Wine Down Lounge

I came upon this place after spending the evening at the Aquarium. Very small, very charming, and delicious wine and food. We happened to come during happy hour so we ordered some happy hour food and sipped on happy hour wine. A delicious meal for a great price.
I can see this place being easily overlooked, and quite a few people peaked in and walked away. They missed out.
If you are looking for a quiet dinner, with good service, quality wine, and delicious food stumble into this fine place.

I cant wait to come back. Came here to eat and was very sad because the waiter said the kitchen was closed. Luckily he came back and said we could actually order food. I am in love with the bison sope. I love bison and am always excited when I see it on menus. Order it, you will not be disappointed. The truffle fries were also excellent. It’s a very nice chill spot to relax and you don’t have to get all fancy to eat here. Our waiter was super friendly and it was pleasure chatting with him. I will def be coming back here — hopefully often.

My Lord, why do I have to pick a star? Let me see, where do I start? How about asking for some water and waiting an hour and a half, and even that came faster than some of the food? Notice how so far this review is made up of all questions? What about ordering a salad and it coming out wrong MULTIPLE times but they wouldn’t let us cancel it? How about portions so small they wouldn’t even count as an appetizer at a Tapas bar? Should they be using rancid oil to fry food to pair with wine? What if after all that they charged you enough to drain the account of a CEO? Maybe the wine was OK, but the service, food, portions and value were terrible. Definitely avoid this place, even if it’s a friend’s birthday…

This is a hidden gem and a way to have 4 star food on a no-​star budget!
The lounge advertises itself as a ‘gastropub’ and is a odd setup. It is located in a corner of an ‘assist living’ facility (!?), the last place you’d be looking for a nice place to eat. For the record, it’s not full of fossils with those damn electric scooters and walkers. Not at all.
First impression is that it’s a wine tasting and retail establishment since there are wine racks lining the low-​density seating area with on-​sale inventory. It is also the entry way for a very fine 4-​star restaurant located in the penthouse of the same building. In that sense, its the restaurant lounge/​holding area but it also is an eatery by itself and that’s where the secret lies.
The food all comes from the famous ‘Sky Room’ kitchen. They actually bring it down from the penthouse. The Wine Down serves select Sky Room items without the cost, pomp or view associated with its esteemed sibling. It is also a drop-​in type of place. Good luck getting a table upstairs during peak times on a drop-​in.
The food is great (and should be), service was excellent and much more casual and relaxed than one would encounter ‘upstairs’. Many fine and eclectic wines are available by the glass, kept fresh on nitrogen. Great for nosh/​tapa style eating with a few glasses of select wine.

Service — terribly slow, and painful — although the staff is friendly
Wine selection — pretty good, with the exception of their white wines
Prices — decent
Recommend the $ 10 glass of chardonnay bubbly

Don’t waste your time spending $ 10 + for a glass of mediocre wine and service. Did not try the food, but if you want to eat — then go to the ‘Sky Room’ upstairs. With so many other and better choices within a mile, skip this one.

Wine Down is a fantastic wine bar and hits all the right notes:
On The Wine :
— Great tasting selection of wines not easily available via retail
— A list that’s constantly rotating — new wines almost monthly
— Fantastic selection for their house wine
On The Food :
— Pairs well with the wines being poured
— Unique and innovative dishes
— Specials /​new items (Not something you get at most wine bars)
On the Space:
— Roomy, spacious, and an overall great ambiance
— A nice outdoor patio that never gets too loud
— A very cool 2-​story floor plan with a secluded, moody loft
On the Staff:
— Knowledgeable first and foremost
— Quick Service
— Friendly and engaging
The Extras:
— Great pricing
— An awesome retail selection
— Great entertainment when they have bands /​dj’s
Don’t wait for a reason to go… make it a priority to check out Wine Down and you’ll be a regular before you know it.

I live less than a five-​minute walk from this place, and I regret not coming sooner!
Came for a chill night to read and relax. There was a live jazz pianist, a few guests, and friendly staff. The wines-​by-​the-​glass list was encompassing and interesting. I highly suggest their DIY wine flight: choose any three half-​glasses of wine for $ 12. I sat al fresco right on Ocean Blvd, enjoying the summer heat, the city buzz, and my Kindle.
For those who plan to come, don’t expect a vibrant crowd. It’s a little calm place to enjoy great classy wines, some well appointed small bites, and intimate conversation; rather than shouting across a drunken loud bar scene (you can get that at any touristy bar in downtown LB or Belmont Shore). They also sell bottles of wine like a small specialty retailer. They also have a variety of specialty beers, if one doesn’t want wine at a wine bar, I guess…
Some shortcomings: no coffee bar, no big plates/​meals, no hard liqour beyond some choice scotches, lack of parking (so I’ve heard; I walked to here), evening hours only.
Recommendations: try their cinnamon beignets. Not as big and fluffy as you’d expect, but served warm, moist, and creamy. (I really wish they had coffee to pair.)

The vodka Bloody Mary oyster shooters are the most among thing ever!
The wine and beer are alright. but i can’t stop thinking about those oysters.

Small, quiet (we got there at 9p on Saturday and there was only one other group in there) and nice ambience. Parking in downtown always sucks, but we managed to get a metered space on Ocean, which is probably your best bet. It’s tough to spot the actual bar itself — at the bottom of the Sky Room tower next to the retirement home entrance.
The guy behind the bar was plenty friendly, and probably would have answered any questions I had or recommended something if I had asked for a recommendation. However, I did neither of these things and got a glass of moscato that I was expecting to cost me much more than it did. Said moscato was tasty.
One thing: eat before you go. They do have appetizers and desserts, but many of them read like some culinary school final project (bacon-​wrapped oysters? cayenne crème brulée? um, pass).
I’m not much of a wine drinker, but from the size of the list I would imagine that probably most folks could find something new to try. I’d go back.

Pretty nice in here. Dim moody lighting with music to go along.
Got ourselves a wine flight for $ 12 each, came with 3 tastings… great deal. Every wine we tried was amazing… Especially the Barbera red.
The Strawberry & Cayenne Crème Brulee tarts were good too… came with house made whipped cream which was absolutely divine.

Great little wine bar. Too bad it is so hidden and difficult to park nearby!
Saw the great reviews and had to check it out. Usually I hit up Wine District, but a it’s always fun to check out new places and this place had a great food menu.
As mentioned, the food comes from the top floor of the building (The Sky Room). It’s great food, but can take a good deal of time to receive.
Note: Their online menu is not completely up to date (I imagine they change cheeses too frequently to keep up).
We ordered the truffle fries, three cheese plate (with the BEST bread on the face of the planet), AND the mushroom pizza. WAAAAY too much food for two, but definitely worth it to have tried all these goodies. They all had wonderful flavor and were great.
One sad point was the fries were not hot, but I suspect that is because of the trip they take from the top floor. The flavor was still awesome.
Their wine is wonderful. The gentleman who served us was VERY knowledgeable. Their selection was surprisingly vast, and they have this great option to order three «tastes» of three different wines for a flat price. This was a great way to introduce us to a good portion of the wines we were interested in and help us decide which we really liked.
The reason this place gets 5 stars is a combination of incredible dynamics, that without which, would make it «just another wine bar.»

I don’t drink much, and I don’t know much about wine, but I would eat and drink here. The folks are helpful and eager to offer suggestions. And they do a whiskey tasting, so the booze goes beyond wine. But after sampling a few things from the menu, forget the wine, I would come back just for the Foie Gras CB & J. It’s a sandwich with local foie gras (no ban here), home made cashew butter and raspberry jam (I think) on toasted brioche. I wanted to lick the plate after it was all gone.
Also had a couple of Bacon Wrapped Oysters with Leek Aioli. You might want a dozen of these, but you only get 2 per order. I wouldn’t mind coming back to try some of the desserts too (Cinnamon Beignets? Yes please).
The atmosphere is cozy, with an upstairs loft for a little more privacy. Fair warning, they close kinda early. But for an after-​work spot, it’s ideal. So even though Long Beach is swelling with wine bars these days, if they keep their food up to this level, they’ll have no trouble making a name for themselves.

The bellhop suggested this place as the Sky Room was too busy the night we went. It was absolutely perfect! They have a great deal – for $ 12, you can try 3 half glasses of any wine they have on their menu. Not a bad deal! The reisling, moscato, pinot noir and malbec they had that night were delicious. My boyfriend also got a bottle of Franziskaner – that is our favorite beer (and most places don’t carry it).
We also got the combination chartruterie (sp?) and cheese plate; we got the chorizo pamplona, proscuitto, cambozola blue (very mild) and a cow’s milk cheddar (don’t remember the name). they were all delicious, as was the bread! I would recommend the braised beef on banana polenta cakes too – delicious!
This place had a cool vibe too. Also, the manager (or owner? not sure but whoever he was) was VERY helpful with regards to suggestions of wines, cheeses, etc. He was very friendly too.
We will definitely be going back!

First off: Patrick is fabulous. Let’s just get that out of the way right up front. His knowledge of wine is extraordinary; his service spirit is sensational; and a great sense of humor is always a big bonus for me. Secondly, I love the contemporary, modern vibe in this historic 1926 Romanesque or Spanish Renaissance-​style building. LOVE that juxtaposition! The lounge-​style seating adds nice character to complement the ecclectic mix of LB locals.
The best part about this place (location, ambiance and Patrick aside) is their extensive wine list and value for the $. It’s unlike any other in LB or LA. They share the wine cellar with the Sky Room on the top floor of this old Breaker’s Hotel. Their «wine list» is essentially a wine encyclopedia, a virtual catalogue of their cellar– over 100 pages of mouthwatering selections from around the world. And, the very BEST PART: the prices listed are retail (for the Sky Room restaurant) … and you can enjoy most of them for half that amount. SIGN ME UP. I definitely saw a few selections I couldn’t wait to wet my whistle on! Patrick’s recommendations really hit the spot.
It’s really the food that brought the score from a full-​on 5-​star rating. I know it travels a LONG WAY from the top floor to the «Wine Down Under,» but all of our three selections were barely warm. The wait time was long (hence perhaps the heat issue). And, taste wise, it was really mediocre (that’s being kind). The truffle mushroom flatbread was something akin to grocery store quality. The fava bean dip looked (and tasted like) simmered canned kidney beans with garlic and some tasteless pita on the side. The pork belly (which I had high hopes would be winner given it’s plated appearance), was not at all well balanced. The cider-​infused pear was undercooked and over-​sweetened; the brown sauce was some bad chef’s version of canned demi-​glacé; and the pork belly (while tasty) was cold. What’s worse than some cold pork fat? Not much.
Despite the food, I would go back (just for another chat with Patrick). However, I would surely order three different dishes the next time (and hope for the best).

I don’t get all the hype on this place. We came in a couple of Sundays ago and it was dead except for two customers at the bar and one bartender.
There is a big board with some of their wine selections. We checked out the wines for about 5 minutes with no welcome, acknowledgment, offering of a menu or any recommendations. All in all, we were completely ignored.
It was just a bad vibe, so we left.

Probably go up to 5 stars with repeated visits.
Quiet, classy and — finally — an LB wine bar that actually has a nice wine list. Well-​selected cheeses.
Beats District Wine by a mile.
Thank you, Unilocalers!

I’ve been waiting with my review because this place is my little secret but I don’t want them to go out of business either. so here it goes.
It’s a bit hidden next to the Hotel or whatever that building is… you can park either on Ocean Blvd or in the side street — S Locust Ave.
I came here with a few friends a few weeks ago during the week for a chill birthday evening.
Atmosphere: Very relaxing, great ambiance… maybe a little bit to much red color for my taste but cool place.
Service: We were the guinea pigs for a new wine which unfortunately they had only one bottle of it… service is great, the wine selection and knowledge fantastic.
FOOD: :D …what can I say… since we were several people we ordered quiet a bit from the menu… it was nothing but DELICIOUS… prices are very reasonable.
For all of us who went it’s a secret tip — everyone who hasn’t gone… You need to check out this jewel of Long Beach.

Great wine bar on Ocean blvd in the lobby of the BREAKERS hotel
I love wine and cheese and on this occasion I had a afternoon to enjoy.
when I entered I immediately saw a very swanky new establishment,
Lined with wine bottles and fun old world and modern décor this place is very inviting. The owner Patrick, was great very informative without being over whelming very knowable and interesting I ordered the tasting and told him I love Merlot so impress me show what you have. And I ordered
a cheese plate also. I sat upstairs in there upstairs tasting room its very dim and sexy red and black leathers, It was a Monday mid day but I felt like it was a Friday night and I was really loving this place.
OK he did Impress me I had three great wine really good.
and the imported cheeses where to die for.
I love this place!!!
I will return YES YES YES
Good luck Patrick and WELCOME to DTLB
Francisco Javier

Winedown Lounge… More like Winedup Lounge.
If you are looking to learn about wine, this is not the place for you. As I stood at the bar watching a Gnat crawl through the fried onions of someone’s soon to be delivered flatbread, the following thought occurred: I wish the bartender can tell me a little about the wine he is pouring me and I am hungry but now I’m grossed out.
I received my happy hour $ 4 glass of Bordeaux… a fine happy hour price.
I asked if I could take a look around and the bartender said «sure»… So I did. I ventured upstairs where I saw a group of elderly women laughing and enjoying themselves. I asked one lady if I could take the empty seat and she replied «of course». Within seconds, I was approached by another lady who, in a matter of fact tone informed me that this was a private event for their «wine club». Ok, fair enough… let them have the entire space for their stupid and exclusive wine club.
There is more space downstairs… Lots more space and outdoor seating… score.
Overall this place looks great. They offer higher end and a MUCH better selection of wines than District Wine. This is a definite «go to spot» for wine if you live in DTLB and you can’t make it to Wine Country. With that said, if you are truly looking to «winedown», I would totally stick with District Wine for better service, a friendlier atmosphere and overall wine education.
Also… if you buy a wine from winedown and you want to drink it at winedown, there is a $ 15 corkage fee. This is what one bartender told me on a different visit. Personally, I feel the corkage on any bottle of wine you buy from a business should be free.
This place has the potential to be something special. I will be back and next time, I will bring my own wine club.