The Wine Loft

I usually give places the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t find one redeeming aspect of my experience at this place. 30 minutes for drinks in a partially empty setting. Half the order missing by the end of the hour long wait to get a Caesar salad and a salmon dish, which was completely undercooked and raw. No idea it could get this bad. They were nice enough to take the salmon off the order, but was as if the waitress didn’t event realize that half he order was still missing. Not wanting to wait any longer we left. She didn’t write a single thing down at order time. Pretty bad.

Fell in love with this place due to their wine selections and more importantly their bartenders. They are so knowledgable, welcoming and engaging. You feel relaxed and welcomed. Such nice people.

Good price for food. The sliders are $ 6.00 in happy hour. Very good deal. But the plates are a little bit dirty.

Great wine specials. Beautifully decorated interior and outdoor seating. Incredibly friendly staff. Good tapas.
I have to take off a star for the crowd though. So many obnoxious, old drunks I couldn’t take it.

This was one of our stops during the recent Unilocal Winter Staycation weekend and it was a perfect spot to pre-​game before the big party that evening.
They had a special menu set up for us with happy hour deals on wines and food. Overall, we enjoyed the great atmosphere, nifty service, fun bartenders, tasty bar foods, and terrific wine selection.
We got there right at the start of the happy hour, 4pm, and grabbed a few seats at the bar alongside a few other Unilocalers who also showed up early. Good thing we did, and planted ourselves there for the almost two hours, as by 5pm the place was packed with people from our group. I think the staff here was a bit overwhelmed and was not expecting this many people, but they worked hard and did the best they could. We never left the bar area and were treated really good.
They gave a nice pour on the wines. Was supposed to be samplings but seemed more like half to full glasses. The bartenders knew their stuff and offered some perfect suggestions. Also ordered some of the bar foods such as one of their pizzas, and sliders which were both pretty solid.
Plenty of seating around the bar, a lounge area up front, and an upstairs loft room with tables. Very comfortable and cozy wine bar décor. Not really beachy considering where they are located, but sexy and inviting in a non-​pretentious way.

I’m just not crazy about this place. The food is so expensive and it’s crap. The 7 – 11 microwave pizza is deplorable. The drinks.. Meh.. Over priced. The staff? Friendly. I’ve given this place 3 attempts now. I’m done. I’m sorry. It’s all hype.

Best place! Had a wonderful party with the best girls ever. Couldn’t ask for a better place to have one

I was here for a Unilocal Event over the holiday weekend and had a great time. It’s small, but intimate and cozy. The staff is very knowledgable and attentive. If I was a local, I would absolutely check this place out. Good for intimate evening or small groups.

This was a great little stop on one of our Unilocal «staycation’s». They even included this stop as part of the events and offered 2 free wine tastings along with great happy hour prices! The two wines I tried (I forget the exact name of them unfortunately), we’re great! One was the Moscato and the other was a Chardonnay. The atmosphere was great not too dark and not too light, just perfect I’d say. The upstairs loft was pretty cool and great to escape with your group of friends too. The bartenders were quick and knowledgeable about their products. The regular prices in the menu were also pretty reasonable, even though at the time I was getting happy hour prices. They do offer bar food as well. In fact that’s the reason I took off a star, because I honestly wasn’t too impressed with the food. My friends and I split the spinach dip which I found to be well first off, cold and second, bland. Also I was not a fan of the chips/​bread that came along with it. My friend tried the sliders and said that they were bland as well. If not for the food I would have definitely given 5 stars because otherwise it was a great experience coming here. If I’m in the area is I’ll be stopping by for more happy hour and try out some of the other food they offer so I can update my review. :)

I can’t say enough about how well I and my fellow Unilocalers were treated by the folks at the Wine Loft, during our winter assault on Long Branch recently. We packed the house, and even though the bar happened to be understaffed that particular happy hour, the staff hustled like crazy to accommodate us. Our server Stephanie is probably still sleeping after we made her run up & down the stairs a hundred times, getting us wine. And she did it all with a smile.
The half-​price wines here (happy hour) are excellent, the décor is comfy for two (or 75!). The loft area adds a nice, cozy ambiance which separates the WL from some other bars in the area. Think urban hipster more than beachy Capt. Ahab, but hey we Unilocalers are adaptable! Only a water view would make this place better, but there are only so many of those spots available, and I am sure the drinks would not be as inexpensive. Don’t miss this little spot the next time you’re in Long Branch. There are so many bars at the Jersey shore that treat customers with indifference, because they feel they have a captive audience, and that no one will care about the food, drink quality or service. This is NOT one of those places. Hallelujah!

This is a great wine bar. I got here right at 4pm when they open and they made me feel very welcomed even if we were the only ones there and they were still setting up.
I got to try a few reds as a recommendation of one of the bartenders and everyone was delicious. I really enjoyed that their wine pours were very generous and they have ½ all glass wines during happy hour and food specials. I got to try the spinach and artichoke dip and it was okay, I will stick to the wine.
Before we left Tango (one of the bartenders) even did a great magic trick for us with some cherries and an orange.

I came to the Wine Loft with a group of girlfriends for a wine sampling courtesy of a Unilocal event. We sat in a cozy corner section of couches and sipped on some great wine. The server was polite and knowledgable. She gave us some great suggestions for tasting. All of the staff was extremely kind. The place was very busy and they were slightly understaffed but were so apologetic and polite, that we didn’t mind at all. We didn’t eat any food so I don’t have an opinion on that, but the atmosphere alone is worth coming back for!

Really interesting spot. Never seen something like this before. Come here for wine, but enjoy some of the appetizers or even some top shelf drinks too. Its small, but comfy and even has a small loft to sit up on. The place is spot less, and the bar tenders are nice and will help suggest something that you will enjoy on your pallate. When i first walked in, two things i noticed… How dark and seductive it was and the smell of their pizza. Their pizza smelled so damn good (watch its just a frozen elios – haha!), but none the less it smelled good.

More 3.5 but rounded up because of nice wine selection and atmosphere.
Arrived early as part of a Unilocal event and was greeted by an attentive and friendly hostess, who quickly became inaccessible as the loft became swamped with patrons. Not sure if they were anticipating such a turn-​out given the small number of staff available to help.
Wine selection is solid. 1 – 2 pages of wines by the glass and the rest by bottles with a price range from reasonable to splurge-​worthy. Maybe next time we’ll try that couple hundred dollars’ worth of Brunello…
To have a drink with friends during Happy Hour, this is the spot. Really nice-​looking inside with a high, gorgeous ceiling and an attractive bar area. Unfortunately, what really stumbled the rating was the food. Ordered the spinach artichoke dip, and the dip came out rubbery and the pita chips way too hard. I would come here to solely have a glass or two before eating dinner elsewhere.
Taking things in stride, however, relaxing here to have a good conversation with friends is definitely the way to enjoy The Wine Loft. With a wide selection of drinks, everyone should find something that satisfies their palate and budget.

Super friendly and knowledgeable staff. We loved the wines that we tried and the server made awesome recommendations based on what we said we liked. It is nice when you can tell that the person helping you pick a wine is clearly a wine lover herself.
The ambiance is fancy but not pretentious. I really like it here and would be back.

Pop’d over here while on a Unilocal elite event. I really enjoyed this place. They have substantial amount of space reserved for couches and lounge like tables that anyone could use. I enjoyed both merlots i tried as well as the petite sirah. Since I didn’t try any food and I thought the service was a bit slow i had to keep them at 4 stars. I do plan to come back and hope to bump this place to 5 stars. We lovely atmosphere Wine Loft. You’ll be seeing me again.

I wish I had a duplicate of this place near me! It is such a sexy looking place, as soon as you walk in, with gilded ceilings and romantically drapped curtains. There are some private corners for secret love affairs and a very social second floor full of comfy couches and a great view. They also had great music playing, giving this place a fun ambiance, not stuffy like most wine places.
We came to check out their wine tasting as part of the Unilocal July in January event and were treated to our first round on the house. Sadly they were out of some bubbly, but I got a sweet moscato wine that was great. The wine list was extensive and would satisfy any wine drinker, with wines ranging from very affordable to sugar daddy prices. In addition to wines, they boast a full bar with a fun martini and cocktail list for happy hour at $ 5 — $ 7 a glass.
I was even more grateful that their happy hour was 7 days a week and until 8 pm! So the hubby and I ordered some food as well. I got a bar pie with pepperoni and bacon and guoda sliders. The pizza was bar far my favorite, a thin crust and great sauce; also a decent size for sharing at only $ 6. The sliders were pretty overcooked, but had a good BBQ sauce and also only $ 6.
Sadly, it seems like they were not prepared for the influx of people for the weekend because there was only one poor waitress running around not only serving but cleaning tables, and picking up cups everywhere. Our orders took really long to get to us and we left thirsty because the poor server was so swamped. She was very nice and because I like this place so much, I would definetely return.

A solid three stars. Came here during a Unilocal event (free tastings) and ended up staying for a few hours. It’s dark and rich as far as atmosphere goes. I like the vintage cooper ceilings that adorn this wine bar. Two levels, we chose to go upstairs to sit and unwind. Upper level has low leather settings and ottomans which is good for groups. Our server Stephanie was awesome. Fast attentive and full of good suggestions. The wine list is impressive. Not so impressive was the food. Maybe it was an off day. The Gouda sliders were poor, the bread was stale and falling apart with each bite– and the Gouda was very little. The dip was good the pita chips were terrible. Terrible as in stale and chewy. Chewy pita is never a good thing. Flatscreen tv’s showed the games and music filled the air. Bartenders: Fake Craig with (Kirby) mustache was cool, real Craig, cooler. One Plus happy hour til 8pm every single day! Hoooray! Would come back just for the wine and atmosphere.

Thank you Kirby for a great tasting event on Saturday.
The Wine Loft is gorgeous and cozy. What a great way to do spend a few hours relaxing. The lounge set up is fabulous and the wines delicious. We didn’t have a chance to try the food but I am sure it is delicious.
I look forward to stopping by again.

Not too much to say here. I had a Unilocal voucher for 2 free tastings here (Woohoo, Elite Event: Staycation) and I was psyched about it. I’ll have the Malbec, please. The place was totally overcrowded and understaffed-​busy for sure! Between the Elite eclipse that took over this spot and the other Jersey people, The Wine Loft needed some help.
I know this because poor Paul had some wine sediment in his glass, which our nice waitress tried to explain away as «common» and «normal». True, but can we get it out of our friend’s glass?! Immediately before that, Mardory found that her second tasting glass had someone else’s lipstick still on it! I know you’re busy, but dishwashing isn’t typically optional.
They were slammed. At the time that we noticed the lipstick stain, I put my free beverage down. I wasn’t feeling inspired by what I saw… The lounge area was comfortable, the décor was sexy chic and despite its unclean moments, The Wine Loft is probably an awesome place for a date.
Malbec wasn’t great (I drank the first glass – it seemed shiny and clean). Good times, anyway with fun people. It would be best to come here any normal night and I’m sure their staff could handle the regular crowd.