The new bottle shop has a great feeling as soon as you walk in and always you will be greeted and…read morehave the assistance of their welcoming staff ....

Awesome local beer selection and super friendly owners/staff. Always great New England IPA…read morerecommendations too

Great selection, warm and knowledgeable team that always has great recommendations. Both locations…read moreare wonderful.

I wish DC had a Wine Thief! We stopped by to grab some wine bottles as a thank you gift for…read morefriends. They had recommendations for exactly what we were looking for, and in multiple price ranges. They also beautifully gift-wrapped the bottles if asked! We glanced around a bit while they were being wrapped and the gentleman manning the store was able to answer all of our questions, and with honesty. There's more than wine -- we had our eyes on some local craft beer and some botanical gins. Next time :) Oh, and the wine was an absolute hit with our gift recipients!

Very very professional, friendly, and courteous service always greets me with a smile, pleasant…read moreatmosphere clean store

Always friendly, and I didn't realize how good the wine selection and advice was until other stores…read morestarted letting me down. He also sources specialty beers like heady topper and expanded his stouts and brown ales after I asked. Beer wine or liquor, this is the best shop in new haven

It was a pleasure talking to the store owner. He was very informative and helpful in shooting wine…read moreoptions. They offer 12 bottles for $90 which is amazing. If you haven't been here yet, what are you waiting on?

Good: - Friendly owner. Helped me find what I was looking…read morefor (Wine and Prosecco) and asked if I wanted chilled ones. Also, cleared my confusion about the store hours (detailed in the next point). - Opens at 8AM according to Yelp, and 9AM according to Google. I asked the owner about it and he said that - usually he opens the store at 8 AM to load stuff and he allows customers to walk in and shop. So, my understanding is that the store would definitely be open at 9AM but you can call after 8AM to check if it is open. Could be better: - I felt that the collection could be better. I couldn't find 4 packs of wine. - Parking space is limited. 3-4 street parking spots.

Cute store and good selection of wines and beers. They have several very fancy wines too.read more

I specifically went to La Bella Vita in hopes that they would be able to provide a better…read morerecommendation and selection than a larger wine shop. While the store itself was really cute, their help was not very...helpful. When asked the difference between two sauvignon blancs, the guy said "One is from New Zealand and one is from California." Yeah, cool, dude. I can read the label too, but what's the difference in taste? "I haven't tried them, but this one is popular." Repeat same scenario for an earthy red recommendation. Super disappointing and I probably would have been better off going to a big store and spending less money. I prefer shopping smaller, local stores, but this is one shop I won't be returning to.

This is a perfectly adequate small liquor shop. I wanted the simplest possible thing -- Maker's…read moreMark 750 ml -- and the counter dude was very pleasant about getting it for me. If' I'd been there for wine, I'd probably have a lot more to say, but I wanted a very popular size of a very popular liquor, and they had it. It was $45; I don't know what Connecticut liquor taxes or even prices in New Haven are like generally, so I can't judge the price. I was the only customer at the time. It was cramped. Decor was mostly bottles of wine. I used Yelp to find it and all of the reviews are super old and together they were a mixed bag, so I wanted to say I had a satisfactory experience.

Don't let this store's somewhat shady exterior scare you away! It's run by two of the nicest…read moreguys--who are always there and always willing to help you pick something out. Although Gag's has got a somewhat limited selection, it's well stocked enough with all the essentials, as well as chilled bottles of white wine and cases/six packs of beer for those on-the-way party pick-ups. Convenient, friendly, and as cheap as anywhere else. What else could you ask for?

Large selection of everything wine and spirit. Clean and…read morewell organized. Great customer service. Competitive prices.

Incredibly unfriendly . Will not go back . Silverbrook in Orange is sooo much better . Guy could…read morenot be bothered to help me.

Open on Easter. I've ordered delivery 3 times…read more Prompt and friendly. I totally recommend. Open on a holiday. Can't beat it. They closed at 6 today.

This is probably the largest liquor store in New Haven proper. I only really come here for alcohol…read moreI can't find at Total Wine, but it's pretty well stocked, if a bit overpriced, particularly for liquor.

On a recent visit to New Haven to see an exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art, we hoped to…read morehave dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (Barcelona Wine Bar), but they were fully booked with a Yale event. In a display of restaurant solidarity , they recommended that we try Vinas Wine & Tapas. As it turned out, we have a NEW favorite in New Haven! We arrived a bit early and were cheerfully greeted by Mike G, our server. The atmosphere was welcoming and relatively quiet, since their musical offering does not start as early as our 5:00-7:00 PM time slot on a Tuesday. We had asked for the waiter Christian because he had been mentioned in several of the Yelp reviews, but Mike proved that the service compliments should go to everyone. First, the tapas: We enjoyed all five of the tapas we chose. The "Calamares" were lightly battered and crispy. The Vinas salad was fresh, with tomatoes, cheese, corn, and croutons. The pork belly was delicious and more meaty than expected . The oyster mushrooms were presented with onion crisps. The baked birria empanada was stuffed with brisket style beef. Each of these "courses" was a unique delight to the palate, and for me and my partner, it was completely satisfying. In keeping with the spirit of a "wine bar," Vinas offered a flight of 4 wines in 3 ounce glasses, and after hearing about our food choices and wine preferences, Mike chose the wines for us, giving us a chance to taste some less familiar offerings. We had the Felino Malbec 2024 (Argentina), which became our favorite for its full-bodied and deep flavor. Our second wine was a unique Don Abel (private label) from Wallingford CT, made by one of the relatives of the owner, specially for Vinas. This one reminded us of the local wines one might receive in a B&B in the Loire Valley in France. The final two wines were both from Chile: Reserva Carmenere 2023 and Cabernet Sauvignon Marques de Casa Concha 2022. Both were excellent wines. It was great fun to have Mike choose the wines for us, and we really enjoyed the variety that the flight offerings gave to us. Of course, we had to try a dessert, and Mike recommended the Toffee Cake. We had heard that the owner claimed that some people cried with joy after eating it. Although we restrained ourselves, we had to agree that this was an extraordinary conclusion to a fabulous meal. Overall, this was a great experience for us, and we heartily recommend Vinas Wine Bar and Tapas for a relaxing and welcoming dinner. Some reviews I had read suggested that the portions were too small for the price. I have to disagree. My partner and I love food, and this was plenty. And the price was reasonable. Including tip and tax, we spent about $75 each.

We stopped in for apps on a Saturday afternoon. We ordered a glass of wine, ceviche, and skewers…read more We sat at the bar and the bartender was very friendly, full of energy, and efficient. The ceviche was excellent, everything was cooked throughout by the citrus. The portion size is small for $19 and it could have used a side of bread or tortillas to soak up the delicious citrus based broth. The skewers were also excellent. They were cooked perfectly, super tender, juicy and flavorful. They cooked them with a seasoning and had a delicious chimi on top.