I honestly hope this place will grow and do well- but our experience was subpar. We know the group behind this bar is strong, so there's hope but as it currently stands...meh. Truth be told- we left earlier than anticipated and went to another local wine bar where the food and service outshined this place by leaps and bounds. This list is in no particular order:
(1) Upon entering we were greeted by a very friendly door person. She checked our IDs and explained how it all worked. We were told that it was a seat yourself place but that it was bar service only. She showed us where to grab water and told us to enjoy.
(2) We sat at the bar and it became clear that the two female servers had never interacted with a human before. The male bartender who I think was also sorta in charge was slightly more human. Look, I get it...its Logan Square, you're young, you're hipster, you're too cool for school and this place is so totally below you, but at least fake it! I wouldn't say anything, except I could over hear them talking crap about other customers who were clearly enjoying themselves and causing no major issues.
(3) Now go over the number of employees I just mentioned above. 1 girl at the door, 2 girls and 1 guy behind the bar, as well as someone else who eventually took over for the door person. This place is tiny and does not need that many people scheduled all at once. Especially when there's no table service and working at this particular bar is waaaaay easier than other bars considering you're mostly only pouring wines. This place could operate with one person behind the bar, one person on the floor, and no door person (you can just card upon seating- it's not a club or a place I think many of the under 21 crowd is trying to sneak into anyways.) That staff will make more money, the company will reduce labor costs, and everyone wins. And no, you aren't "sacrificing service" or "running up ticket times" which is usually the excuses you hear when a place is over staffed. If 2 well trained people can't run that entire place, or at most 3....then you're in trouble.
(4) The bread/baguette- awful. Hard as a rock. I see another review mentioning the same issue. Hard bread can be great, but this was on the verge of breaking our teeth!
(5) The rest of the food was just okay. The liver mouse was maybe the highlight, but that's not saying much. The nduja sausage spread was a laughable size at $6.00. We love nduja and understand sourcing a quality version that won't drive your food costs up can be hard, but this was insulting. The rest of what we got was forgettable.
(6) The wines: our first round was good. Our second round was boring. I won't fault them for that. I'm sure the menu will be constantly rotating new stuff in which will appeal to many different tastes. It was nice to see stuff we haven't tried before.
(7) The space itself could use a little re-decorating. It currently has no personality other than "We like plants".
(8) No discussion on the wine, no questions asked, no suggestions, nothing they wanted to highlight as featured or new. There was literally nothing other than "What can I get for you?" And "Here you go". They were too busy talking with a friend at the bar, checking their cell phones, and talking to each other to try to and enhance the guest experience.
(9) Unless we missed it on the menu, there were no charcuterie boards offered, and no flights offered. I know- flights can be the bane of a wine bar's existence...but people like them and will buy them. It gives us a chance to try out various wines before purchasing a full glass. And having a cheese board, meat board, meat & cheese board, etc wouldn't hurt either.
Overall-it COULD be a great new addition to the neighborhood, but it needs a little tlc from ownership/management. read more