Vitis La Vineria

Does anyone know if this place is closed for good? I was here about a year ago and had a wonderful experience. My boyfriend and I came here to grab some champagne while waiting to head over to BLT Prime for our anniversary dinner. The bartender overheard us talking about our anniversary and she brought us complimentary burrata and prosciutto to go with our champagne! I haven’t been back because the location isn’t exactly easy to get to from where we live. But the other night, I was meeting an old friend for a drink in the area and remembered this place! I checked out their Unilocal page and was happy to see they were still in business. I got there around 6:45PM on a Tuesday and they were closed. But the inside still had wine glasses, wine bottles, and you could see the outside chalk board resting on the wall and it had specials for October. Curious if anyone knows what the deal is. I’d be bummed to hear this place closed… it was a great little spot.

Went here with two friends after work. Decent place for wine and cheese, but nothing incredible. 3, maybe 3.5 stars, and here’s why:
— Three of us split two bottles of wine during «happy hour» and got a small cheese plate. Wine was mediocre and the cheese plate was good. The bill was roughly $ 120.
— Service was pretty good. Our waitress was pleasant and took our order pretty quickly. She didn’t know much about wine though.
— Décor/​ambiance was fair. Small place that’s dimly light with a bar along the left wall. Nothing too special.
— Bathrooms were clean.
Overall, Vitis is a decent after work /​small plates kind of place. The prices were fair for a happy hour, but I don’t think it’s worth it beyond that. 3 stars for sure. I may come back if I don’t like some of the other similar places nearby.

Perfect place to have a wine and simple Italian style, tasty dish. Really loved the intimacy. I would really like to encourage people visiting more this kind of places. The food was delicious and the wine was very good. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. Really enjoyed my time here. Worth at least a try, I am sure you’ll love it too.

Happy hour is a great deal! The wine is delicious and the menu is big too even though we didn’t eat. The bartender and owner are super friendly and make the experience better than most. Definitely recommend this place!!!

Great place! Romantic ambience, good selection of wines, excellent food! Definitely gonna be back!!!

This place is superior because the owner understands exceptional customer service and knows his wines. The supporting cast follow his example. Compared to the nearest, this place is hands down superior. You will not be disappointed, you will be telling your friends you found the spot.

Nice place to pop into for wine and appetizers. Small but intimate. Great service and good wine selection.

Came here with a Groupon and thought it was awesome!
Very easy to find on 3^rd ave and the ambiance is perfect for a date. The meat and cheese board was excellent and their flights of wine were on point. As you can imagine, their wines are directed more towards the European side so don’t expect to find many California wines.
Looking forward to coming back!

E-​Scale: ⁸⁄₁₀
Went here on a Saturday night with a friend for dinner. It was not crowded at all which was strange for a saturday night in manhattan… but we stayed for 4 hours.
The food portions were much bigger than we expected. My friend ordered the burrata ($ 18) and I ordered the meat and cheese plate ($ 21). Neither of us could finish our meal!!! We definitely needed a 3^rd person to help.
The food all tasted wonderful and it was a relaxing environment. Wait staff never bothered us about leaving and never hurried us.
We even got 2 complimentary glasses of bubblies at the end which was quite nice!
I’d definitely bring people back here in the future!

I really enjoyed my time here. It looks very high end when you walk in, which made me concerned that it would be too expensive to stay. For the ambiance, service, and quality of the food and wine I would say it is well worth it! And it wasn’t even that bad.
I came here to catch up with a girlfriend. We know little about red wine (let’s be honest, we probably don’t know very much about white either). Our server was kind enough to explain the different types of wines complete with adjectives as well as suggest her favorites. Now I can say with confidence that Chianti is a dry red and Pinot Noir is the lightest, fruitiest red you can get. We were so indecisive, we asked if we could sample some — which she obliged. I wasn’t sure if this was something you could do until last night, but it was much appreciated because inexperienced wine drinkers may end up just picking something that sounds cool but doesn’t taste that way (for example, tobacco notes… very strange but I can’t tell how that translates on my palette).
We got the large meat and cheese plate, which was great. I feel like there was more meat than cheese (probably would have been fine with just the cheese), the decorative touch here was charming. It also included grapes, strawberries, and purple lettuce blossoms with lightly grilled very thin slices of zucchini. I wish I knew the chef’s selection of cheeses — they were great and I was able to identify some… brie, parmesan but there is one cheese that is brown and white in a polka dotted pattern that blew my mind! The meat was great too, lots of proscuitto, a fancier type of bologna, salami, we also got some bread. The portion was more than enough and made for a great dinner if you are the type who enjoys picking and nibbling at things.
The music here was outstanding. Likely because I recognized most of the artists from my own selection… very sexy subdued music and not at all intrusive to our conversation (Leslie Feist among others). The walls are lined with bottles of wine and the tables have candles and wine bottles with a single rose. It would also be a great place to bring a date.
I’d like to add that we received mini carafes of red wine on the house before leaving — they didn’t rush us at all. Our waitress was attentive but didn’t come over more than was necessary. And I was very appreciative of the fact that she didn’t bring the bill and let it sit there when she knew we weren’t going to be ordering anything else; that always makes me feel like I am subtly being asked to leave.
All in all, a wonderful little spot. I’d happily recommend it to a friend.
Oh, and in case you were wondering — it was ~$ 100 for 1 bottle of Malbec and the large meat and cheese platter. I’m a budget type of gal, but you’re really getting what you pay for here.

We were in the area looking for a tapas/​wine bar and This place had good reviews so the lady and I decided to try it out.
The wait service was good, they were attentive and have a lot of wine choices. The food is ehh… Not really anything spectacular.
I would say this is more of a firSt date, let’s have a drink, etc etc…

Cute wine bar, great for dates, really intimate, and very cozy. There was only 1 server, who did the bar and tables. I felt like she was over worked since she was being called into different areas.
My friend and I asked for the menu and started ordering items. However, half the menu list wasn’t bring served. I guess, it’s not meant to be a dinner or food place more for wine tasting.
One thing about the wine menu, it was a bit deceiving. There were three prices, we had no idea and automatically thought that a glass was the first price. Boy were we wrong. But after we spoke to the 1 server/​bartender, she changed an item on the check. The server was really nice about it. But the menu should clarify things.
I doubt that I’ll be back!

have to do 3.5 star and round down
the place got such great review b/​c– lOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.
how many other wine bars are tucked away on a major avenue that’s within 2 min walk of a subway station? how many others offer no line, reasonablely priced food and drinks in Gramercy?
so Vitis has a lot going for it. and yes i did enjoy my cured meat and silky Merlot :)
and HERE comes my pet peeves:
1. hostess was slow. we waited forever to order… ughhh don’t like drinking w/​an empty stomach
2. food advice– while our waitress was very good with her wine knowledge, she forgot to give any advice on our food order. Turns out two things we ordered were SOOO similar that night. BUMMER (salad and Burrata… please be more imaginative w/​your menu OKAY!!!)
anyway, my date made the dinner still a fantastic occasion :)

Went on a weekday night. Could see how many have commented on how it’s small and cozy. However because it’s small, one loud group can really sour your experience. We had a small group of 3 and basically could not hear each other at all for most of the night because of the loud neighboring table.
We got the paninis which were pretty good but nothing amazing. Portions are large so you could even share one panini (comes with a salad) between 2 people. Wine selection was quite good and we were happy with the choices.

Truly such a amazing place ! My friend and I came in for happy hour, however there was only couple minutes left. But the waitress didn’t care, she continued the happy hour drinks. Got the cheese plate which was so filling, so much good cheese and free toasted bread. If you’re a cheese and wine lover, this is your spot!
Atmosphere? Calming, quiet music playing in the background and cozy space.
Price? Great happy hour deals! Not pricey at all.
Do they take reservations? I don’t know, probably. But we just walk in and the waitress said we can sit anywhere we want! She was so nice and funny. After we got the check, she gave us another round of white wine on the house!!! Need to say more? Lol

Came here for pre-​dinner drinks and oysters and was not disappointed. They have $ 2 kumamoto and $ 1 blue points, along with some cheap wine selections ($ 5 a glass I think). The oysters were very fresh and shucked well, something you don’t see so often in an establishment that isn’t primarily sea-​food.
The seats at our table were all bar height so if you get one of them, you will be sitting up on backed bar stools or standing. Short guys like me get to dangle their feet in the air like 4^th graders :) There is a ton of exposed brick and a wall of decorative yet functional wine storage.
Wait-​staff was nice and accommodating as we kept adding guests and orders our table. I would go back here for happy hour if in the area and in the mood for some vino.

I live around the corner and love wine, so was happy this place opened. When we went there on a Monday, it was empty. Instead of a table, we chose to sit at the bar. I’m a little disappointed that they went for a more sleek, modern décor; rather than making it a cozy, warm, and inviting place. Their tables are all high with high bar chairs.
But the selection of wine is decent with nice wine glasses. Good and friendly service.
We had olives, octopus salad, and beet salad. The beet salad was no good — beet tasted old and had no flavor whatsoever. The octopus salad was pretty good, if with too much onion.
I just with it was more of a comfortable and inviting place for me to frequent.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Vitis!
The closest wine bar to me was a lackluster one a block away from the 30^th street East side Fairway, so I was psyched to see that Vitis has finally opened in the Gramercy area 5 – 6 months ago. It wasn’t until last night that I got a chance to check it.
It’s a very cozy wine bar and even with its long and narrow space, they’ve definitely done a spectacular job with the simple yet chic décor to take full advantage of every nook and cranny.
Again, it’s a small space so the restaurant/​wine bar cannot fit more than, I’ll say, 20 people at any given moment. As soon as you enter, there are tall tables and stools for intimate parties of 2, and a bigger communal table that can be for a few larger parties or one big party. Then as you make your way to the back, there are seats at the bar, that can seat at most 7 people at a time.
It was 8:30 on a Wednesday night and we were lucky to snatch two seats at the bar! It was packed!
Kim, our waitress and sommelier of the evening, was a doll. She, unfortunately won’t be working any longer at Vitis, but works at its sister wine bar/​lounge in Bay Ridge apparently and recommended it to us. She was sweet, accommodating, and knowledgeable of her wines and Vitis’ food menu.
The wine menu isn’t absurdly long, but long enough that you have red, white, rose, champagne options. I didn’t want to burden myself with having to pick among the choices, so I left it up to her to decide for me which of the ones would be best for my preference– I usually go with a spicier, bolder red. She poured me a little bit of each of the ones she wanted me to try before pouring it into a tiny carafe for me. The carafe is then poured halfway into an insanely big wine glass– the wine glass normally designated for a Bordeaux.
We took a look at the food items, and they have everything from foie gras, to salads, to paninis, to salmon tartar with caviar, to lobster tails. But considering I already had dinner prior to Vitis, I settled with the chef’s selection of cheeses. I do not like stinky blue or gorgonzola cheeses, so they were kind enough to replace those with sharper cheeses.
The cheese plates come in two sizes, and thank goodness we only ordered the small one (and for only $ 18) because it was a lot of cheese! It came with two types of wine cheese, a peppercorn cheddar, a brie, and a jalapenos cheddar. My favorite was the two wine cheeses and the brie. It also came with a basket of baguette slices, piece of strawberries, melons, purple grapes, and a huge sheet of a cracker (?). It’s very very thin, easily breakable, and tastes like a matzoh, but thinner. I liked it very much.
There is a happy hour from 5−8PM that we just missed but I will definitely be back to check it out. They also have a brunch menu on the weekends, and they offer 5 for $ 15 on Mimosas!

Fantastic.
The girl working that night did everything except the food prep from the kitchen. She was hostess, waitress, sommelier, and she switched her hats with flawless dexterity.
She quickly accommodated our group of five (a tad big for such a cozy place) at the bar, and provided excellent recommendations. I described the sort of red wine I most enjoy, and she gave me a taste that was a bit too light. Her following two suggestions were great adjustments, and by the third taste I had a delicious glass of Bordeaux I was totally in love with. She did this very quickly, so I didn’t feel as though I was burdening her with wanting to find the right glass (unlike my experience at Blue Ribbing Downing). If I didn’t already have two glasses at Grace earlier in the evening, I would have gone for another glass or two here.
The cured meats and cheese plate was delicious, and they give you plenty for the large order at $ 24. It came with olives, a few grapes and strawberries. It really could use honey or jam, some kind of spreadable sweetener to balance out the salty flavors.
We ordered the crème brulee and tiramisu for the group. The waitress forgot the order, and was so disarmingly honest about it. Out of tiramisu, she gave us the chocolate mousse and flan on the house!
The chocolate mousse dessert was flat out amazing. I don’t know if they use a box mix to achieve the $ 5 price point for all their desserts, but I don’t much care when I can taste the not-​too-​sweet, dark chocolatey goodness. It’s not quite a mousse, as it’s much more rich and dense than the fluffy cake filling incited by the word «mousse.»
Truly a gem, this place is an intimate, unpretentious spot to bring a date or catch up with a small group of friends.

What a gem!
Décor feels very warm and inviting. I sat at the bar (probably the best seat) and was immediately welcomed with menus. Staffs were friendly, kind and helpful. They have an array of wines and food. One special thing about this wine bar is how they serve the wine. You’re given a wine glass and also a quartino filled with wine, I can get about two glasses from the quartino and it makes you think that you’re getting more wine.
Everything was great at Vitis and I’d definitely return. Lovely spot for couples and friends.