The Vine

I don’t understand the high reviews this place has gotten. It was honestly one of the worst bar experiences I’ve ever had (and I’ve been involved in a barroom brawl!!). Four of us came into the vine on a Saturday night. First thing we notice was that there was live music, which we love! Unfortunately, the place is so small and the music so unnecessarily loud that we literally couldn’t carry on a conversation. We sat at a table and the bartender came over to serve us. My husband and I aren’t wine people, but the others in our party are. After looking over the menu my husband asked if they served beer (because there was none listed on the menu). The bartender looked at my husband like he might possibly be the stupidest person he had encountered and said «ummm, well, we’re a BAR.» Ooookkkk. Next one person in our party asked for his opinion on a couple of wines. She wanted an ojai wine. I guess he wasn’t too thrilled with those choices so she asked about another. His only reply, «it’s better than those others». No recommendations or anything because that might take some effort. The thing that really ticked me off though, was when he was bringing out the martinis that two of us had ordered. He was carrying them in his hands, not on a tray. He leans over the table to set them down at the back of the table near us. My friend and I started to take them out of his hands rather than risk them spilling on us. He then literally «tsk tsked» us. I understand doing this if they were on a tray and we would upset the balance (I was a waitress for years, so I really do get that). But they weren’t. He was just an ass. Never again will we go there

Beer was cold, bartender was friendly and the Italian tapas were delicious!

Food is good but the service is slow, even though the staff is very nice and polite, it takes way too long to get a sandwich and a salad. But still recommend this place because of the quality of the food you get is really good.

Was just there and sat at the bar with a friend. Three bartenders talking and completely ignoring us! And we are not high maintenance! They didn’t even acknowledge us. We finally had to leave. Unusual, as most Ojai places are so friendly and accommodating. Went next door and had a drink at The Hub. Great bartender!

Worst Service Ever. We waited and waited, sitting at the bar. Three bartenders behind the bar chatting. No one acknowledged us. No one would take our order. It’s like we were invisible. It’s Saturday night but early, not very busy. We’re at The Hub now. Very friendly, good service.

The bartender was as rude as rude could be. Wine is way I’ve priced. Really Cycles Gladiator Merlot at 11.00 per glass. Don’t go here.
I totally blew this the bartender is assume. Go here.

My boyfriend and I visited The Vine on our last night in Ojai (April 7, 2016). I think it was the perfect ending to our romantic getaway! The server/​bartender, I cannot remember her name, but she was so very helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable. (I do remember her saying she will be moving out of the country if that helps to know who I’m speaking of). She made wonderful suggestions and provided excellent service. The wine and food were all terrific and our server helped us to pick wines that complimented our food. Next time we are in Ojai, we will definitely revisit! Music was lovely as well!

Saturday night Bernie’s amazing band rocks the Ojai night. Joined with good food and a lively bar scene this place deserves much acclaim. Terrific find.

found this delightful little place one weekend and loved it so much we have made day trips to ojai just for lunch here (we live about 1.5 hours away) the food is super fresh and the portions are large enough to make this your only meal needed for the day. the ambiance and atmosphere are wonderful, nice and quiet with some soft jazz. by far one of my top spots in cali

Love love love this gem. Great place to go in Ojai if you looking for a bit of fun with music and atmosphere. The staff are great and the owner, Nigel, absolutely knows his trade. THE only place in town that’s a stand in for The Jester, closed by Water damage 18mths ago and still not taken care of by Water Company !

Here. Right now. Topa salad is delicious. Perfect with a glass of Pinot noir. Service is excellent but not intrusive. Great local band. Single girl feels very comfortable being here alone. I might be back tomorrow.

I liked the concept they were trying to achieve here… but they really missed the mark for me. There was no seating when we first walked in so we decided to stand inside and wait for a spot at the bar since the outdoor seating was dark, under-​serviced, and cold. The interior ambiance was on its way to cute and cozy but something felt a little cheap and tacky in the design. I liked that they had live music and my salad was very tasty but over-​dressed. The worst part, though, was the service. The female bartender was nice and attentive enough but the male bartender was BEYOND RUDE! Worse, he seemed to be reserving his chilly treatment solely for my Mom and me!!! .Not the kind of experience we were looking for on Galentine’s Day. I asked him for a water «whenever he got a chance» which he scoffed at and never served in the additional 30 minutes we were there. He kept complaining to other patrons about how «busy» the place was but seemed to have not concept of what a typical place on Saturday night is ACTUALLY like. I will definitely not be back.

solidly good food, really nice waitstaff. the outdoor patio area is really great, too. food took a bit longer than we thought it would, but we were having such a great time it didn’t matter

Good value. Very good quality. Good service.
I had the Epiphany Port, local wine. Shared the cheese and fruit plate. Very delicious. Good quantity for the price. I’m often disappointed with the amount of cheese and/​or fruit I get for the price. Not here. It was a good portion and very good quality.
The plate itself has a good variety of cheeses. I love blue cheese and the plate had plenty
Of it.
The toasty bread was really nice.
My wife had a glass of the Liberty School Cab from Paso Robles. Good pour.
I wish I lived closer… I want to come back. I’m happy.

We had a greasy pie that was supposed to be a pizza, it had layers of low quality cheese, we were told it was one of the most popular items. (Ojai pizza)
Second dish was the French Connection sandwich which was terrible. Turkey meat was processed and looked and tasted like spam.
The reviews on here must be from friends and family.
Salad and ambiance was fine.
Bartender was really nice and attentive.
Came from LA to visit, would never come back to this establishment.
We are driving back now with stomach cramps.

I took my boyfriend to Ojai for his birthday weekend, and we chose The Vine for dinner primarily because it was within walking distance to our hotel (Chantico Inn) and because they open much earlier than most of the other restaurants nearby. The place is tiny and appropriately intimate for a wine bar. You’re definitely within earshot (or chair bump) of your neighbors, but listening to the dude behind me talk about maintaining his abs for 30 minutes was far more amusing than irritating.
We opted to start with cocktails (mostly because I know next to nothing about wine and let’s face it, was in it for the tapas) and while its name eludes me, my lemon/​grenadine/​whiskey creation was a beautiful mixture of boozey and sweet/​sour. I was pretty enthralled with the array of different cheese platter options on their menu, and eventually settled on the English Tapas. The spread was perfectly balanced, and my boyfriend (who is in his 30s and claims to have never had a charcuterie — what??) decided that we’d have to recreate it the next weekend for New Years Eve. We’d actually graduated onto wine at this point, choosing (naturally) the cheapest but still delicious Cabernet and Syrah. Our other menu choice was the Adobo Chicken Tortizza– also available and probably amazing in quesadilla form. Hollllly hell, what a dish. I’ve been dreaming about the flavors in this thing ever since, and can legitimately see myself driving out from Ventura just to get one on a whim in the future.
The only possible drawback to The Vine is the location of the restrooms outside in the courtyard, but that seems typical for the area and shouldn’t be much of an issue. The service, food, and atmosphere were all fantastic. I’ll definitely be back to try out more tortizzas/​tapas and check out the live music. :)

Such a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. Nigel is like your best friend and treats every customer with care. The menu is fresh the wine list is perfectly selected and the service is great!

Awesome place to come for food, drinks and live music! We got the nordhoff salad, Thai tortizza and chocolate cake. You most definitely need to try the tortizza if you come here! The crust is a tortilla that’s perfectly crisp and delicious. The chocolate cake was a wonderful way to satisfy my sweet tooth without feeling too guilty. It wasn’t too sweet or rich. I would definitely recommend checking this place out. The atmosphere is lovely and so is the staff!

Came to Ojai on a much needed getaway with my husband. Checked out Unilocal reviews for a place to get am appetizer before dinner and came across The Vine. Saw a beautiful picture of a cheese and fruit plate in the help pics and it was decided. It was as tasty as it was beautiful. We asked the bartender to suprise us with a wine that would pair well with our selection. He did a great job. Left for dinner elsewhere only to return to the vine for some after dinner drinks and entertainment. Live music was great. Met the owner, Nigel. He was friendly and cool as hell. Can’t wait to come back! Looking forward to the Jester reopening so we can visit another of Nigel establishments.

Not quite ready for prime time.
Stopped in to check out the new place on a Friday night, sat at the bar. Ordered some food and a few drinks.
Went in expecting more of a tapas restaurant experience, found it to be more of a pub-​that-​serves wine experience.
The service was poor (which is hard to believe you can be ignored sitting at the bar), the food was pricey, salty and the salad was mostly dressing.
Made a trip to the bathroom outside to wash my hands and that sealed the deal. I felt dirtier AFTER going in to wash my hands.
The place has potential, but I won’t be going back until I hear some better reviews showing they are really ready for my business.

Absolutely love this place! Wine and cheese plates are my favorite! They had an amazing wine list and the cheese plate was phenomenal! The staff is so nice and friendly, and made us feel so comfortable.
This was our first time, and we can’t wait to go back!

What a lovely find in Ojai. We had driven out for a nice Saturday lunch and had wonderful service and drinks on their outdoor patio. We even had a summer rain shower, which was so fun! I highly recommend the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service sandwich – I hardly ever see Branston pickle on a menu, and it’s well worth the adventure. The Ty Cobb sando was seriously like eating a Cobb salad but on a sandwich. One tip – the sandwiches are huge! So either bring your appetite or take them up on a to-​go box.

Amazing service! Jared was the best server we could have had!
Amazing food!
The italian plate was PHENOMENAL. The salad we had was delicious. We also had the mexican plate — so fresh and tasty!
Wine — phenomenal!

This was my second visit since it switched from Barrel 33 to The Vine, and I am impressed with the new menu offerings.
Inside was packed on a Sat afternoon at 5:30, but it was a perfect evening to sit on their patio which faces the courtyard instead of the busy street. The bartender handed us menus and said she would be out in a minute, which she was. We picked the one large table and had the patio to ourselves which was a good thing when you are 4 highly articulate (you might call us gabby but articulate sounds so refined) women who haven’t seen each other for two years.
We were assured that there is a full bar, but we opted for one of their many wine choices including an organic sauvignon blanc served in high quality long stemmed glasses. I opted for an Ojai tortizza, a crispy tortilla crust with oodles of melted cheeses, tomato, and a couple of kalamatas with a salad piled on top. It was sliced up like a pizza and I finally gave up on the knife and fork and picked it up to keep all the wonderful cheesiness in place. The salads are large and fresh, and I love their cheese and fruit plate, which I had on a previous visit. A very pleasant evening was had by all.

Can’t say much other than not what I was anticipating it to be. Maybe my fault as well. Got there at 6 and was looking to eat dinner there as well. Wine selection was good but the place is not for dining. Tapas nothing to die for rather blah. Ordered a 10″ pizza which was basically microwaved. I’m not going to knock it too much since I didn’t do my homework.
Overall good place to have a cocktail. Go somewhere else for dinner and then come back for more cocktails and enjoy the live music.

In to plan our wedding and had a hard time finding a lunch spot outside of Ojai valley inn and spa, stumbled upon this place and it was incredible.
Amazing food, great atmosphere and fantastic service. All should come!

My boyfriend and I came to Ojai because I could not bear to be at home, as I had been taking care of a family member who died of cancer days before, and wanted to get away somewhere to relax and try to heal after caring for them around the clock. I was led to believe Ojai was the place to do this.
I have an assistance animal, but did not have her vest on that day, as I was already in a broken emotional state and often hate having to answer invasive questions. My dog is an absolute angel, but it wasn’t good enough for the owners or staff of the Vine.
My boyfriend and I had planned to sit on the patio, but to be honest it faces the kitchen and isn’t particularly scenic (like a converted alleyway you can see into the kitchen), and there was already another dog on the patio that was barking nonstop, so my boyfriend and I went inside and sat at the table closest to the window, a solid 10 feet from any other diners.
We were immediately accosted by the waitress who said that we had to sit outside, when I explained that my dog was an assistance animal, she said «Well, I think that when a restaurant offers outside dining, you have to sit out there.» Because my illness makes me a second class citizen apparently. We explained we didn’t want to sit out there because of the barking dog, so she brought her manager over. He was immediately incredibly rude and made me feel unwelcome – I should also mention that there were ONLY SIX people in the restaurant at this time (and some of them were obviously his friends. I counted because I knew I was going to destroy him in this Unilocal review).
He demanded to know why we didn’t have a tag on the dog that specified her status, and I told him that the badges aren’t actually created by any sort of association with any power, they are just created by a private company who wants to take the money of people like me and trick them into thinking they are affiliated with the government. Even after telling him this, he demanded to see my Doctor’s note. (I mean, is this random trivia everyone knows? Surely this should’ve been a tip off that I knew what I was talking about.)
At this point I really should’ve left, but I was determined to not let this jerk treat people who might come after me the same way, so I made it a point to stay. (I’m a stubborn thing.)
I pulled up my documentation on my phone, and he looked at it like a police officer does when they pull you over and you feel like they are going to say something really nasty. He goes «Well, I can see the American Medical Association Snake, but I can’t read anything else without my glasses.» Of course he still pretended to read the letter, but it was pretty obvious he was doing it for show.
After finishing his «reading», he said «You guys know there is going to be a piano player right here at 6:30.» He motioned to the piano next to me, and then says «And if the dog barks or anything, you’ll be asked to leave, I think thats fair.» Yeah dude, I get it, you want us to leave because the sight of an adorable dog and two normal customers is just too much to bear. He also said this as the dog is laying down, quietly watching everyone in the place, COMPLETELY MOTIONLESS.
OF COURSE SIR, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SIT AND EAT AT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT THAT IS OBVIOUSLY ONLY FOR YOUR FRIENDS AND PEOPLE YOU DEEM WORTHY. I am obviously not even special enough to eat out of this man’s garbage. The food was pretty good, but I’ve never EVER felt so mistreated in a restaurant, EVER. I told my friend who was a local the story afterwards, and she was shocked, as Ojai is such a dog friendly city. And it is true, this jerk and his need to wield some sort of power was the only time we met anyone who wasn’t completely friendly and accepting of me and my dog.
I should also mention I have had an assistance animal for YEARS, and this is the FIRST time anyone has asked to see my documentation. The owner of this place should be ashamed and embarrassed, but I’m sure he’s too busy playing super awesome businessman and picking on young women to feel any sort of regret about this thing at all. Skip this place and go to the million other places in Ojai that won’t treat you like garbage because you aren’t a middle-​aged person wearing a polo or a sweater set. I should also mention that I wasn’t dressed like a garbage collector or anything, and that both my bf and I have print modeling pasts, so we don’t look like we stumbled off the set of deliverance.
Also, waitress who disappeared halfway through the night, you’re WELCOME for your way too generous tip. Although the pleasant lady who took your place was the saving grace of this dump.

The atmosphere and bartenders get 5 stars. The food is probably only a 3.5, but since they had classic movies playing I’m rounding up: D
Definitely, the best place I’ve been in Ojai.

The Vine is a cozy alcove right in the heart of downtown Ojai. You are almost guaranteed to find live music in the evenings, and as you enjoy the sound of a twangy, yet tuned bar piano, you can enjoy the expressions on the faces of passerbys as they stop for a moment, wishing they were inside drinking wine with you instead of out there in the cold.
They’ve got a fairly robust wine menu, and their food is very substantial for the price. I ordered one of their pizza’s (they have some funky name for it, but it’s really just a flatbread pizza), and it was really good! It had so much cheese, and although I can’t remember exactly what it was (I may have been slightly buzzed on a hunky Zin with earth and berries to go), but I can say that it got the job done.
Our server was very attentive despite it being quite crowded, and found that perfect balance between being helpful, but not hovering. She had good recommendations based on the information I gave her about wine, and let me try whatever I wanted!
Live music+good food+good wine+5 star company; I can’t think of anything better.
5 stars.

We chose The Vine because they have wine, live music, and a solid, varied menu. We were pleased by our choices-​my salad being robust and alterable (I chose dried apricots over cranberries; cranberries are stupid), his pizza being huge, savory, and flavorful. The wine selection was unique and we enjoyed trying our favorite varietals from lesser-​known producers. And the music! We had so much fun listening to the bubbly, harmonic trio that busted out Christmas and bar favorites.
The Vine is a winner and we will definitely stop back next time we’re in Ojai :-)