity sighting, and fast service (considering the amount of customers that night), our dinner turned out to be one of the many highlights of the weekend.

Stopped by because we didn’t see anything on the dessert menu at the restaurant we had dinner at. The wine bar itself is very nice, good ambience. We had the cheesecake which is excellent. But the service needs a lot of work. The bat wasn’t too busy, we sat at the counter. It took a while for anyone to say anything to us. We just asked if there was alcohol in the tiramisu which took 3 people to find the answer, not impressive. And so we ended up with the cheesecake. No one checked in on us, no one asked if we needed anything else, we had to ask for the check and ask for change.

The server was lovely but with one person serving 8 tables and running food, service was running at a similar pace to the postal service.
The calamari was ok, the gnocchi was not, primarily as it was stuffed with mushrooms and several other unknown ingredients then buried in several inches of melted cheese. Certainly not the freshly prepared potato and egg drizzled in truffle oil I was expecting, and nothing on the menu to suggest it was stuffed or contains mushroom!
I would have given 1* but for the they at least, after a discussion, took it off the menu.
Ok for a glass of wine but would not recommend the food.

It is my habit to always start with a 5 star review and then you have to work hard to make it go down from there. So why the two stars? I ordered the Pepe’s Flight which was a Pinot Noir, «Chianti «and then a Vesuvius Cab Blend. First to call a Sangiovese Malbec Blend a «Chianti» is just plain wrong. Second, they were featuring no Italian wines but wines of Napa Valley. Just because a wine comes from Napa Valley does not make it a good wine folks. The Vesuvius Cab Blend-​case in point. So bad, no even worth another sip after the first one. If you want to do flight’s Italian style, California has some wonderful wines to try. I would have been happy to have a ‘local’ Pinot noir which the area south of here is known for. The Pinot Noir served was just eh. No body, no fruit, no finish… Trust me, I am no wine snob but I do like red. Hey! I’m a California girl! The cheese and meat plate at $ 10 was quite good. The wait staff are friendly and helpful here. Quick to take care of you and answer questions knowledgeably. The staff and the cheese plate gave this place its two stars. Want to try some area wines? Keep walking.

Me and my girlfriend came in to have some wine for our anniversary. The girl at the front was very nice and friendly. We got a couple flights of wine and they were all really great wines. They even brought out a free tiaramisu for our anniversary, which was unexpected and delicious! Great experience at this wine bar/​wine tasting venue. The ambiance is great too, with some big fireplaces next to the tables.

The vesuvio is usually awesome, this time it was sour, asked them to check the bottle, sure enough, it was sour. Then they tell me that the visuvio was brought in had been in a hot car.
That explains why it tasted strange, we had another glass still not great, just ok. We paid the check and went to 65 near the park who also serves vesuvio by Pepe, it was perfect all the flavor and great tastes. They need to toss that stuff that was heated, when you pay for a great glass if wine, that is what you should get.

Thanks Vino Napoli for taking care of our little group and splitting checks, so helpful for friends.
Although there was only one flight special the night we went (even after calling and being told there would be at least two) and not being offered the happy hour menu when I asked for it, we got it all figured out and the service improved from there.
The happy hour appetizer deals are great, and you can practically eat a full and filling meal from the little menu.
Great wine selection and love the idea of tasting three wines in the flights! I’ll head back soon!

It was a great family evening in an intimate setting. The service was excellent and the food was terrific. One member of the party was from Italy and he highly approved the meal.

I ate at the bar here, so I stuck to beer and an appetizer. Their famous garlic bread sounded awesome but I didn’t want all that bread for myself, or did I. I got the lollipop arrancini which were really good, just wish there were more of them. The marinara sauce that came with it was good, but not the best. The rice balls had a great crunch to them and was steaming hot inside with perfectly cooked rice and cheese that was very melty. Since it was on DDD and Italian and rice balls, I had to try it and was not disappointed in any way.

After finally finding parking on a Saturday afternoon, we wanted to do some wine tasting. Although we had intended to go to Caraccioli Cellars, I saw this cute little place and we decided to pop in and see what it’s like. We went up to the counter and were standing there for a couple of minutes… it felt so awkward. There were quite a few people seated who were starting to look at us because we were just standing there. The middle-​aged brown-​haired lady didn’t even glance our way. I felt so uncomfortable I wanted to leave, but my +1 said to just ask how the wine tasting works.
We asked and she gave us a blank stare and said something along the lines of, «honestly I’m really busy right now but the cost for a tasting is ‘xyz’ and these are the wines. I don’t have time to help you but you can sit down anywhere if you really want to.» Despite her rude attitude, we asked if we can sit outside, to which she responded, «You can. But I won’t serve you.»
:O What?! What kind of lousy service is that?! How does this place even have 4 or 5 star reviews?! People, tell me why!
That was the last straw for me, so we turned around and left. And I’m SO glad we did, because Caraccioli Cellars was one of the best wine tasting experiences of my life! So thank you, grumpy ol’ lady– your bad ‘tude gave me a chance to experience amazing service with some amazing wine.
Would I come back? No. I can’t believe I just asked myself that. The answer is no.

A pleasant Italian wine bar. We ordered pizza and I had a Rosé. When the pizza was brought out the waiter brought fresh Parmesan cheese. My glass of wine was $ 10 which I thought was a bit expensive but the area is a bit pricey.
The location is good and it’s a seat yourself kind of gig. There isn’t a big variety of food here. They mainly serve pizza, appetizers and wine. They also have soft drinks as well.

HAPPY HOUR! My goodness, such great happy hour prices, especially for Carmel where things tend to be on the pricier side. Came in here on a Saturday at around 5:30pm and discovered that they have happy hour until 6pm… score!
Sat at the bar/​tasting table and got a flight of 3 different wines (pre-​chosen) for I think around $ 8. Food wise, you must get the cheese plate! They give you a VERY generous portion and variety. It had 4 different types of cheese and crackers, so big in fact that we boxed up most of it to take it home… and all for only $ 8! We also had the calamari, which I found to be pretty standard but still good.
Low-​key, inexpensive but good quality spot in Carmel!

Incredible!
We enjoyed a few days of decadence, walking by this place many times before the sun speckled afternoon invited us into this dilectable delight. The Santa Lucia pino is not to be missed, only to be challenged by the best cappuccino I’ve ever tasted! Don’t miss this place!

Great happy hour
Double fireplaces, good wine, and yummy happy hour munchines including calamari and risotto pops. Had a lovely afternoon respite for $ 12 sitting by the fireplace with nibbles.
Very nice!

The wine is terrible. The pizza was great until I found myself chewing on a long hair!!! REPULSIVE!

A lovely space — somehow still cozy despite the soaring ceilings.
The snack platters we had to go with our wine were simple, but great. Staff was friendly. Wine was good.
I would definitely come back here next time I’m in town.

Visited here on Saturday afternoon. Place has great ambiance and was not at all crowded. The Australian server was a nightmare. Knew nothing about wine, was not helpful at all, poured a flight on a serving board, and ignored us and discussed leaving early with his ‘manager’? for the rest of our stay. Most other Carmel wine bars are awesome and have terrific staff.

Visited this cozy wine bar while waiting for reservations at their restaurant next door (Little Napoli).
We sat next to the wood burning fireplace and started off with the Pinot Noir tasting (3 different wines) for $ 15. it was also the most expensive and «most popular.»
After the small tasting, we both agreed to order a glass of the third one (Begarus?). We probably should’ve inquire about price first, because our bill was over $ 65 total.
They don’t give prices of the wines per glass on any sort of menu or blackboard. The only prices we ever saw were the house wines (Pepe) by bottle.
However, the gentleman waiting on us was kind as ever.

Maria was really attentive and friendly. There was a lot of space compared to other tasting rooms that were just a couple doors down. Also, they had more selection of wines and appetizers. We ended up here by wandering the street. I am glad we stopped in as this tasting bar was at the end.
Also, nice flat screen TVs.
This was definitely more of a sociable bar with apps than a straight tasting bar where you just stand and taste. I liked the friendly people and the bar and tables make it conducive to chatting with other patrons.