As a four-time visitor, I've found that while the food here is consistently flavorful and inventive, the value proposition remains a mixed bag. This is particularly true for the wine program; for a venue with such a massive retail selection, the curated menu feels surprisingly stingy. I had high hopes for their Cheese Board, but unfortunately, it mirrored my general experience here: great flavors, questionable value. The Highlights: The presentation on the bamboo board is lovely. The bread was exceptionally fresh and flavorful, and the fruit accompaniments; Persimmon, guava, grapes, and strawberry, offered a bright, acidic contrast that paired well with the selections. The Letdowns: Zero Transparency: The cheeses weren't listed on the menu, and the server didn't offer any information on what was being served. Half the joy of a professional board is the "story" knowing the origins and profiles. We were left entirely in the dark. The "Bread-to-Cheese" Ratio: Most of the selections were hard cheeses, and the two soft cheeses provided were literally the size of a quarter. Every sample was sliced remarkably thin. While the bread portion was generous, there wasn't nearly enough cheese or fruit to sustain it. It felt less like a cheese service and more like a bread board with a cheese garnish. Bottom Line: The Crush Pad clearly has access to great ingredients, but the portions should be more than "tastes." I want to love this place, but the value for the price just isn't quite there. read more

Crush Pad Wines - Cheese Board - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

There is elegance and comfort to be found in Crush Pad Wines, in the downtown mall in Charlottesville. They have an excellent wine selection with a knowledgeable staff to back up any questions you ask. I did not expect there to be a full kitchen, and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food we ordered. The Mushroom Crostinis in particular played into the refined vibe the entire bar was giving off. A fun stop for a quick glass of wine, or a seated meal that will be accompanied by excellent taste. read more

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The perfect chill spot to hang out in the downtown Charlottesville area. They offer a dog friendly patio, which I love. The wine selection is quite large, there's something for everyone - they even have non alcoholic wines and beverages. The service was great, he was very knowledgeable and hopeful in helping us select our wines. Would love to come back with our dog. read more

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I've been to crush pad a few times and I've found them to be very accommodating. They let you work in the back booths during the day and are quite friendly. They don't rush you out even if you're a single person which I find a lot of restaurants typically do. Their bathroom is also always clean. I have enjoyed their wine selection and their cheese plates which they change fairly often. I've never had a bad experience read more

Gorgeous wine bar that also sells wine. Inside you feel like you're inside a beautiful wine cave and outside you get to dine alfresco and see the action at the Mall. The wine was delicious, the service was good, we had a little toddler and they were so kind to help us move the seating so that we could fit the stroller and eat together. Toddler didn't stay put, but at least they can easily walk around on the Mall while everyone eats! Win!! read more

I absolutely LOVE Crush Pad and have so many amazing things to say about this place!!!!! They have a massive selection of wines. We had a bottle of sparkling rose which was recommended by our waiter. The staff here are so friendly and helpful. Every time I've been here I've had such a lovely experience. They have a selection of appetizers and shareable plates that they make in house which are delicious. We had a charcuterie board and the spinach and artichoke dip. I loved everything! After our appetizers, we were able to order pasta to be delivered to the restaurant from Luce which was fun! They have a menu of food you can order to be prepared for Crush Pad specifically. The cacio e pepe was such a treat! Besides the food, Crush Pad's ambiance is a major highlight. The wine bottles, large bar, dark wood, and candles are sophisticated and beautiful. This is a great space for a private party. I love, love, love Crush Pad and would recommend this place a thousand times over! read more

Crush Pad Wines - Meat and cheese board and spinach artichoke dip - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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What an excellent selection of fine wines and incredibly knowledgeable staff! We stopped in briefly with some friends and were impressed!! I also love the class and elegance of this place. Somehow managing to be casual and formal all at the same time. A great spot for a date! read more

Wasn't sure whether to leave this review at Crush Pad or Luce so I left it for both - keep reading to see why: I normally would never leave a 1 star review anywhere but I found the one reason that I would. A friend and I went to Crush Pad recently and after 4pm we learned that you can order Luce which seemed like an amazing idea. We each had a glass of wine and shared a cheese board then ordered our own dish from Luce. I ordered my go to, the Bolo, and my friend ordered the margherita pizza, as she is vegetarian. The food tasted great, however towards the end of the meal I started to feel unwell and ended up having food poisoning for the next 3 days. I'm sure it was from the Bolo as this is the only item we did not share. I don't know if the meat was bad, if the prep was unsanitary or what but I won't be back to Crush Pad or Luce probably ever. read more

Stopped in for diner and a drink. Great vibe and food. The wine selection is fantastic. I will be returning regularly. read more

Crush Pad Wines - Cacio e Pepe - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Wine and pasta is one of my simple pleasures so it's strange that it's taken me so long to visit here. Came here to catch up with a friend. The inside space is nice. I was happy with the Chardonnay and Cacio I ordered. You can order food from Luce and they plate it here. Crush Pad is an expensive but good spot for casual glasses of wine and light fare. In addition, the owner is helpful with finding a good bottle of wine to fit your needs. read more

Crush Pad Wines - Luce Cacio - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Chill vibe and great staff. After saying we wanted a Red Blend or Cabernet, Wes picked out a bottle for me and my friend in 3 sec and it was perfect. Will defintely come back next time I'm in town and won't to order from Luce! read more

Crush Pad Wines - Wine - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

This is a wine bar in the heart of Virginia's wine country and the menu only offers 2 VA wine options? Sounds kinda weak to me. What happened to supporting local? Okay, so if they don't have local wines, then is the rest of their wine awesome? No and that's where they lost me. My fiance and I tried 2 reds - a pinot noir and a cab and both were OK but not anything special you'd expect from a bar specializing in wine. They had one of the most impressive vegetable (vegan) boards I've seen as an appetizer on this menu but since we didn't love the wine, we didn't stay to order it. Service is good. Polite and not pushy. They have an outdoor patio which is a great spot for people-watching. read more

Crush Pad Wines - Dog friendly dog tasting wine bar - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Service.... No so great 3 of us sat there and weren't asked once if we needed anything. We had intended to have a couple of drinks and a snack, but unfortunately after no one even asked us if we needed anything -repeatedly- we just asked to close our check and moved on to Tillmans. read more

I love Crush Pad Wines, the owners, the food, the wine, the establishment - Do you get the point??? Upon entering the Crush Pad we were met with love from Rachel and Vincent...a wine hug if you will. My senses were on overload from the retail wine shop, wall art, food offerings, lonnnng bar/separate seating areas and wine knowledge from the awesome certified sommelier Rachel G.! We had a few small plates amongst us 4 and some items from the Luce menu that were perfection. You can order Luce pizza, pasta and salads using a qr code on the bottom of Crush Pad Wines small plate menu. Pay online and it will be delivered right to your seat - plated with greatness in a timely manner. I could easily sit back and eat plate after plate of the Cacio e Pepe. Talk about waist line gains!! I'll be back for more. The wine pairings that we were setup with were spot on, thanks Rachel. CPW has well priced options and options for everyone. One last thing, you have to visit the bathroom. :) read more

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I had heard a bit about the place but just made it in for the first time. I can't believe it took me as long as it did, what a GEM. The concept of this place is really cool - it's essentially a bottle shop where you can choose a bottle of wine at retail price and get great service while drinking it for an additional $15 corkage fee. This model is not new to Charlottesville (beer run implements the same for beers not on tap) and for anyone who knows the service industry, a flat $15 is not much to pay when most wines at restaurants are marked up 2-3x the retail price (if you don't like the corkage fee, take to go and drink at home!) Vincent helped us select two phenomenal wines. We were looking in the $35 range, and he first found us an excellent Chianti. We were looking back at the shelves after and saw a cab franc from Argentina which sounds interesting and different. But, upon asking him, he brought us to a French cab Franc instead that was seriously better than any I had had in Virginia. He was able to explain how the year it was produced there was a frost that killed 60% of the grapes and really impacted the flavor. Sort of a lesson in wine and great conversation all in one! We didn't try any of the food, but I loved that there were a few different options with in house snacks or ordering from a nearby pizza/pasta place and have it delivered right to the wine shop. My only tiny bit of constructive criticism was our water glasses could have used a few refills. But, they let us stay chatting 45 minute past closing and everyone was so wonderful I'll overlook it. Can't wait to be back! read more

Crush Pad Wines - Cab franc from France recommended by Vincent - excellent - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

This was lovely. A glass of rose and a shrimp cerveche with house made chips. And a book. And people watching along the Downtown Mall. read more

Crush Pad Wines - Shrimp Cerveche. Fresh and flavorful. - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I went out for a girls night with 2 adult friends. After ordering our pasta from Luce (the sister company of Crush Pads), we decided we also wanted some wine and went over to Crush Pads to enjoy a glass of wine. Surprisingly, the wait staff offered to plate our pasta from Luce for us, and we accepted. After probably a minute of entering the establishment and sitting down, we were rudely and abruptly confronted by the manager. The manager mentioned how UVA students in the past 5 days have been coming in and not ordering anything, and seemed to be accusing us doing the same thing. After mentioning that we were NOT UVA students, and do not know why the students were doing that, he continued to berate us asking why students would do such a thing. We let him know of our decision to come here because we wanted to get a glass of wine, yet he would not leave. After several minutes the manager finally left, no apology. We had just entered and sat down, and not yet even been offered a chance to order a glass of wine. When the waiter came, we did order wine as intended, but it felt extremely forced, rather than our initial desire to have a nice night out with friends. I am extremely displeased at the false accusations, and lack of acknowledgement of the confrontation from a manager. The wait staff was great; however, I am unsure if I will come back for fear of being falsely aggressively confronted by management (with no apology). read more

What a fun addition to the downtown mall! Stumbled upon Crush Pad the other night after dinner and was so impressed with the concept. So many amazing looking bottles for retail and wine on the menu at the bar by the glass. I enjoyed my glass and the bartenders were knowledgeable and friendly. Next time I want to order food from Luce there -- love that they are partnered. It is a great place and I can't wait to return. read more

Crush Pad Wines - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I always make sure to stop here when I'm town! I love the warm, comfortable atmosphere and we always receive exemplary service. I was very excited to bring my daughter here for the first time and she loved it, too! I know absolutely nothing about wine and tend to stick with what I know (Pinot Grigio and rose) and I sincerely appreciate the chill, no pressure vibe and excellent recommendations. I've never tried the food here but plan to in the near future. Great place! read more

Crush Pad Wines - a glass of wine on a bar - Wine Bars Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Are we invisible? Sat at the bar a good 10 minutes with no service. Angry general manager could have cared less if people were served or not. Take your money elsewhere. read more

Amazing service, amazing wine selection. Didn't have any food but we had a blast sitting at the wine bar and chatting. It's a very social place and is perfect inside for relaxing with friends. We enjoyed the atmosphere! read more

Had a wonderful evening with old friends... fantastic service, wonderful French Cab franc and the pasta from Luce, as well as Crush Pad's small plates gave us perfect options. We didn't want the evening to end!! read more

Nice place to drink some wine. My partner and I each ordered a glass of wine and were happy with our selections. We tried their cacio e pepe popcorn as well and thought it was quite tasty if perhaps a touch pricey a 4 dollars. I definitely will return to Crush Pad again! read more

Great wine and food. I don't love Luce (which you can order to Crush Pad), but the food they make in house is always good. Sometimes staff seems a little disorganized, but are helpful when you get their attention. read more

Started with the wait person leaving so quickly when I said "Chacuterie" that I had stop them later to continure to say that we wanted the 'Chef Special' one, not the regular one. When it came, my table mate and I looked at it and laughed. 4 slices of cheese and four portions of meat, bread, and a couple of large potato chips. Would it kill you to add a leaf of green or a condiment somewhere? After all the menu says "Plus Accoutrements - Just trust us"! The bread was enough to house 1/2 of the meat and cheese, but they graciously gave us more when asked. oh well, the Prosseco was good. read more

I was fully ready to give this place an amazing 5-star review until we received the bill. The atmosphere was great, the small menu choices were delightful, and ordering from Luce (a sister restaurant) to have pasta and pizza delivered was pretty fantastic. The server was very lovely, and helped as best she could. What was absolutely mind-boggling and enraging was the surprise $15 PER BOTTLE corkage fee that was placed on the check unbeknownst to us. Corkage fees were designed to allow people to bring a specialty wine themselves to a restaurant and allow the restaurant to be compensated for the wine service (and to make up lost revenue from a potential wine bottle sale). However when we walked in, there was no wine menu, and when we asked the staff they said "Oh you can pick a bottle of wine from the wall, or we have wine by the glass from the wines in the bucket." Without proper signage and the fact that we had four people in our party, it only made sense to get wine by the bottle. For a wine bar to charge a corkage fee for bottles they are already selling you, and not even have a menu with a disclaimer, it's shady and extremely distasteful. I'm surprised ABC is allowing them to do this practice, as a wine-industry member myself I am well versed in the Wine laws and corkage fees of Virginia. If they are trying to be a retail store- fine, but consider making a retail vs in-house wine list with pricing. At the minimum, the corkage fee per bottle you sell needs to be listed, highlighted, and stated to guests coming in as this is not a normal or good practice to have as a new restaurant/bar in town. read more

As an adult paying customer I was humiliated by the owner of this establishment who seemed insistent that myself and a group of coworkers were UVA students using this restaurant as "a cafeteria," because we had brought over our food from their sister company Luce. Despite planning to sit and enjoy a glass of wine, we were immediately and aggressively approached with this accusation. I feel disrespected and wish I could say I will be back but will not be. read more

We stopped in just to buy a bottle and we're greeted by a great selection and a very funny and helpful staff. If we had more time, we would have sat down and stayed a while. read more

Crush pad was recommended to us by a friend. We did stop in at 1pm for lunch & had a wonderful time. We returned that same day for dinner & brought a friend back with us. Unfortunately, everything went downhill from there. We ordered a bottle of bubbly & the cheese & charcuterie platter. We had to ask for plates & utensils but also an ice bucket. After we finished our charcuterie we were ready to order some more food & we asked the waitress to stop at our table. I don't know why she thought we were asking for the check. No one said anything about a check. We ordered our 2nd round of food. After waiting quite a while we realized our order had never been up in. When the owner finally saw we were rather perturbed he asked if everything was ok, we explained our concerns. Rather than to be apologetic about the delays & mixup, he gets an attitude like it's our fault & says "well you should be glad we're open"! As much as we liked the concept of this wine bar, I will never return unless I get an apology. read more

Great concept, poor execution. Great wine selection, unless you're looking for local wines. The food prepared on site is creative and delicious. Majority of the staff are knowledgeable, pleasant and engaging. The service is very European, lacking by American standards. If you're looking to spend a couple hundred dollars and be ignore, this is your place. read more

We had the BEST experience at crush pad. Kelsey was so kind and accommodating. Some of the best food and wine I have had! I can't wait to go back! read more

The servers are lovely. The owner and "management" behind the bar are jerks. An embarrassment to the staff and to us as paying customers who had to listen to the owner berating the staff. read more