Gardina’s Wine Bar & Cafe

I’ve been here twice, the first time was nice, but the second i got pretty sick. Food poisoning for 3 days. One of the employees told me over the phone that the chicken i had eaten was probably left out for a few hours. All bad. Wont be returning

This place surprised the hell out of me. I was sturgeon spearing by myself over the weekend, so after 1:00 I had lots of free time. Sooooo, I decided to let Unilocal guide me around Lake Winnebago.
I was staying in Fond Du Lac and this restaurant was all the way into Osh Kosh… I didn’t mind the drive, as I said, all I had was time! I have tried a few «wine bars» in Wisconsin and am generally let down. This place is definitely a diamond in the rough!
I sat and ordered a glass of cab off of their pretty good wine menu and then ordered some food. I had a salad and a sandwich and was very pleased with both.
They ran out of the cab so I ordered the better of the two Red Zins on the menu and this was the real find. Beran Zinfandel 2013. Absolute ambrosia. So good I went into their little wine store in the back and bought two bottles of the «reserve» Beran 2013. Also heaven!
Will be back Gardina’s!

So after posting an honest review of my experience — I get a snarky message from «Julie» who claims she’s the owner — and I should not come back.
LOL — no problem honey… plenty of places to take my money.
Kind of interesting the common thread in most of the reviews, POOR SERVICE.

Great food great atmosphere. I was in Oshkosh for an ice skating competition and we stumbled upon this great place. Food was great as was wine

Awesome drink choices. Not much for vegetarian options.

Went here for lunch. Nice sized spot in Oshkosh WI. Although it was empty the service was a little slow but the food made up for it. Excellent choices from appetizers, sandwiches, salads and main courses. Pretty decent sized portions. I had the Lamb Nachos and also the Lamb Burger. Both were EXCELLENT. Reasonably priced. All in all a great experience and the food was great. Havent been to any other places that sell Lamb Nachos

Love love loved this wine bar. After a football game at uw Oshkosh we came here for a drink. After the looking at the menu we had to stay. Fig, Bleu cheese flatbread, risotto with butternut squash apples and almonds. So many wonderful things on the menu it was hard to choose. The ambience was wonderful for a nice evening with my husband. The service was really good. Donny was professional and attentive without being too much. Wish we didn’t live so far away. We would come back all the time!

Nice little place with a good selection of wine. The type of people who come here are pretty annoying, but the waitstaff and management is great. I expected to not like this place going in, but it’s one of the cleanest and organized cafes in town. There are many smart choices on their menu that pair well with wine, and they are even beautifully presented!
The afternoon crowd is a little more relaxed, so if you’re looking for a higher-​end place where you can still feel comfortable entering in denim jeans, this’d be a lovely stop while touring the city.

For my dinner i ordered the goat cheese salad with salmon. It was FABULOUS! The salmon was well done but still moist, the goat cheese baked to perfection, just the right amount of cranberries and pears! The BEER i chose was a bit on the sweet side and complimented this salad! If i lived closer, id be a regular!

Excellent food and service. It’s really a fun place to go. One of the best in town. Try the features, some of them are really different and delicious.

Delicious Roasted Mushroom soup. I mean, really, lick-​the-​bowl delicious. The Autumn Risotto was perfect, especially given how tricky it so to make truly good risotto — Not too mushy, not too crunchy. just right. The waitress, Jenny, gave good advice helping us choose the ale for the evening. I’m no expert, I just know what I like! She narrowed it down to two with me, then brought me samples of both. I love when servers do that! She also gave us great advice on the food, which was spot-​on. The place loses one star for being way too noisy. There are ways to absorb sound that make it so your can hear your friend talking across the table. Especially if he’s telling you how much he’s enjoying his dinner! I

4 for food and 3 for customer service. The last couple of times I have been the service has been on the slower and not-​so-​observant side. Bloody Mary’s here are great! The brunch has a good selection of pretty delicious items.

Last Tuesday, I was walking around town, saw the great reviews & decided to stop by for a quick lunch before checking into my hotel.
My server was really nice & the service was good.
I ordered bruscetta as my appetizer. It had fresh mozzarella, basil, & tomato with olive oil & balsamic vinegar. This was a different take on most bruscetta that I’ve tried, but it was really good. It was fresh & warm & toasty & melty.
For lunch I had a black & blue panini. It came with a house salad & my choice of dressing. I chose blue cheese dressing, not knowing the salad would have it already. The romaine inside the sandwich was wilted & slimy because it was cooked inside the panini. I thought that was a bit weird, but the sandwich was still decent. It was roast beef with blue cheese, romaine lettuce, etc. I don’t really like blue cheese, but the whole meal was full of it & I think I kinda liked it?
It was a pleasant experience. I liked the French music playing & I liked the ambience. I’d def go back to check out the wine & dinner menu next time.

A busy Tuesday night is a sign of a nice place to eat. We found a high top table near the back by the wine/​liquor store. This is a nice feature as you can go grab a bottle of any of the hundreds of wine and ring it to your table to enjoy there. We didn’t do that but it’s a great option.
There is an ever changing tap menu of beers and the wine by the glass has a decent smattering of flavor a to hit all pallets.
We ordered the «Around the World» cheese platter which came with a ton of cheese and snacks. For only $ 16 in not sure how they make money but this was a perfect selection.
Atmosphere was good and food was just what we wanted.
No wonder this place is busy on a Tuesday.

This place is a hidden gem behind a humble storefront. I’ve never had anything I didn’t like here, and my wife and I make a point of coming here every year when we are in town for EAA
The Pear Prociutto Brie Crostini is definitely worth trying. Melty brie with crispy Prociutto and toasted pine nuts on soft and crusty toasts with a sweet honey sauce drizzled on.
The Cuban panini is excellent. It’s just the way I think a Cuban sandwich should be (although perhaps not totally authentic). Cubans can often get too dry and crusty when made authentically. This was melty, moist, and delicious. The pickles were sliced nice and thin so they didn’t take over the flavor. And the mustard was well matched and spicy. On some bites, perhaps a little too spicy though. Then again, many of the Cuban people I know can be a little too spicy at times, so maybe this sandwich is authentic after all!

Absolutely loved this restaurant/​bar/​liquor store. Great wine selection in the store with a $ 10 corkage fee. Great on tap beer selection also. We sat at the bar and the service was excellent and the food very good. Really loved the fig flatbread and would order every time. Very nice décor. Not sure about the review that mentions dress code. We were very casual since I was in shorts and flip flops (with a nice shirt) and certainly got no attitude about it. We will be back every time we are in Oshkosh.

Ok Gardina’s, now I am just angry. Another decent lunch with my mom… until we had finished eating and waited, and waited, and waited for someone to clear our plates, offer dessert, the check, etc. We sat for a good ten minutes before we even SAW someone to flag down (I was about ready to carry our plates to the bar myself), and it was the lady wearing a fleece jacket (?) who seemed to be helping out our server (?).
When she came over, she actually asked «Can I do something for you?» Gee, um, our empty plates are stacked at the edge of the table — maybe you could start by taking those? My mom then had to ask about dessert, an order that was grudgingly taken, and I asked for the check at the same time, since we were clearly being ignored and had already waited for much longer that we wanted to. Our actual waitress returned with dessert and the check, and my mom made sure to give her a card right away, since, well, we didn’t want to wait another century to have it run.
Honestly, I am appalled. HOW can you treat your customers like this? This is at least the third time I have been seated, served food, and then completely abandoned. I don’t understand this at all, but given its consistency, there’s clearly a problem here. I will not be giving Gardina’s any more of my business, period, full stop, and I don’t recommend that anyone else do either.

Wonderful atmosphere and incredible menu. There’s also a small store with cheese, wine, and gifts. Will definitely be back.

First off, the fare is top notch. All previous reviews that promised as much were accurate.
But I must have seriously offended the clientele and staff by wearing jeans, ordering an appetizer for a meal, and drinking water. My fiancé probably earned the ire of at least three men with scarves by wearing his Atlanta Hawks hooded shirt.
The server decided when we sat down we would be poor guests and I could tell he was dying to get us our bill so we could leave before the regulars got the vapors.
I do not normally dress to the nines for lunch in small town America, but maybe I need to revise my approach. Being the peasant I am just won’t do for a classy place like this.
Or maybe I can choose a place that doesn’t make sweeping assumption about the content of one’s mind or bank account based upon how many designer labels are covering their person. Or one where servers don’t cringe when patrons offer a smile and a hearty thank you every time they check in.
Yes, I think I’ll take my paltry earnings elsewhere next time.

I live in a loft on Main Street in downtown Oshkosh and Gardina’s is perhaps 50 paces away from my front door. Beings that I am a male bachelor and I have about as much business cooking a meal as I do being an astronaut for NASA, I am always happy to have dining establishments close to me that have decent grub. With that in mind, Gardina’s certainly does not disappoint.
The atmosphere is cozy and the menu fairly diverse, but the one odd thing you will find about this supposed Italian restaurant is that there is not one pasta dish on the menu. Strange to be sure, but they do have enough other great options that I am willing to overlook the lack of availability of a big bowl of raw cholesterol like chicken Penne drenched in Alfredo sauce.
I nearly always go for their bruschetta as an appetizer as it is simple yet very flavorful, and not piled high with random toppings to be trendy. My favorite entrée they serve would have to be the Panini’s, with the Cuban being a particular standout. Absolute yumgasm, and I am getting hungry now just thinking about it.
Another safe bet are their Pizza’s. Always fresh toppings and cooked just right. There are literally dozens of local pizza chains in this town, and Gardina’s pizza is only exceeded by 2 others (who are both significantly more expensive).
Also a cool place to take a date as the atmosphere is fairly quaint and decadent and the wait staff are prompt and knowledgeable.