Cork And Co

Great recommendations and great service. Several visits here while on travel for work. The staff always seemed happy to see me and always had a new recommendation yo try.

One of my favorite places to visit when I want to just chill with a nice glass of wine and an awesome cheese plate. Not pretentious type environment and comfy seating. As with any downtown establishment, free parking is always hard to find but not impossible. Staff is very attentive and friendly. Never have had a bad visit to Cork & Co!

I’m torn on how to review the place… on one hand, its quiet and a good place to talk; so its great for a date. They even have cards with questions to ask each other, which can break the ice if your date isn’t exactly a Chatty Kathy. But at the same time, you may feel like its just you and the staff, and it feels a little empty (on one Friday night it was just us for 30 minutes, followed by one other table for the next hour), which can make the ambiance a little somber or lack energy. But don’t get me wrong, the staff was friendly, the location is ideal, and the wines were well priced, so I’m not sure why it was so quiet.
As such, if you want a quiet night with a few friends or a date, and don’t care about a lively environment or people watching, then this place is great. But if you want something a little more boisterous, Opa (which also has live music) and House Wine tends to be my favorites.

Loved it. Quiet. Nice selection. Friendly service. I will come back and have the 2012 Cusumano Nero D’Avola. This was an unexpected journey down memory lane. This wine made me think of a birthday dinner in Rome eating Sicilian food. The Malbec taster reminded me of China. Terrific.

It was pretty quiet when my husband and I came here for drinks in the evening, on a Friday. It is a pretty small wine bar with around six or so tables. We grabbed ourselves a small table near the back and the servers were both friendly and quick. We tried two different flights of wine (red and a white) and unfortunately, they had run out of a few varieties we would have liked to try. We were able to substitute any other wine for the missing ones, so not that big of a deal. We didn’t grab any food since we were heading out to dinner shortly afterwards, but they do offer some finger foods and paninis. It felt very intimate and I really enjoyed tasting the different wines. They had conversation cards on the table, which were fun to look at and answer. I really liked the overall ambiance of this place and would come back again to relax and have a nice glass of wine.

A nice little place to enjoy good wine & conversation. It’s very intimate, without being pretentious. The bar staff were very friendly and helpful. And if you’re not into wine, no worries… they have a nice selection of beers as well. If you’re looking for an alternative to a noisy bar full of «kids», look no further.

This is one of those reviews, where I recently was browsing some Unilocalsters Lists of favorite wine bars around Austin, and I was reading what they wrote about Cork and Company on Congress Ave. As I browsed the reviews, I thought «I’m sure I have wrote a review for them, I have been going there for years and love it.» But alas, after figuring out where my past reviews are listed ( Unilocal developers– you should add a link on a business page that links directly to a user’s review if you are logged in and it exists!), I never wrote one! So here it is– better late than never :)
(and if I find out later I did write a review long ago but could not find it because of Unilocal’s poor user interface and search capabilities, screw it !)
Cork and Company has been around Austin as a wine bar long before many of the other trendier wine bars came to town later. I love Cork & Co for so many reasons, I will create a bullet list as I have read marketing research that this type of copy format grabs people’s attention better and is easier to digest :) :
* Fantastic location. You can walk to so many other locations from here as a starting point. Jazz music? High quality Italian food? Dive bar? Salsa dancing? Warehouse district? Just stroll down Congress Ave on a warm summer’s evening? Yep it’s all walking distance!
* Plentiful parking. While recent construction in that area has limited the parking somewhat, there are plenty of lots close by to choose from. And once in a while I luck out and get rockstar parking on the street right out front! Am I the only one who gets excited about snagging great parking spots around town? :)
* Large selection. Individual bottles, or flights if you looking to explore new vintages. Only complaint is their Malbec selection is poor. They do have some beer selections there, but not sure why you would come here to order beer?
* Relaxed atmosphere. Not loud and obnoxious, comfy couches up front. I like that I can always find a seat. You can easily talk with each other.
* A great date place!
* friendly staff. Always check on you, but not pushy.
* Not over-​hyped. It is still amazing to me that I meet fellow wine lovers in Austin who have lived here many years and have never been here!
* It’s a good backup when Swift’s Attic is too crowded for seating :) (and I love that place too– not a dig!)
Cork & Company is a solid, high quality wine bar conveniently located in downtown Austin. Classy over trendy. I think it is pretty much the same design and layout as when I first visited many years ago, and I like that. I like visiting the new places popping up all around Austin as much as anyone else, but those nights where you just want to unwind, relax, start your evening early, or have good conversation without the trendy crowds and noise, go by and visit Cork & Co you will not be disappointed!

This is a GREAT gem tucked in the heart of downtown Austin’s hustle and bustle. About a month ago a friend and I had finished a great dinner at Roaring Fork with a couple of hours to kill before a movie. We wandered 6^th street looking for a place to have a quiet cocktail and chat. By complete accident we wandered 3 blocks over into Uncorked. Though we didn’t taste the appetizers, it was a great place to have a few glasses of wine. The staff was kind and attentive and the atmosphere was perfect.
For Halloween after an an early night of bar hopping we decided to return to Cork and Co in hopes of finding a place to sit that didn’t have music pounding through you. It didn’t disappoint. Several couples were scattered through the place. This is a great place.

Very nice, laid-​back, usually quiet wine place. Perfect for relaxing and leisurely conversation in the afternoon. Bartenders are nice and courteous.
On the down side, if it is a little busy, they do have a tendency to be slow with service (usually, there’s only one bartender to take care of the entire place: for both, drinks and food), so stock up on patience. On the up side, if you are in good company, and are having a good time, most likely, you won’t notice the lag in service.
The food is the usual wine bar fare, but it is always consistently good.
Overall, a very nice place to stop by and cool your heels if you are out and about in the downtown area.

This is a very warm and welcoming wine bar that serves generous glasses of wine in a relaxed atmosphere. They have a very nice variety of very good wines, and if I have any reservations about the place, it would be that I would like to see an even bigger selection of wines.
They have a daily happy hour from opening to about 7 pm even on Saturdays. And, the bartender was knowledgeable, very friendly and accommodating with special requests. They only have snacks and paninis; so, don’t go there looking for a dining experience as well.
It is definitely a place that we will frequent.

Great service, cute décor, good cheese, and yummy wine. Enjoyed my experience at Cork & Co and would recommend it to others.

Stopped in here for a quick glass of wine and nothing more. Happy with the service and the selection. Staff very knowledgable about the wines. There were a couple of groups in there for parties or something, and they were receiving some instruction via a guided wine tasting, which was nice.
I’d like to go back for some food and more wine. Will review later if/​when I get a chance.

This place could easily get 5 stars if they started doing dessert paninis with that panini press. Mmmm… a nutella banana panini = 5 stars.
This would be in addition to everything else I thoroughly enjoyed…
1. open late serving food until 1a.
2. cheeeeeeeeeeeeses
3. reasonably priced and indulgent (we had 4 cheeses, salami, and olives with bread and crackers for $ 24 — and it was plenty for 2 to share)
4. friendly, comfortable bar staff made me feel at home
Oh, yeah, and there’s wine too.
I was jealous of two ladies cozied up on the couch. Cork and Co was perfect for a late night wind down and I can’t wait to curl up on a couch for a quite afternoon.
Great place.

If you love wine, then this place is for you. We visited after a fun-​packed day at Circuit of the Americas for qualifying sessions.
Cork and Company was a lot of fun. The venue is beautiful, the staff is happy/​helpful, the wine selection is outstanding. We ordered a couple of bottles to sip and enjoy while we rested/​relaxed/​people-​watched. We did not have a chance to try the food, so cannot comment on it.
I can related to other Unilocalers’ comment about the ‘rude’ person. This lady stormed in like she owned the place and seemed angry at life. Thankfully we did not have her, otherwise we would have left.

We were tourists just meandering around. Walked by this place and thought we’d pop in.
We each got a flight which was fine but the girl behind the bar was extremely unfriendly. She was sitting with a group of her friends half the time and just not very welcoming. It seems this is more of a locals place and if you aren’t local, don’t go in.
Atmosphere is nice other than the rude person behind the bar. Maybe it was just a bad day (?) but she complained about everyone who came in. We would have stayed longer but it just wasn’t friendly at all so we left.

Austin has several wine bars, seemingly spread out (except for Simplicity and Apothecary) with each having its own distinct vibe. This wine bar is not new to Congress Street but there are a couple new reasons to stop in. It is located across the street from newly opened Swift’s Attic and they now serve a hummus plate with Baby Zach’s Smoked hummus. It is just down the street from dirty 6^th and a good place to grab a happy hour glass of wine. Wine can be purchased by the glass, bottle or you can be adventurous and order a flight.
They have small lounge area with two couches that are U shaped, small tables and a wine bar. Games are set up on the tables making for some good and occasionally disturbing conversations.
Happy hour is 3pm-​7pm Monday-​Friday and noon-​7pm on Saturdays.

The hordes of guests have begun to descend on the new house. Old friends from the West Coast and a much beloved niece from North Carolina by way of Costa Rica all visited at the same time. Fortunately, both the house and Austin were up to the challenge.
We took them all to Frank for dinner, because we love Frank, and then to Cork & Co to meet another old friend. We’d never been to Cork & Co but the West Coasties like their wine, and C&C was close, so we rolled dem bones and came up a winner.
It was quiet and relaxed when we entered, and had an open table big enough for all 6 of us, which was a good sign. I have zero wine cred so I always go with cava in these situations because I really like cava and I honestly believe sparkling wine beats non sparkling wine hands down. They have a good cava at C&C so I was all set.
Soft lighting, comfy seating, good music in the background, all make conversation here easy. They also have a food counter and one of the waiters brought our Austin old friend a plate of cake balls just because he really likes her. This happens a lot when we’re out with her. Evidently she knows everyone in Austin and they all love her. I have no doubt that if we were suddenly kidnapped by terrorists one of them would have taken a class from her and they would sit on the floor of the abandoned warehouse and laugh about old times while using AK 47 magazines for snack platters. And the cake balls were divine, although I’m not sure she even ate any.
The West Coasters liked the wine list and the prices, and tried a couple of glasses but no one was in the mood to open a bottle so it was several glasses of different wines and good conversation, which is exactly what we wanted.
They have a happy hour that I’d love to try and cheese plates that sound delicious! I will absolutely come back here to drink cava, eat cake balls, and get the inside scoop on all girl jungle survival classes. What’s not to love?

I don’t understand some of the negativity about this place:
«The bathrooms were less than ideal?» — WTF does that even mean? Were you looking for a Tissue Steward? The bathrooms were actually quite nice. You watch too much HGTV.
«I have more wines than they do.» — Really? Did you actually look at the their wine list? It’s encyclopedic. There’s more to the place than the front side of the bar menu. Explore.
«They didn’t even say Happy Birthday to me.» Let me guess… you were wearing a birthday crown, right? Because that would be the only way they would know unless you told them. And you deserve to be shunned in either of those cases. Let your friends validate your special days, birthday girl.
Here’s the deal…
The Wine
They have an extensive wine selection on their wine list. They have 20 – 30 by-​the-​glass options on the simple menu as well. If you can’t find something to enjoy here, you have issues far beyond the scope of Unilocal.
The Atmosphere
I spent hours (and hours) here during SXSW because boxed Franzia and Miller Lite get old REAL FAST. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Not only was the wine good and priced about where you’d expect (they have Happy Hour if ya wanna save a few bucks) but the Manager, Tandy, was about the coolest person I met during my stay. She and her staff provided the best Texas hospitality I’ve ever encountered.
What does it say about a place when the staff hugs you goodbye?
Take THAT birthday girl.
I highly recommend Cork & Co. I wish it were here in Los Angeles.

Saturday Happy Hour!!! Need I say more?
From 3 – 7, you can select $ 5 glasses off a select list, which includes Prosecco. In addition, all the meats and cheeses are each $ 2 off. select one or more to build a plate and come with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds, and served with sliced baguette bread and water crackers.
The ambiance, dark and intimate with bottles, hundreds of bottles of wine on display on a wall made of wine shelves.
They have great table topics cards on the tables so you can get to know your group better. They are pretty fun! (
)
The staff is friendly and knowledgeable.
This is a great place to wind down on a Saturday afternoon or kick off /​end your night on the town.

Had our W3 (Women Who Wine) happy hour here yesterday and yes, it was enjoyable but there were some foibles (see the rhyme there?). First, when planning these events, I check websites for weekday deals. Clear as day on their website it says Tuesdays are Free Cheese days. Sold! But upon inquiring about it at the bar, I was told «Uh, yeah we can never get our website up to date. We don’t do that anymore.» Hm. Kaaayyy.
Also, they do have all of their wines by the glass at reduced prices for HH, many of which are $ 5 and then go up from there. I had a really good Pinot for $ 7 and was wanting to go on to a Zin or Petit Syrah but they were out of both of those. I will give credit as they opened a different Zin for me and it was tasty. But as my grrls arrived, a couple of them also ordered the Malbec and they were out of that as well.
Our servers were very nice and fairly prompt with drinks even as the bar started to fill up. They were able to divvy up the tab handily between the 5 of us as well, garnering them a nice tip from me! But, this has been our 3^rd W3 at our 3^rd wine bar and in my mind I’m comparing them all and well, C n C Is still in the top 3 so far :)