WG Kitchen & Bar

Good bye Wine Guy. So sad to see this restaurant close. And yet another «beer themed» one is coming in its place. Not sure how that will work out with The Lager house and Yard House all less than a block away.

Had dinner and wine there last night. I had the risotto special and my wife had pasta and chicken. We both had a wine flight. Service was very good but the place was empty. Food was not good and overpriced. I have been to another WG where the food was very good but not here. Chicken was completely flavorless and for $ 21 risotto I expected much more. Yard House and Morelein Brewery were packed and we were in a hurry. Next time we’ll go somewhere else or make a reservation.

Delicious! I had the pomegranate and goat cheese salad with chicken. It was amazing. I was with a party of 24 and no one had any complaints and everyone cleaned their plate!

Very decent food and nice service.
Pasta with meatballs was very good and served with toasted bread. Chicken in wine reduction was OK, a bit too much mess on a plate, chicken with potatoes and beans topped with Feta, tangerines and tomatoes, not a very successful combination.
However, all in all it was very much OK and a complimentary pita bread with cream cheese spread made a nice starter :)

Service sucked
Drove from Cleveland to catch a game; waited forever and food was barely warm
Would not go back
I’ll wait in line longer some place else.

I am sad to say that I have been here twice. Had I reviewed after the first visit, it would have been 4 or 5 stars. But after the service that we got on our anniversary, we were very disappointed. The waiter was friendly but seemed to disappear quite a few times and couldn’t be found. The drinks came out and they were either sickly sweet or super bitter. The food was ok. It was not bad, but it was not worth the money. I got a bowl of chicken and rice soup. I don’t know if the waiter didn’t know to dip the ladle far enough but there was hardly and chicken or rice in the soup. It was all broth! The hummus was good. I got a chicken and pasta dish and it was kind of bland and the chicken was a little dry. So I am not sure if they were having a bad night or what but I am not planning on running back.

I can’t imagine how this place gets so many glowing reviews. perhaps there is a varsity crew that comes in on the more lucrative shifts. A group of 11 from my office went in for a happy hour and it was an absolute cluster. They really wanted us to sit at a table in the completely vacant restaurant even though we made it clear that we were just getting drinks and apps.
When we suggested sitting outside in the also completely vacant 50 or so chairs outside the hostess looked at us like that was crazy the proceeded to prepare a table as far away a possible and still be on property.
Once we were seated we were told the happy hour apps and drinks were only available at the bar… where we just were.
I think we interacted with 5 staff just trying to have happy hour drinks and snacks and the only one who knew there job was the food runner.
It was a Red’s game night and they had plenty of seats for dinner. I now see why.

Even if you aren’t forced to eat gluten free, the gluten free pizza is the best I have had in a restaurant! A must try!

Happy hour is a must. For those of you who are not allergic to seafood, please try the crab cake sliders. If you have a seafood allergy, then the flatbreads will amaze you.

Service was great! We had the hanger steak appetizer. Very good. We shared the chioppino stew with risotto. It was excellent.
We will be back.

Place was decent for a chain. I had a salad, little heavy on the dressing, but overall FANTASTIC! Asparagus was excellent as a side. Beer and wine selection will satisfy any connoisseurs we have in the house!
Had a great feel. Service was great.
I would go in detail about the beer, but I had the typical Morlein IPA, which was fantastic. I like to stick with what I know in the beer category.
My wife has me out at new places often, so when I find a new brew I like, I will every Unilocaler know!
Cheerio

I don’t take it lightly when I give a restaurant a 5 star review, but last night the staff at WG earned it. I had arranged for a party of 14 (which had become a party of 16 at the last minute… Literally), which I came to learn is no easy feat in downtown. One of the managers, Katie, graciously worked with me to work out a table layout that would accommodate a very social group that likes to move around. They have private rooms that can already accommodate such a need, but the restaurant was pretty well reserved so Katie got creative and made suggestions.
My wife and I arrived 30 minutes early to make sure our reservation wasn’t a problem. Surprisingly, they had already had our tables ready and were happy to seat us early as people showed up for the evening. We were promptly greeted by our server Sean, who was more than patient and accommodating to our group. Miana (?) who assisted him was no different. The servers knew the menu and made excellent food recommendations to those asked. How they managed to keep the billing accurate still has me puzzled. We were standing, sitting, and moving throughout the night.
The food was as promised. The food all arrived together, hot on the plate. I had the spicy shrimp pasta which left me wishing I had ordered the full size plate, rather than the half. It was fantastic. My wife had the chicken marsala, which she also enjoyed. Others at the party also expressed being happy with their plates.
Overall, I was very pleased. What earns a 5 star rating for me isn’t the price of a meal, or whether the food is delicious. It’s about the total experience, which for me is relative to the price point. A 5 star is earned when I am wowed, and last night the wow was earned with the service.

I usually go to the Hyde Park location but saw on Cincy Savers there was a coupon for $ 20.00 and you get $ 40.00 (for food only, not alcohol). Located at the banks across the Great American Ballpark.
We made reservations for Friday night at 6:30 p.m. We were seated and waited on right away.
I started off with the Cabernet Sauvignon Flight which is $ 14.99 (you get 1.6 glass of wine).
The list:
–Seven Falls (Wahluke Slope, WA). Light hints of chocolate are balanced with just enough dryness. Very smooth. This was my favorite. I got another glass after I tasted all of them.
–Powers Cabernet (Columbia Valley, WA). Soft berry fruit combine with just the right amount of dryness.
–Milbrandt Estate (Columbia Valley, WA). Light Vanilla to the nose with lush plums and berries followes by a soft elegant finish.
–J Lohr Hilltop Cabernet (Paso Robles, CA). Dark berry fruit, light dryness and soft berries in the drink. This is their most popular.
They serve you bread before your meal comes out. You got pieces of flatbread with cream cheese (not sure of the name, but it was so yummy).
For dinner I ordered the Seared Salmon which is pan seared with whole grain mustard cream sauce and came with crispy potato cakes and braised collards and bacon. $ 19.99 and worth the money. The collards and bacon were a bit salty, but still tasty. Salmon was very delicious which was cooked just right and to my liking. The potato cakes were crispy outside and creamy inside (loved it very much).
My husband ordered the Pomegranate & Goat Cheese Salad (added chicken) and wanted an extra side of Asparagus.
Server was very friendly and attentive.
Restaurant and bathrooms are clean.
My dining experience was very nice and would return again. The coupon online was worth buying and would recommend you purchase to save $ 20.00.

Visited on a Friday night at 7.30. Room was very lively, almost full. Modern atmosphere with butcher block tables. The choice of wines by the glass is good (16 reds and 13 whites). If you would like you can buy a bottle from their store (at store price), and for a $ 10 corkage fee they will serve it with your meal. This is a reasonable option considering retail wines prices are often marked up 2X for restaurants. Or they have 4-​wine flights that you can order where they serve 4 2-​oz glasses. We chose the Italian Red flight. I should emphasize the wines are of high quality: the 4 reds in the Italian flight are, for example: A Barbera d’Alba, a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a Sardinian and a Chianti. We also checked out their Italian Reds in the store and the selection is good with at least 3 or 4 dozen different wines (at least 6 different Barolos for example).
On to the food… Small pita and cheese dip came out with the water, no charge. I chose the Tomato and Pepper Bisque which was excellent, well balanced and not overly-​basiled as they often are, drizzle of cream and a smidge of croutons. Great choice. I then had the clams in red sauce with spinach which was terrific, slightly spicy, the clams were good and the spinach was fresh, served with grilled bread; followed by the blackened tilapia. Spicy cajun blackened effect, portion not too large, fish good and flaky, delicious. We also had the hummus and olive tapenade which was tasty.
Service was attentive and friendly, they were happy for us to order intermittently one course at a time, as we were not rushed. We spent a good couple of hours working our way through.
We considered this a find. The wine and food were all of great quality, friendly atmosphere. Definitely would be back.

My wife, son and I were visiting Cincy for the weekend and by the time we reached our hotel late in the afternoon we had already decided we just wanted to eat somewhere close by so we could walk there. WG Kitchen and Bar sounded interesting but I didn’t think reservations on Friday night would be available on such short notice. I called and got a reservation at 7:15 which was great. We walked the few blocks to the location and I became concerned since the restaurant was in the middle of what looked like a touristy area near the arena with touristy options like Johnny Rockets. We got in at 7:15 with no issues on a Friday? This wasn’t looking good.
We were seated immediately and the restaurant was about 50% full when we arrived. As the night got a bit later it filled up to about 80% when we left. We first perused the wine offerings which can be a little confusing. First you can chose to spend around $ 15 for a wine flight of 4 wines. You’re told up front it equals about 1.5 glasses of wine. The flights were ok but seemed to appeal to more wine newbies. That’s fine, it’s a great way to learn about wine. Wine by the glass is also sold for any of the wines available on the 4 or 5 flights. Glass prices were in line with most restaurants.
Bottles of wine is really the way to go however. WG offers retail purchase of wine and basically you go over into their store filled with hundreds of different offerings, pick out a bottle and bring it to your table where your waiter uncorks and pours. It costs a $ 10 corkage fee which I have read a few complaints about on various reviews. These people are simply not correct to say that a $ 10 corkage fee is «outrageous». The wine you’re purchasing in the store is at retail prices, not restaurant prices. Restaurants typically mark up wine by 150 to 200%! So when you are able to purchase a bottle at a retail price and just pay $ 10 to drink in the restaurant, this is actually a really good deal. To complain about the corkage fee only shows these reviewers do not know wine very well. The wine we chose really needed to breathe so we asked for a decanter which they happily provided.
The food is a mix of your standard American fare, some flatbread pizzas, and pasta. It’s a bit basic but that’s ok. They weren’t trying to make their food sound fancier than what it was which was nice. For apps we got a side dish of mushroom risotto cakes (they were excellent) and a bread plate which was Italian bread and a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Not really my thing… $ 6 for bread that would normally be given as free? The bread was good however. I should note that WG does give you a plate of pita bread and a sweet/​tomato? butter for them so one certainly doesn’t have to purchase the bread plate.
For entrees I went with Chicken Marsala with roasted potatoes and asparagus. It was a good sized portion and very tasty. My wife went with salmon that she enjoyed a lot. My son went with tri-​color cheese tortellini and chicken. The pasta was good, but not great and the chicken was dry and over-​cooked. Not inedible by any means, but simply not well executed. It was really the only negative I experienced.
Our server was very nice and eager to please and he was constantly checking on us.
So my concerns were unfounded as we had a very good experience. Considering the location so near the arena, WG is not trying to sell bad food and crappy service at high markups to tourists. They seem to be making a very honest effort in gaining customers with simple but good food and an excellent wine selection and fair prices. I would easily recommend WG Kitchen and Bar to others.

So this is a hard review for one main reason, my boyfriend and I ordered different things which should be completely different star ratings. I will start with my experience– the place was empty at 5 on a Saturday? Anyway, we got seated fast and placed our orders. We were lucky enough to have a Groupon– so I tried the $ 18.99 Chicken Mac and Cheese. Normally, I would never try such a high priced meal– but with the Groupon, I splurged. Well… that was the WRONG move. For the price of the meal, it was not very good. I have had better Mac and Cheese for under five dollars. I didn’t taste much cheese at all– my guess is that they used very rare, expensive cheeses? sooo not worth it. I would have rated my meal with one star–
However, my boyfriend ordered one of the pizzas– WOW! It was under $ 10 and super delicious. I will return just to order my own pizza. To some up, for an «expensive dinner» pass on this restaurant. If you want some of the lower priced foods, I found them to be very good. Also, the location is a plus!

I like this place and was torn on 3 or 4 stars… but after weighing the pros and the cons… I thought it deserved 4 stars.
Pros:
Gluten free menu!
Great tasting food, with good presentation
Friendly service
Cozy atmosphere
(Groupon deal used)
Location
Wine Flights
Cons:
For the amount of wine and the name, they don’t have a lot of options for wines by the glass
$ 10 corkage fee (this biggest reason they lost a star).
The have a lot of great wines and prices higher than stores like Party Source and liquor stores and still charge $ 10 corkage fee :-(
Overall I like it and I’ll be back (especially if there is another Groupon-​like deal)

I have been there twice now and thoroughly enjoyed both of my experienced. The food was delicious, as was the wine. My server was very knowledgable and willing to help me find the perfect pairing. I even ended up taking a bottle home with me. I recommend the spicy shrimp pasta– it’s my favorite.

Went to WG Kitchen & Bar with the BF for a late lunch/​early dinner. When we arrived at 4 the place was empty but the hostess and waitresses were ready to go!
We got seated where we liked and got a quick run down of the menu. As we waited for the order our waitress provided us with a plate of pita bread and sun dried tomato cream cheese. It was great. I had also ordered a Cesar Salad (½ portion) and the plate came chilled, which was a nice surprise, and the salad was delicious and fresh.
My main dish was the Cioppino Italian Seafood Stew which normally comes with shrimp but the kitchen was awesome when it came to substituting due to my allergies. The both was nice and spicy and the risotto was delicious! Chewy, creamy, cheesy and definitely not overcooked. The BF ordered the Champagne Butter Poached Lobster and loved all of it. For desert we had the Crème Brule and it was the perfect size for a quick treat to end the meal.
I regretted immediately not taking pictures for Unilocal and hate it when people put ½ eaten plates on display so please forgive me. BUT next time I go I will be sure to take some. It’s a great location for drinks and dinner. :)

I really want to praise a place that provides an alternative to greasy bar food and draft beer before a game, and WG almost delivers. All the ingredients are here: Nice wine flights, solid artisanal cheese and cured meats, decent selection of small plates and smaller entrees. Attractive, spacious surroundings and happy hour specials as well. But the service was at the pace of a sea turtle’s mating ritual, with significantly less passion.
We arrived two hours prior to the game and ordered nothing more complicated than flatbread, yet we waited nearly an hour for our food and had to demand our check without getting a second round of drinks we had ordered 20 minutes earlier. «Sorry, our kitchen got slammed,» was all our server offered on one of the rare occasions we saw him. (To which I wanted to reply: «Yes, and did you notice that big freaking baseball stadium a block over? The one that is sold out tonight? Might have been a thought to staff up for more patrons this evening.») This place would fill a niche if they get their act together, but that seems like a pretty big «if.»