Oliver Winery Downtown Wine Bar

What a fun place! Great alternative to wanting a night out in Bloomington without hitting the bar scene.
A friend and I went here on a Friday night and although it was busy, we had no trouble finding a seat. We had just eaten dinner, so we didn’t try any of the food even though it sounded and looked so good!!! The caprese is definitely a must try next time.
I liked the concept of the wine flight but my friend and I decided we were in the mood for a sweet wine. We ended up splitting a bottle of the Blackberry. Holy yum! And at $ 15 a bottle — that’s a steal. We almost went for another bottle but decided to order dessert instead. I can’t recommend the chocolate peanut butter cup cake enough.
Our server was attentive and friendly without being overbearing and he always made sure our waters were full. We never felt rushed even though we stayed for close to two hours.
Great night spent in downtown Bloomington. Can’t wait to go back!

I’m a fan of Oliver Winery’s main location, so I didn’t know what to expect downtown. I was pleasantly surprised! You can sit at the bar or get table service. They have wine by the glass or bottle, as well as a food menu with sandwiches, salads, charcuterie/​cheeses, and desserts. I had a glass of wine and some hummus/​pita chips while meeting with a old friend. Good service and an upscale feel, befitting of a downtown location. I still love the original, but I can see myself coming back when I’m on the square.

My friends and I came here for dinner after being at the winery all day. It was a semi-​busy Saturday night but it took a while for the server to get us menus after we sat ourself. It took at least 20 minutes by the time we ordered our drinks to get them and even longer to place our food order and get that. After being in the restaurant for over 2.5 hours, our waitress came back to go seat by seat over what we ordered to make sure our checks were correct — which I totally understand. There were 8 of us and we shared wine and appetizers. However, she came back 15 minutes later with checks that were all wrong. Maybe it was her first night or maybe she was just having a bad one, but the waiting was sort of silly when we all just ordered cheese and sandwiches.
The food, however, was great. They have unique cheese options, great small plates, and a few entrees to choose from. I would return in hopes of better service down the road, but by the end of the evening we wanted to leave more than we like our food.

What a great place! John, the manager is so warm and friendly and made my night there very very pleasant! I went the first night for a nice glass of wine and something light to eat: House salad and the four cheese flatbread! AMAZING! I had the Cabernet which was absolutely delicious. I enjoyed my self so much, I had to go back the next night for more. The server, whose name I neglected to get (Cute red head) was wonderful and made me feel so comfortable — of course recognizing me from the night before!
Anytime I am in Bloomington, I will certainly be here! Make sure you check it out — novel, cool, chic hangout!

3 stars is being generous today. This is my 2^nd visit to the downtown store and I was somewhat disappointed. Bartender took a long time to take our order due to pouring a whole bunch of flights. Our flatbed took forever to come out if the kitchen, it was very tasty though and the wine was great too. The thing that bothered me the most was that Teddy put his fingers inside glasses while loading them in the dishwasher, which is a food sanitation no no and then he didn’t wash them before bringing out our food. I tipped him anyway but he could stand being trained up.

A fun opportunity to try different wines (I tried the manager’s special) with a cheese plate (across the pond). Enjoyed it all! Ended with cold filtered coffee and chocolate port pecan pie ;-)
Not a full menu but great for a snack/​desert and wine.

I really enjoy starting the night here with friends for some wine tasting and cheese plates before heading over the the tap or next Btown bar. I also have brought family members here when they visit. It has a really cool ambiance with a rustic dimly lit décor. The prices are expensive and they seem to run out of different plates pretty quickly, but you can stay there tasting different wines for as long as you want. The servers are very knowledgeable however I myself am not a wine connoisseur so it doesn’t make much of a difference to me. Also when I come here I am noticeably the youngest person, I would say the ages range from around 26+

I really love this place but they have raised the prices exponentially. Don’t buy here as take out you will be paying way too much.

Food = ?
Price = 4
Experience = 4 (nicely done… great downtown location and next to several great dining spots)

We stopped in planning on dessert and wine but they were closing early for a private party (about 20 minutes after we arrived) so we opted for the tasting. The tasting was delightful (choose practically 8 wines from the list for $ 5) and the wines were intriguing. Our server was very knowledgable about the wines and had some great suggestions for us. The only reason we didn’t purchase wine was due to carry-​on luggage only for the flight home.
The place has a very relaxed, open atmosphere. I would love to return for a glass or flight of wine and dessert!

I was so happy to see a location downtown! Wonderful experience– cool indoor atmosphere, loved sitting outside. The wine selection is great and always evolving, it seems. Delicious flights on special, incredibly knowledgeable & attentive staff. Great place to bring visitors.

What more could you want than a flight of red wine while sitting out on the square? Classy and knowledgeable waitstaff, good food and drink; Oliver downtown made me feel young and cool again while my wife and I were on a much deserved break down in Bloomington, and this was one of the highlights of our visits. A great stop for anyone, but a nice alternative for those who feel they’re a little too old for the bar scene and want a more highbrow option without feeling pretentious.

It’s very attractive inside (and out). It’s nicely decorated and arranged, the product displays are tasteful and not distracting. I’ve not yet tried any of the food items, of course the wine is good and I enjoyed a wine tasting which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would definitely recommend for a relaxing evening or just a nice place to enjoy company with friends and good wine.

Let me just say that Jim really knows his wine. In fact, every server that served us knew what they were doing!
The atmosphere was very sleek, sophisticated yet comfortable. The lighting was super sexy (and forgiving) it’s a great spot for a first date!
The prices were very reasonable and the wine and selection were above average. I’m not really a wine person, but I had a good time and didn’t taste anything I didn’t like.
My husband is a wine-​guy and he says this place is his favorite winery we have discovered on a vacation. That is why I’ve gotta give it five stars.

Nice place to come on a date.
Relaxing atmosphere and tasty appetizers.
It takes a bit long for the simple appetizers to come out somtimes though. Other than that it would be a five star place.

I like this a lot better (although I feel terrible saying it) than the tasting room on 37. The atmosphere is much classier and less… touristy.
I didn’t realize you could buy bottles at grocery store prices. That is a pretty good deal, considering the ambiance is equal to that of scholars inn. I had the creekbend flight, which was really good except for the chardonel– not my type.
I also ordered «the opportunist’ cheese plate. This came with very good candied almonds, olives, bread, two kinds of cheeses (a cheddar and I can’t remember the other), a great tomato jam, and smoked duck. The duck was phenomenal.
I think this is a pretty good deal. For 2 cocktails, 2 glasses of wine, a flight, and the cheese plate (which was shared between 3 people), the total was $ 52. Aslo, they don’t let you tip… which I’m not sure why. All in all, very nice addition to the square.

I already LOVE Oliver Winery. This location adds a cozy, sexy setting, table service, and yummy eats. How can this go badly?! With a few exceptions, it can’t.
I live 4 hours away from Bloomington yet have had the fortune of visiting twice now. And it’s even more fortuitous that I’ve gotten to indulge in at least a taste of two of the Chocolate Pot de Crème, the Ricotta Cheesecake Brulee, the Sweet Tooth Soother, and some of the Rouge Creamery Oregon Blue cheese. Everything was fantastic, though I have to admit, my table was a bit surprised to find that the Sweet Tooth Soother was a plate of bits and pieces for pairings. Didn’t read that description quite right! Oops! The Chocolate Pot de Crème is insanely rich and decadent. I have to admit that my eyes were bigger than my stomach when I ordered that one after dinner at Trojan Horse. I somehow managed to force feed myself what I could not pawn off on others. :-)
One of my party was disappointed to find them out of the Harvest Apple Cake, as she’s been looking forward to trying it, but they always seem to be out when she’s in. Get some more of that cake!
We were also disappointed to find that the Library Wine flight was not available on the Thursday night we last attended. When we were at the winery on 37 earlier in the day, our pourer made it sound as though tastings were only available at the winery on weekends but the flight was available any time at the Downtown location. Chalk it up to miscommunication on one or both parts, but we went Downtown specifically to try the library selection before buying and were saddened to find the flight was also only available on the weekends. We had to rely on the suggestion of our waiter, which I’m suspect about. We’ll see once we finally break out the bottle I suppose!

Having lived an hour from NAPA, I miss the winery experience. I miss fun wine tasting places so I’m really happy this place opened up in downtown Bloomington. I’ve been here a couple times.
The first time, my girlfriend and I were feeling classy so we did a wine flight and some appetizers. It was their first few days being open so I say this acknowledging that nerves were high but our waiter dropped a couple glasses onto our table when serving us our flight. I can imagine carrying 8 wine glasses isn’t easy. He was very apologetic and brought us a complimentary appetizer.
The second time, I came here before dinner with a friend. We just ordered a couple glasses. It was a quiet night. Nice spot for a date.
I would recommend that the appetizers be improved — allow customers to create antipasti platters with a mix of meats, cheeses, veggies. Maybe even chocolate. That goes well with wine and also offers something in the tummy other than wine.

Warm atmosphere, beautiful decorations, great service and variety of wine & food to choose from!
The only reason it loses a star is the acoustics and how loud it can get.
Definitely will visit this place again!
PS — I really enjoyed the Riesling

Last night I came to this winery with two of my good friends, and had an incredible time!
The décor and atmosphere was very impressive, and there was adequate seating for everyone, with excellent prompt and friendly service.
We ordered two bottles of wine, and a cheese plate. The wines here taste very good, and the selection is very diverse, I guarantee there is something for every taste. One thing which could be improved is the food menu. I feel like there should be some small plates or tapas available, aside from the cheese plates or deserts. Regardless, the cheese plates were delicious and there was a good selection of them.
The prices here are very fair and the bill for the 3 of us came to under $ 30!
This is the perfect place to start the night on the town, or have a relaxing night with friends!