Enoteca

So, I’ve been to Unilocal many times for getting an idea of whether or not I’d like to head out to a particular place, especially if I’m not familiar with the city or if I have limited time there to explore. That being said, after many fantastic, and sometimes not-​so-​fantastic meals/​adventures, this is the first time I feel absolutely compelled to write a review. I know people go to Enoteca, and i can only guess that it’s because it’s on the mall and therefore an easy target for wandering tourists. The service is nonexistent for all practical and enjoyable purposes. I’ve been twice, once on a weeknight a few months ago, and another time very recently when it was busy. One of the waiters who was there both times is rude to the point of being a caricature, just unbelievable. I was actually surprised to see him the 2^nd time because after I observed his inattentiveness and crudeness on my 1^st visit (he wasn’t my waiter but I was sitting at the bar), I thought for sure he would have been long gone. This place won’t be getting a 3^rd chance and I can’t recommend it since there are definitely fantastic places to go in C’ville.
As for the meat, cheese, and marcona almonds I had on my first visit, comparatively –I’ve been in my fair share of enotecas — it’s not bad. I’m not a fan of the way they served the food on a narrow slab of rock, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Once again … service! The chef himself had to give me everything needed to enjoy the meal… he noticed that the waiter had not even brought me any olive oil, and that he had not followed up properly after the food was served — and this on a night when the staff was nearly even in number to the patrons.
Can’t wait till something or someone (better management?) moves in there!
p. s.–i’ll agree with some of the other posts too about the judgemental attitude of the staff; unless you’re dressed in money, they assume you don’t know and/​or don’t care anything about wine

HORRIBLE SERVICE! I really have never been treated that horribly. They were extremely pretentious and told us our food (sandwiches and soup?!) were going to be on hold for half an hour. We looked around and there were approximately 4 other people with food in the restaurant. REALLY?!
I was embarrassed to have paid for service there, honestly.

pros: The 5 items cheese and meat mix and match was an awesome choice. Sharing a bottle of wine and ordering the cheese and meat platter is prob enough of a light dinner to make two people happy.
cons: My friend and I, of course, then over-​ordered and asked for a panini. Turns out the 3 cheeses panini isn’t worth it. It was greasy and thick w/​o much flavor.
overall: Enoteca would be quite nice if it was a bit more formal-​ish. It seems strange to pay $ 40/​person and sit at the counter seats up against the window; that’s what they have at self-​serve places where you get handed a tray and you bus yourself. Something should probably change here — either they bring in cushy seats and low tables or they bring down the prices on the menu to match the atmosphere.

Well-​varied and quality wine selection. Decent sandwiches with good ingredients, but I would have liked a fuller menu

Great atmosphere, great food — especially the ciabatta dessert with nutella and strawberries! My favorite place to hang out with friends on a laid back night.

I don’t really like this place. It smells of kitchen grease and the paninis fail to satisfy. The service can also be annoyingly spotty especially if you don’t look like you have $$$. I’m also not a big wine drinker so this isn’t my typical scene. However, they do have this dense chocolate cake which is unbelievable. Still, I doubt I will be coming back soon.

The food and drink here is delicious! The portion sizes are small– think the size of tapas in Spain, not the US where they tend to get oversized– but cheap. A slice of bruschetta with mushrooms and cheese is only three of four dollars, perfect for a light snack. The dates wrapped in speck (like prosciutto) and filled with a sweet gorgonzola were my favorite dish, savory sweet and salty all at once. The white bean pesto with rosemary was delightful. The cheese/​meat plate («affettata») was excellent as well. We chose our own selection of five meats and cheeses for I think 15 dollars and were given a basket of bread to enjoy it with.
The wine is all from Italy, and served by the half or full glass as well as bottle. Some varieties are only $ 3/​$ 6 for the half/​full glass.
Caveats: the service was a little slow. Three appetizers and a meat/​cheese plate satisfied two women for about $ 40 but if you’re hungry you would want more. If you don’t enjoy the «order lots of small plates and share» style of dining, this would not be for you.

If your here for a taste of Virginian wines, this is not the place. This place serves primarily Italian varietals. and a great selection it does offer.
Ask and try something that you’ve never heard of before. It’s gonna be fantastico.

I like this place a lot. The décor is very hip and the staff is very friendly and down to earth. The wines have a lot of options and you can purchase smaller sizes (3oz) and it’s exactly half the cost of the 6oz, which is nice since they don’t charge you extra for the smaller sizes.
The bruschetta with asparagus and truffle is amazing. The fig and cheese was also delicious. Two glasses of wine, two bruschetta was 20 bucks. No entrees, but you can get sandwiches. I think they can use a couple of entrees on the menu.

You’ve scored a date on
, and decide you want to go to a place where you can chat and if you click, you guys can talk for hours, and if you don’t, you can pay the bill and leave.
Enoteca is a wine bar, and perfect for that sort of thing. It serves light fare — lots of wines by the glasses, and cheeses and plates.
It’s a place for girlfriends to meet, and a lot of first dates. But would I be impressed if someone took me here on a first date? For 1 glass of wine, a small plate of 3 cheeses, and 1 salad it was $ 40. $ 40! Yes, I was full because I had a lot of bread, but when I look back, that’s a helluva lot of money to be spending and not getting an entrée. If I spend that much money (or $ 10-​$ 20 more), I could get a real dinner with an entrée and a dessert. Why eat cheese when I can have a real meal?
So if you’re going to take a blind date somewhere, don’t take her here. Take her to coffee where it’s $ 20 for the both of you, tops. She won’t appreciate it – she’ll just leave hungry. Unless you want to purposely make her drunk because she won’t have had anything to eat even though she’s technically ordered food. But your wallet will still be hurting.