The Wine Bar

I would have liked to tried this place, but before midnight, on a saturday, apparently they decided to close for the night.
Many apologies from the doorman and some rubbish about a change of ownership, or management, or some such thing.
They have a bench outside for those who choose to smoke.

Great spot on Polk. Found it on accident while making my way down the street with a friend from LA. We had no idea what to expect — which could be the reason why we were so pleasantly surprised?
Insider note: Even though there is not a patio — there are couches inside by the window. When it is warm they open the windows and you can sip wine, in the sun, on a couch (small print: in the evening — when the the angles are right).

This place is the polar opposite of Amelie, which is weird because they’re just a few blocks away from each other. Laidback and friendly neighborhoody vibe here versus we’re dressed up and having girl’s night at Amelie.
I love that they were a lot less crowded and quieter than Amelie. The wine selection was good and the pours generous. The cheese plate was a pretty extensive spread with jam, bread, crackers, chocolate covered raisins, and pistachios.
I did not experience the wretched service that some other people did, but then my date ordered and procured my drinks so I’m not entirely sure how that exchange went.
If I was in the neighborhood and someone wanted to go to a wine bar, I’d probably suggest the Wine Bar over Amelie for the ambiance and the smaller crowds, but if they were really into their wines, I’d take them to Amelie for the selection.

Much more laidback (and less crowded) than Amelie.
Quirky décor, that’s also kind of cool.
The owners seem nice, but definitely not approachable if curious about the wines.
Mildly interesting selections, though a bottle of wine at ~$ 40 + free a plate of cheese seems like a good deal.
$ 5 Death-​by-​Sangria? Utterly disgusting. And yep, lived up to its name after about half a glass. Quite possibly the worst I’ve tasted.
If not in my immediate neighborhood I probably wouldn’t bother visiting again, but since it is, maybe so. Just definitely not for the sangria.

At first I thought the idea of a dive like wine bar would be fun… WRONG
My favorite thing about a dive bar, is that the bartenders are super friendly, and the drinks are super cheap. While The Wine Bar has the look of a dive bar, it most definitely lacks in the other areas.
The wine selection isn’t very exciting, and is WAY expensive for the location. dive bar = cheap drinks remember!
The staff? The bartender we had was a complete space cadet, he forgot we ordered some cheese, and when we went to close our tab had no idea what we ordered. the only plus side was he charged us 25 bucks.
When it comes to a wine bar this place lacks the atmosphere. I’m not really sure what they are all about, it seems random. i can’t place it… but its a complete disaster.

A-​OK is right Unilocal.this place is just. A-​OK.
if you want something more upscale go to Amelie down the street. but if youre looking for a funkier wine bar that also serves PBR in a glass and chocolate milk, this is the spot!
small wine menu that’s constantly changing. +
aloof bartender. -
heavy-​handed pours. +
cheese plate. + {cheese is already pre-​cut and stored under the bar. kinda weird, but i guess it makes it even a more of a no-​brainer task… however, the mentioned aloof bartender still had a really difficult time remembering which three cheeses we wanted, or the fig spread that was supposed to come with it, or any pistachios we could actually open}.
Pac-​Man in the back of the bar. +
funky shit all over the walls. +/​-​
the closest wine bar to my house. ++
and the fact that they got busted last month for serving alcohol after hours [see:
] is alright with me. +/-

Like most people living in San Francisco, I love wine. And with so many wine bars to choose from, we have the luxury of not visiting those that are less than adequate. The Wine Bar is one of those.
I have actually been here twice. There’s nothing glaringly wrong with the place, but there’s really nothing right about it, either. It’s small with few places to sit, the wine selection is nothing special, and the bartenders and managers are totally aloof and inattentive to patrons. The prices are comparable to any other wine bar, I suppose, but the selection is sub par. The one redeeming quality is the cheese selection, which is surprisingly good.
Although this place isn’t terrible, it’s not great, either, and I would recommend you head down the street to Amelie instead.

This place reeks of snobbery. The wine is ridiculously overpriced. Honestly, what is the point of having «bartenders» there when there is only wine and bottled beer served? Why not put the wine in a tap and have it be self-​serve?
The inner décor tries too hard to be… something. That is all. Can’t really explain it. It just tries… and it fails.
I’ll never go back.

I used to go to this bar quite a bit, not for any other reason than it was the closest bar to my house…
I will NEVER step foot inside again. The owner of this place is a GIANT ass and treats his customers and staff horribly. Even in a recession this guy can’t find people willing to work for him. And can someone PLEASE tell him to stop wearing headbands… its just weird.
Paying for wine here… is putting $$$ in the pocket of an asshole… sorry just can’t do that.

Walking in the place it only had a few people in it. After an hour or so the place was very, very busy. They have an ok wine selection, an eclectic beer selection and cheese platters. I saw a lot of Chimay being served and several others whose names have escaped me.
I started with a Chilean Pinot and ended up drinking champagne. Music was good and loud and the people working that night were nice. I would come back here again if in the area.

5 of us stopped in here late afternoon 2 Saturday’s ago. We started off at the bar ordering some cheese plates and wine. The bartender was really good about giving us a taster before pouring us a glass of wine. Many times she just came by a poured us tasters of something out of no where. Hat’s off to great service. Later we moved to the front area to play some cards. It was a great relaxing late Saturday afternoon.
The wines were a lot of brands I’ve never beard of before. I was good to try new things. They also offer a great deal if you wanted to get a bottle to go. It was ½ off the in bar bottle price. So one of the Zin’s we liked was only $ 20 to get a bottle to go.
They had a good selection of beer like Chimay Blue and Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA also.

For a few months now, my friend Beau and I like to once in a while get together and have «wine dates», where we act all snobby, bitch about life and play Katamari on the iPhone. See? TOTAL snobs.
You know that a bar is going to have a good impact on you when, even after you’ve had a really long day and you feel terrible, you’re not wearing any makeup and overall your self esteem is pretty low, and the cute guy you mistakenly make eye contact with outside smiles back at you and was sitting next to you at the counter.
After a delicious cheese plate, three glasses of wine and a new friend + great conversation with Beau later, I’m making a note that should I ever figure out the mess of a bus system that is San Francisco, when I move here it’ll be my «go-​to» place from then on.
Also, the bartender is hilarious. Even when he said if I ordered a cheese plate he’d hate me forever. (It’s really hard to get jokes when you’ve been working almost 12 hours :|)

Mercury.
The chemical element of atomic number 80, a heavy silvery-​white metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures.
I am really thinking and worry about mercury in fish. Especially large fish like Tuna.
There is nothing safe about eatin’ raw salt water fish.
It’s very true. We all know that.
Fine.
So that I will go to Hell for sure because I am raw salt water fish eater.
Well, a female bartender was there when we finally stopped by there for drink.
She was very nice, charming, chatty and knows a lot for wine, but she is the Mercury sickening survivor.
Oh Man, her story was SO REAL.
I could NOT say anything about Sushi.
We were just listening to her story like kids feel really sorry because got caught for shop lift or something.
It was such a nice weekend late afternoon.
And what a charming wine bar on Polk Street.
We liked it.
We’ll come back here again.
But,
People,
Don’t eat canned Tuna.
No more Tuna sandwich.
That is the message from the bartender.
Sushi? Sashimi?
FXXX, better not.
Me?
Well,
I am going to Hell for sure.
And i don’t mind that.

Stephy S really knows how to pick stellar SF places to hang out.
The Wine Bar was the post-​work meet up spot for a bunch of us Unilocalers, and what started off with a group of eight quickly turned in to a herd of more than 50
employees taking over the bar.
Walking in, The Wine Bar had a different twist to the «wine bar,» bohemian concept that I’m used to. It was more of a dive wine bar. I spotted a Ms. Pac Man arcade game, black and white movie playing on an old tv, an old heater, long bar, a few seating areas, whiskey barrels as tables … and old ‘90s rock tunes playing in the background.
The wine and cheese menu had a good mix of my favorites, and prices per glass started around $ 8 (you’ll save $ 2 on any glass during happy hour). Melody L, Tiffany C and I went for a Champagne, and that bottle was gone before we could say «Champagne-​o-​saurus.» (That’s an inside joke, folks.)
My reasoning for deducting a few stars, despite liking the atmosphere and friendly service, goes as follows: credit card machine went out, so I had to walk down the street to find an ATM, and … they played Creed at one point. Yes, Creed.

My Dearest Ridiculously Delicious Denny Duket From Grey’s Anatomy Looking Dude I Met Here Last Friday Night Who Never Called…
Why? :)
Alright, enough of that. I really enjoyed this bar. It was the perfect throw back to the early 90’s by way of the music selection and the perfect reasonably priced wine bar that offered up a few glasses (bottles) of an amazingly tasty Syrah.
The décor was comfy and the people, well, some of the people were super duper hot, but clearly cursed by today’s economy and due to a probably panicked attempt for cash were forced to sell their phones to the highest bidder and as a result couldn’t call a young lady after making a date with her for Sunday afternoon. Damn finances! (haha)
Other than that, yes, I will be back to this wine bar for sure. Before discovering this place I was a loyal devotee of Amelie, but now, hmm, looks like the girl has options. Sweet!

Wine Bar is a dive bar in disguise. I think they are confused. The wine’s are not half bad but the atmosphere is lacking. The clientele is different from what you would normally see at wine bars… nose in the air, let me swirl my wine and pretend I am classy types. Also you typically find more woman at wine bars but this place was definitely male dominated.
Pick up line #1: [Bald 40 year old British dude] «Hello, I am from London on holiday. Where do you suggest I go for a good time?»
Pick up line #2: [Mid 30s FiDi Investment Analyst probably sipping on a glass of Yellow Tail] «So you girls come here often?»
Bleh. I recommend going to Amelie down the street.

Post dinner on Polk St, we were looking for a quick and casual place to grab drinks.
Wine Bar is funny because it’s part dive bar (or attempting to be divey), sports bar (TVs mounted in the corners) and wine bar (duh). I suppose that lucky for us, we were looking for a casual place to take in some Olympics coverage. We ordered a couple of glasses of wine, everything is pretty reasonably priced, especially given the heavy-​handed pours. The bar is small and cozy with a fair amount of seating.
A good spot to meet up with a couple of friends (probably not great for bigger groups).

I was an Elite event virgin. Imagine me, shaking with trepidation at what was to come, knowing that it is sure to be thoroughly satisfying but that it might be a little painful at first.
Thankfully, Hotter than George Clooney, Sexier than Brad Pitt Beau™ (that’s his full name now, you should have seen it on his sticker) offered to meet me beforehand to loosen me up, i.e. get me well on my way to being drunk with a glass of wine.
I’m not a wine snob. I might think I’m better than you are when it comes to picking my wine, but it’s just my insecurity. Ignore it.
This elitist mentality lead me to pick my wine by it’s name– punto. It was the coolest sounding red wine on there, and since Hotter than George Clooney, Sexier than Brad Pitt Beau™ was treating me, I didn’t want to be a bitch and get anything too expensive. This also opened up a fascinating conversation about Argentina… which I can’t really recall because I ingested other libations after my glass of wine
I would have to disagree with some of the other reviews– I found the décor to be inviting, and the bartender, although seemingly mute, was very quick on the draw. There were also a plethora of lovely ladies, making Hotter than George Clooney, Sexier than Brad Pitt Beau™ the only guy in there. Score!
Extra invisible star for the fact that the parking gods were smiling on me and gave me a place right out front.

This is a wine bar, so… where is the wine? If you can imagine a cross between a dive bar and wine bar this would be it. Maybe it was because they were playing a classy episode of cheerleading championships on TV, but there were an inordinate amount of guys here (read: sausage-​fest).
The highlight of my evening was watching two guys fail miserably at picking up two blondes. The conversation ended less than 5 min later with one girl saying, «Attractive, very attractive…» in the most sardonic tone ever, and the two guys skulking off into another corner dejectedly. Plus 1 star for providing live entertainment.

Came here tonight with a GF after stuffing our faces with Nick’s Crispy Tacos…
A one star review would seem a bit harsh…(oooof) but I really was not impress with the place. There décor was nice but there was no ambiance. The wine list was unimpressive – I go to a wine bar hoping to extend my knowledge and taste of wine. not to find wines I stock in m cupboard (really? The Conn Creek I buy at TJ is listed for $ 12 a glass?)
Also, the guy at the other side of bar enjoying his Chinese take out with two beers made the place feel more like the Big Foot Lodge than a wine bar…