Lately I’ve been having trouble finding eateries in Vancouver that have great staff, with great food and great drinks, and that are great settings for conversation. I mean you can find one or two of those qualities in a restaurant, maybe three if you’re lucky, but all four?… that’s going to be pretty hard to do.
I find the city a bit stuck up to be honest when it comes to restaurants or bars. Every place is trying to be trendier than the other and I find that the establishments are so focused on this image that good food, drinks and service gets lost in the mix a bit. There are a few hidden gems out there I’m sure that offer great settings, attentive and knowledgeable service, and awesome food and drinks but the majority get you in and get you out like you are on some sort of production line: drink? check! appetizer? check! wine? check! main course? check! dessert? check! check? check!
However, I did recently find a place where the wine and food are great, the staff is awesome, the setting is intimate, and you can stay as long as you like without feeling pressure that someone is waiting to take your table… but it’s in San Francisco.
When my wife and I were in San Fran in April we had read on Yelp a great review about a place called The Hidden Vine, a cheese and wine bar by Union Square. It’s a bit hard to find as you enter through an ally (if you’ve read my post on Underground Restaurants you’ll know I love these secret places), but I think that’s what makes it cool is that if you didn’t know it was there you would just walk right past, so only the dedicated know about it.
The Hidden Vine - From Toro E. on Yelp.com
You walk down the stairs to the basement and into a small room which looks like a library that would be in a 19th century style home. There are couches and high bar style tables with room for about 35, now that’s intimate!
My wife and I love wine but by no means are we connoisseurs, thankfully our waiter (who also tends the bar) was very knowledgeable about all the different types without being all high and mighty like those wine people can get. He recommended we do the taster menu so my wife got 4 flights of different whites from the Nappa Valley region and I did the reds which where from their “Region of the Month: Spain”. The waiter explained each wine and what order we should drink them in and of course they where all fantastic. We also ordered a platter which had a huge variety of cheeses on it as well as chutneys and a baguette. We honestly sat there for about 3 hours, never felt pressure to leave, and we were able to have a conversation with each other without yelling over music (I instantly got 20 years older after writing that sentence).
Not only were the food and drinks awesome but it was pretty inexpensive as well. So if you are ever in San Francisco and want to feel like you’ve walked into a secret underground lounge where you can just hang out, read a book or have a great conversation while getting loaded off of 4 flights of wine give The Hidden Vine a shot.
Cheers!
jordenf
Filed under: day in the life, food, travel | Tagged: cheese, san francisco, the hidden vine, underground restaurants, wine bar, yelp
