Wine Down

The best part about this place is the happy hour wine glass deals. Usually when you go somewhere, they have ONE wine at $ 5. This place has several red to choose from. I’m not sure about their white selection because it’s cold out right now, and I drink red when it’s cold.
The atmosphere is fine — but they are about to move… so who cares what I say about ambiance right now? :)
The staff was nice, but it was really strange that he had to look up the prices of bottles ONLINE to tell me what the price of the bottle was. That was very strange… but we did end up with a nice bottle of Pinot for a decent enough price.
It is nice to have a place where you can grab a cheap glass, or a full bottle from the shelves. Hopefully they keep the same setup when they get into another place.

With a cozy fireplace, comfy couches, candle-​lit tables, and a creative and extensive wine list, Wine Down is a fabulous girl date spot.
I suppose it would be a great girl-​guy place, too, but not nearly as fun. This spot is meant for two or three or five ladies getting together, drinking a glass (read: bottle) or two (read: loads of bottles) of wine, and gabbing until either cigarettes or karaōke sound good. Or both.
Grab your girlfriend you need to catch up with and come down to Wine Down and gab away.
Bonus points for ordering the splendid $ 6 rosé.
–Updated to add: Wine Down is open at their current location until January 31^st, so get down there before they move!

During the busy holidays and such, I managed to check this place out before it closes in a couple of days at the East Burnside location. I was greeted warmly by the owner and said I could sit anywhere in the restaurant. I sat in the bar area and ordered a Porter. At $ 2.50 for happy hour, it was definitely a great bargain. I’ve been recommended by quite a few people to pick the Laurelhurst burger so I got that for dinner. I added sweet potatoe fries for an additional $ 2 which a former worker there highly recommended to me.
I relaxed as I was using the complimentary free wi-​fi to check my email and see what other good deals were going on around town. My food then arrived and I quickly dug in. The sweet potatoe fries were nicely crisp with just the right amount of sweetness. The burger, simply one of the best burgers I have eaten in a long time. The spicy aioli gave it just the right amount of zing and heat The smoked cheddar and the grilled onions were definitely a huge bonus. I was trying my best not to get the toppings all over my shirt as I continued to munch on the juicy burger.
The only disappointment I had was the fact the food was gone in less than 5 minutes. The place wasn’t crowded the entire time I was there but I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. The restaurant itself does have a pretty dim and dark look. It is definitely aimed for those who want a very intimate and cozy experience.

My husband and I stumbled in here early in the evening after shopping all day, and walking in the rain. The fireplace couldn’t be more inviting.
We sat and played dominoes, and sipped our $ 4.00 happy hour wine as we waited for our food. And when it came, we were delighted. My husband ordered the flat iron steak. It was slightly under cooked, but better to be on the rare side, then on the burned side. It was still quite tasty. I ordered the Bolognese, and it was EXACTLY what i was wanting. Lots of garlic, with big hunks of meat. The serving size was so generous that I was able to take half of it to work for lunch the next day.
After we finished our meals, we continued on with our game of dominoes, while our fabulous waiter checked in on us just the right amount of times.
The service was great, the atmosphere was warm. We will be coming back.

This is a quickie review for the Happy Hour only — it was delicious! I picked The Big Man up from the airport (we are STILL a commuter marriage, since he has yet to find a job in Portland) and after another flight, he wanted a little something before heading straight into the fray of a Halloween weekend with The 3 Musk-​A-​Teers! We stopped in here and had terrific choices for wine for $ 4.00 — I had the rose, he had a shiraz — both quite tasty.
We split a burger which came with cheddar & a smoky chipotle sauce — the burger was excellent! We also shared a plate of sweet potato fries which were so good, and yet so salty — of course, guaranteed to make us thirsty for more liquid libations!
I will return and I will remember to take it easy on certain items which may be high on the sodium chloride. This is a great place — dark, but not too dark to read the menu. The fireplace is inviting, and the service is attentive. I like it a lot!

Went here for Happy Hour the other Day with my husband and was a little disheartened to hear that the landlord will be kicking this place to the curb to open his own restaurant soon. (I think you have the opportunity to eat at this location through December).
The Happy Hour was AWESOME! $ 4 glasses of very decent wines, and the small plates, were really not all that small. I had the Hummus plate, it had some of the most delicious garlicy hummus I’ve ever put in my facehole! Plus, it came with not only pita bread, slightly grilled, but carrot sticks, roasted red peppers, green and black olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and HOUSE MADE PICKLES. So good!
My husband got the cheeseburger and it was gigantic, smothered with some aioli and caramelized onions. He liked it so much I didn’t even get a bite before it had been completely devoured.
Do yourself a favor and check this place out sooner rather than later, while you have the chance.

Wine Down has been our home away from home this last summer… out door dining so we can bring along our baby girl, great acoustic music,…wonderful food and WINE menu hitting most price points!
Most of our weekends have found us here to relax and unwind… Stuart, Charles, and Heather are awesome! We love coming here to sample the latest weekly wine offerings… there’s always something new to discover… the food is delicious, the service is very personable… oh and the wine! :) With all of the restaurant competition in Portland and there are plenty of places to have a wonderful meal, it’s nice to come to a place where they treat you like friends. Have no choice but to offer Unilocal*‘s highest rating… Wine Down does it right…
P. S. If you want to build a burger, you may want to check out Red Robin… :)

This is a wine bar I could totally get a crush on (*groan*). But seriously folks, Wine Down has that nice, borderline upscale feel but it’s totally approachable even to non-​vinophiles.
I think the best way to try Wine Down is during their happy hour — which features reasonably cheap food and drinks (especially when considering the quality), with a very good selection of choices (see my blurry camera phone pic for a look at the menu). They had about 6 different wine varietals (on a recent visit one was Argentinian, the rest Chilean) for just $ 4/​glass — and both of the glasses I tasted were really very good; not the swill some wine bars put on happy hour to get rid of.
They also had pints o’ beer (about 5 styles) for just $ 2.50; our waiter told me that the IPA I ordered was from Trumer — but I think he was mistaken as the only Trumer brew I’ve ever heard of is the Pilsner. Anywho, it was fine — not great, but at PBR pricing it was a great buy!
We ordered a few items — the Grilled Quail skewers in a blackberry reduction was the priciest at $ 9. I’ve had quail a few times and rarely been that impressed — this dish followed suit (a little gamey, not that meaty, definitely inferior to the more common fowl imho). The blackberry reduction was nice, and could probably accompany a number of dishes nicely.
I also had their cheeseburger and I dug it a lot. I might have been a little miffed if I’d paid $ 4 more for the same burger on their dinner menu, but the very dense, yet still decently juicy patty was quite nice if not the biggest I’ve had. Seared beautifully, and served on a well-​toasted (nearly blackened) bun with gobs of sauteed onions and a smoky white cheddar, it was definitely a good buy on the HH menu.
Never the biggest fan of crab cakes, I can’t say how Wine Down’s stack up to some of the best in town, but I thought they were a’ight — maybe they could stand to have been a little more firm. The citrus-​mint dressing served on the mixed greens it came with had a sharp, but pleasant citrus tang, but I couldn’t detect any mint.
Service was very friendly and attentive. We were seated outside and after putting in our drink orders a guy at another table looked up from his book and advised us that he was Wine Down’s chef and they had a quiche on special that night that wasn’t featured on the menu. Very helpful!
If you and a guest show up for dinner you can drop a dime or two (x 400 or so), but during happy hour, which runs a little later than many others (from 4:30pm-6:30pm), you can get some great wine, at-​least mediocre beer, and better than average food in a cozy and romantic, yet versatile little wine bar.

Goodness, it gets expensive. But the food was perfect the one time I went. There was also a guy playing jazz guitar standards. He could have departed from the first version of the fake book once or twice but chose to stick to the standards recognizable by all but the absolute philistines.
I’m not into wine, but I tried some of my gal’s, and it was pretty good. Definitely a good place to take a date. Expect a relaxed stay (read: it takes a while but it’s good).

Best burger in town… hand down! P. S. You can order 50 different glasses of wine by the glass.
Bonus points: The owner, Stuart, goes out of his way to make everyone feel welcome… and pours a heavy dose for a «taste»!

Short & sweet review of Happy Hour only. Great choice of $ 4 wine pours (the Cab and the Shiraz were delicious). Great $ 5 burger (with caramelized onions and Cajun aioli). Very friendly and attentive service. Homey atmosphere. A place I want to return to.

I have been to this place a few times now and each time I love it. Everything on the menu is great.
Happy hour is fantastic.
The staff is always friendly and the music is good too.
The atmosphere is so cozy I can really relax.
I will go again and bring more friends and family.
P. S. Try the laurelhurst burger!

You know those nights when you just want a quiet place that’s comfortable, has good food and is reasonably priced — when maybe you just want to relax, talk to some friends without shouting? Those nights are for wine down.
My friend and I needed to go somewhere to get some more work done after work and this was a perfect spot for us. The staff are really friendly and make you feel welcome. We had a few glasses of good wine and some good food at decent prices and had a good night.

We met with some new friends here for dinner. Having just found it by walking by, we thought we’d give it a try. The atmosphere was nice. It’s a smaller sized restaurant with what seemed to be a decent wine selection (I’m not much of a wine person so I can’t speak to that). There was live music (we were there on a Friday night) and the guy was really, really good. I think it was just a tad loud though, as it made conversation a little hard at times. I think that his skill made up for that though and we were happy. On top of that, the staff were very friendly, happy to help, and all around nice people.
As for the food, it was good, nothing amazing, but good. If anything, the prices were just a little high for quality of the food. That’s not to say it was bad, but I’d have been happier paying about $ 10/​plate rather than $ 15 – 20. From reading the other reviews, it sounds like this might be a great place for happy hour or maybe appetizers and drinks (but only beer and wine, no liquor or even soda or teas). From my experience, however, I’d say there are better places in the price range. It was good, but I’m probably not going back.

After leaving Navarre we walked the street finding some place that didn’t have Foie Gras. Finally walked into here and looked at their new menu which had foie gras removed from it so we decided to stay.
We had a lobster cake and polenta cake with two glasses of wine. The food was good and so was the wine. Most everything here on the happy hour menu was super cheap and looked good.
Overall was very happy with this place.

I drove down to Portland one weekend to see my sister and visit with a couple of old hometown friends. We were in charge of picking out a meeting place and decided to go to a wine bar. We were both pretty clueless about what Portland had to offer in this area so we turned to Unilocal.Wine Down had some good reviews so we decided to head over.
When we walked in the waiter asked us if we had reservations, I cringed on the inside and said no and he said no problem. Whew.
We ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and a couple of small plates. The baked brie dip was creamy and awesome, but the best thing was the quinoa cakes. I love quinoa but had never heard of anything like this. It’s basically quinoa held together by veggies and cheese. The waiter told us it was a 2 – 3 day process to make these. If I could eat those everyday I would. They’re topped with a really nice gravy/​sauce.
I was also a big fan of the atmosphere. It was very mellow and warm.
I will be back again for sure.

Any port in a storm, I always say…
I was caught in a deluge this afternoon. Isn’t it still summer? It was dumping rain and I was caught out on the streets of Portland without an umbrella.
Ken’s, Navarre, SMUT and Masu are all closed. Forget appearances, I take off my heels and start running down 28^th laughing hysterically. Finally, across the street I see a door open and run into Wine Down.
I look like something the cat spit out and then dragged in. The server was so nice and ran to turn on the fireplace and fetched me drink and food menus. I had a ball warming up and enjoying happy hour. There is a choice of several wines for $ 4/​glass and reduced prices on food items. I chose a Spanish rose and curled up by the fireplace.
But that was way too quiet, so after I warmed up a bit I grabbed my wine and headed back to the bar for some conversation. The staff was funny and sarcastic and I completely forgot about my soggy feet.

From all the reviews, it looks like the food is really good. However, my partner and I had already eaten, and were just looking for some dessert or snacks while we sipped a glass of wine. As far as small bites? Non existent. They did have some desserts to choose from, but nothing sounded very good, and by the looks of the dessert case, it looked store bought. Could be wrong, but hey, the dessert shouldn’t be the main focus, right?
On to the wine… I would have loved to seen some flights, or maybe a smaller pour for a lesser price so we could taste a few things. For glass prices, they were on par with most restaurants, but the two we ordered just weren’t very good. And at $ 10/​glass, I wasn’t tempted to try any more than that.
I would go back to maybe try their dinner, but not hurrying to get back anytime soon.

I have been agonizing over this review all weekend. I just couldn’t decide whether to give it a 4 or a 5. Here’s why:
We showed up on a Friday night and the place was crowded but not so much that we had to wait. I guess we showed up right on time. We were greeted cheerfully by the manager and seated at a nice table right in front of the guy quietly playing Spanish guitar. Low lights, cozy, fireplace, Spanish guitar… I would say romantic but that wasn’t the vibe, it was somewhere close to there, but a tad on the «having wine with friends» vibe as well.
The wine list is not huge for being a place called Wine Down, but the selection is varied across the spectrum, and the prices are not pretentious. We got an excellent super Tuscan for $ 40. For a wine bar, that’s more than reasonable.
The dishes on the menu looked divine, and we had a hard time choosing what to order. Unfortunately, there were really no vegan options except the special soup (Hot n Sour) and the salad with pomegranate vinaigrette (minus the fresh mozz slice). They did have a couple of vegetarian options, one of which is the polenta, quinoa, and asiago cakes served with a red pepper coulis over garlic mashers with broccolini. The nifty thing about their menu is that they offer the items a la carte, so if you were just there for some snacks, you could skip the broccolini and mashers and save yourself $ 4.
The salad noted above was quite good. The dressing was a sweet, tart, viinaigrette, the lettuce was fresh, the house-​pickled cukes were tasty, and the pickled onions and tomato were quite good. Yum.
The above-​referenced polenta cakes were a tad on the bland side. I enjoyed them much more than my wife did.
I ordered the gnocchi with bacon, caramelized onions, hazelnuts, balsamic reduction, and sage in a marsala butter sauce. WOW WOW WOW. That was the hit of the night, for sure. Such an amazing combination of flavors, I had never consumed anything quite like it. It was so rich in intense flavors, one after the other cascading over the tongue, but it was not rich in a ‘heavy-​cream-​sauce’ sense. Both of us were floored. I will definitely be returning for this dish.
The service was fantastic. I haven’t seen service that good since the last time I was at Higgins. This guy was so on point with everything. It was the kind of service that makes you take note of how well you are being treated. To have service that rises above the distractions of the delicious food and wine, and the great atmosphere, you know you’re doing it right. I watched the chef come out and go to each and every table and ask them how their food was… for feedback, etc. Awesome.
So why would I consider giving only 4 stars? Well, having only tried 2 dishes, with one being more of a 4-​star quality than 5 (the polenta cakes), I was hesitant to just bust out 5-​stars nonchalantly. For all I know, the gnocchi could be the transcendent stand out entrée at this place, and the rest could be mediocre. After watching all the other dishes come out, and reminding myself how totally awesome the service and environment was, I must say, I should not have hesitated. This place deserves the stars. I will definitely come back to sample the menu some more.

This is a wonderful restaurant. The food is delicious, the staff helpful, and the wine is fantastic!
I have found that is my favorite place to dine alone in Portland. They have a welcoming bar, with only about six or seven seats, where you can talk to the owner about wine or whatever comes to your mind. The staff is friendly and it rubs off on the other patrons sitting beside you. Every time I have been by myself there, I always am invited into one conversation or another. But, no one bugs you if you just want to read a book and enjoy a glass of wine! It is ideal.