Spill The Wine

After eight years Spill the Wine closed its doors today.
Period.

The chairs were absolutely torturous for a me and my friend; we’re both over 40 and our hips didn’t fit at all. So, while dinner included two bars poking me in the backside, that wasn’t the worst part of it.
Out of 5 courses, the best tasting part was the cheese tray. The chopped salad was largely the heel of romaine. The spaghetti and meatballs were plopped in the middle of the table family style, with the expectation we’d re-​purpose our appetizer plates for the entrée. We asked for plates, and got more bread plates. The spaghetti and (faux) meatballs were not worth dishing up in the end. And the apple cheddar donut dessert sounded great, but was a lackluster disappointment.
The bartender poured me the wrong wine flight. Just a total disappointment all the way around.

Not sure what’s up with the low rating. I loved this place. Came for happy hour. I NEED to go to happy hour at places that have small plates and discounted drinks. This place had both. The cheese curds were GREAT! The staff, while a little slow, was really nice. I wish they had a larger outdoor patio. As it is it’s right on the corner of the street and gets little loud. Very little ambiance to that. Love the bottomless mimosas for brunch. I’ll be checking that out and updating my review ASAP. Overall I really like the place. Nothing super exciting but what they do is good.

First off: How long has this been here and why haven’t I been here before? And secondly, why didn’t anyone tell me this place was so amazing!!!
We’ve had yummy drinks on their patio before (usually after stopping next door to buy a few cigars) but we never bothered to get any food. One night we saw a great deal on LivingSocial (their tasting menu) and bought it. We are SO GLAD we did!
From the starter cheese, meats, and crackers tray to the salad to their beautiful red and white wine flights to their entrees: everything was perfectly executed and delicious.
By the time the entrees arrived, we were sooo stuffed. I tried to eat more of my entrée because it was so good, but finally I gave up because I thought I was going to just pop like a pricked balloon. Haha.
This place is perfect for date night. The ambience is soft and clean. And the staff is sweet and attentive but they aren’t pushy or stuffy. They could tell we were having a great time chatting and although they left us alone, she checked in with us every so often without hovering!
We had a decadently long (probably 2 hours) dinner date. We just loved everything and we will definitely stop here again for dinner, small plates, and/​or drinks. Perhaps not so much the tasting menu as we apparently don’t have big enough stomachs. Haha.
If you opt for the chef’s tasting menu, don’t order extra apps unless you have a bottomless pit for a stomach. We waddled out of there like happy, stuffed, amorously drunk penguins. Lol.

I had not been to the new place until last night. Gotta say I am disappointed in it. It is noisy and the food isn’t (at least to me) as good as it used to be.
First place, our waitress was telling us about a Washington wine from the finger lakes area. Um, that is New York, so either the wine is from Washington or New York, but not Finger Lakes area of Washington. It was New York, and not bad. Also, the stemware is Riedel and pronounced like needle, not the sports ware company. Wine is in the name of the restaurant and t
We were there for restaurant week. A chance to try ‘places and things’ for this week. Some of the food we had was very good, meat and cheese plate was great, soup and salad was very good. The pork showed up and we both looked at it like ‘what the…’. It was simply a bowl of pork shoulder (the area where pulled pork is from) with some broth and 2 pieces of stove toasted bread. Although it was done well, it just didn’t seem like a main course.
We finished with their apple crisp, kind of an upside down regular apple crisp with a little ice cream or something on the top.
It took an hour and 45 minutes for the courses of this dinner, way too long. The serving sizes were not that large that we needed time to digest and make room for the next course.
If you are into uptown, small plates, active lifestyle, this is a good addition to your eating choice. If you are into sitting and listening to violins, a knowledgeable wine staff and wait staff at your beck and call, this is not the place. I am looking for someplace in between and the search will continue.

Went back tonight and immediately found that the menu had taken a turn for the worse. I found out that the Chef had been replaced and gone with him are the delicious dishes of the past such as Octopussy with black olives. Instead we found a rather predictable food choice, oversalted dishes served warm not hot. We had dumplings in Miso soup that were tasteless and too big, just not the refined dish I was hoping and almost cold. The olives were too salty, the mussels were strangly Indian inspired. The trio of spreads was boring.
We will not be back sorry but too plain.

Sublime blasting through the speakers while sipping $ 3 taps outside? Yes, please.
Spill the Wine is on a busy corner so it’s fun fro people-​watching if that’s your kind of thing. As for the food, the burgers are amazing and so are the small plates. I haven’t had their brunch but I hear it’s one of the best in town and with $ 10 bottomless mimosas it’s only a matter of time before I give it a try.
As for the taps — the selection is great, they carry various wines I like and the staff is more than willing to help if you should need a paring suggestion.
Spill the Wine… until next time.

I’m pretty excited to post this review because I know this place has had its struggles. We came today for brunch and it was fantastic! The menu was a great one for a brunch… some unique offerings like breakfast mac and cheese and eggs in purgatory along with some staples like ham and cheese scramble, veggie scramble and interesting sounding French Toast. Plus they offer their great double cheese burger and have an all you can drink mimosa deal that offers four different flavors for $ 8!
Our server and the manager were attentive, friendly and great and they were playing fun energetic tunes too! If you’re looking for a great brunch spot on the weekend with some friends… give this place a try… again!

Now I’ve only been here once and only had wine. We went during a time when wine bottles were half off and I was able to split a bottle of Pinot Gris for only $ 15 total. They allow you to sit outside and smoke cigars from the smoke shop next door which in my mind is a perfect way to spend your time on a beautiful Sunday in the fall.
I’d like to come back soon to get more of an experience with the restaurant as a whole.

Spill the Wine is a great place to go with friends and share a few small plates. We happened to go on a Monday when they had half price bottles of wine, which was a plus. We got the cheese curds, homemade ricotta, and the burger. Everything was delicious! Also, the server was friendly and attentive. I will definitely be coming back again!

The good: they have their own parking lot in the back. The food was interesting, tasty and fresh. The wine list included California wines.
The bad: Service during happy hour was VERY SLOW. They only had one guy waiting on the entire restaurant. It’s entirely possible that the day I went it was just an off day.

One of my favorite places in Uptown.
We stumbled upon Spill The Wine one afternoon and am so glad we did. They have a great wine selection, knowledgable staff and a great patio out back. I started with a white wine flight and liked the variety of wines that came with it. We’ve since been here a few times and have tried their specialty drinks and were also really impressed with those. The dinner menu is smaller and a little confusing to read — one section says dinner plates, one is small plates to share (with a huge burger underneath it? Isn’t that an entrée?) and then at the bottom are large plates to share. Even though the menu is small they do offer a good variety and there’s guaranteed to be something everyone will like. They also offer a good-​looking brunch menu (with unlimited mimosas!!) that I’m hoping to try out in the next few weeks.

Went last Saturday, around 7:30. It was busy, but not slammed. We were seated right away, and our server was at our table to greet us within 5 minutes.
We each ordered glasses of wine, and a double burger small plate. This should not be considered a «small plate»! The burger was huge. It had cheese, carmalized onions and crispy, crunchy bacon… it was CRAZY GOOD! I had to take one of the buger patties out, because I felt like the bun-​to-​meat ratio was off. :) We also ordered the fries, and they were ok… but I focused most of my energy on the burger.
Will definitely be back for another one!

Decided on Spill the Wine for brunch today and this was my first visit to the new location. Ambiance was good but service was problematic from the beginning — took hostess several minutes to greet us even though restaurant was not even half full.
Food was delicious — had the breakfast Mac N Cheese and was completely satisfied. Happy to see Dogwood coffee on the menu.
Service at the table was pretty lacking though — we were the only table the bartender had and he spent most of the time standing at the bar talking to the hostess instead of serving us.
Noise level leaves something to be desired as well.
Overall ok — would have been excellent with better service. Won’t be in a rush to dine here again anytime soon.

A juxtaposition of foods that is a bit odd but it works. Cheese curds, fried rice, crab BLT, roasted beets. Like I said, odd. But tasty.
I was a fan of Spill the Wine in its previous Downtown Minneapolis location and was sad to see them move but I’ve still make my way to the new Uptown spot a few times already. The menu changed a bit after the move but they have some of the old favorites and a similar offering of wine. My experiences have been a bit hit or miss but the misses aren’t enough to stop me from coming back.
The cheese curds have always been yummy but on a recent visit the chef decided to put a ton of salt on bottom of the plate and then put the curds on top. As a result, the curds on the bottom were completely coated in salt and it made me choke. Nasty and unnecessary. He made up for that snafu with the fabulous fried rice dish. It was spicy and tasty and had a soft-​cooked egg on top. Perfection. The cheese plate is usually pretty tasty as well, although the last time I had it they burnt the toast and served it to me anyway.. .. but let’s move on. The scallop dishes have been a favorite of mine. Large diver scallops cooked perfectly and usually topped with a rich, mildly spicy, and well-​paired sauce. Delish. Stay away from the olive tapenade. So salty that no amount of water will help you choke it down. You can’t go wrong with their salads or the gnocchi. Happy hour wine specials will keep your tab down. If you buy a bottle and aren’t able to finish it, they’ll re-​cork it so you can take it to go. A unique and appreciated service.
The staff at Spill the Wine is a bit more chillax in the Uptown location. They’re friendly, casual, and give the restaurant a Cheers bar kinda feel. This goes well with the casual décor and atmosphere. There’s no pretension about this place, which makes it a comfortable spot to sip a glass and nosh on a bite.

This place is very… Pinterest-​y. And I mean that disparagingly as mason jars, chalkboards, exposed wood, burlap bows, strategically-​placed tealights just make me shrug. If they are your thing, then you’ll likely love this place. They are following all of the things that are very «on» in restaurant trends.
The menu also follows suit. I only tried two things. The brussel sprouts hash which would have been fantastic aside from the amount of vinegar that practically made me choke. And the truffle cheese curds are good, although fried cheese with truffle flakes should never be bad.
Also, late night happy hour starts at 10 on Sundays, despite what their website says. Tsk tsk, Spill the Wine.

I should of read the reviews before coming here but a friend insisted that we try this place out so I just went with it.
The décor was electric and limited since the restaurant is technically a wide open room with the kitchen exposed in one corner and bar located in the other corner. There’s one restroom for men and women.
I would not recommend this place for dinner. Their big plate items weren’t as appetizing. They served burgers and fries. I had better tasting burgers at large chains. I ordered the pork belly burger. It was a thin slice of pork belly on top of an actual beef burger. I only had half and threw the rest away. My friend ordered the crab BLT which was a string of crab leg inside a toasted white sandwich bread. Not exactly unique.
However the small plates seem to please my other friends. They ordered the scallops, humus and Brussels sprout salad. I think I should have went that route too. Anyway, spill the wine, I’ve learned, is definitely a place for wine and apps. We ordered two bottles of the Malbec. It was great. We didn’t have anything else besides that. May I add that our server knew nothing about the wine on the menu. I agree with the other Unilocalers, the servers appear very absent minded!
The place would be a perfect location to meet up on a date and for catching up. But if you’re looking for an actual dinner venue, I don’t suggest this one.

This was my second visit — the first visit to their new location and I was looking forward to it. The décor is rustic/​industrial cool and the bar looked pretty full during the last half-​hour of the Happy Hour.
My friend and I got a somewhat absent-​minded waitress. I got the house red which was okay and there were not many choices — and the waitress said she did not know much about reds. Hello? Isn’t that part of your job?
Ordered the fish tacos, and roasted cauliflower. Fish tacos were really disappointing — basically fried fish sticks in tortillas. Roasted cauliflower with olives was very tasty. The menu was disappointing with respect to fish and vegan choices were even more limited. I remember the last location had many tempting fish choices.
Prices were very reasonable and I may go back again for that alone and to try a different menu once the season changes.

Just fantastic. The gnocchi tapa was out of this world, and Adam suggested a great Chenin Blanc to go with it. Dessert was Tres Leches, which tasted like cake and flan at the same time. Never tasted anything like it. Really wonderful.
On top of it all the prices were really reasonable. Don’t hesitate! Go now!

Stopped in for Happy Hour/​early dinner with some girlfriends a couple of weeks ago on a gorgeous summer evening (finally!). Unfortunately, I am disappointed to report the overall experience was just not great at StW.
Even though I rarely order from it, I still like to know what’s on the HH menu. The waiter would not tell us what the labels were for the HH wines by-​the-​glass. And no, it wasn’t meant to be, nor was it, cute. He would only divulge that the white was a Chardonnay and the red was a Cab. This seemed a little odd for a wine bar (not to mention boring!) but we let it go and ordered off the regular wine list like big girls (well, most of us did anyway — those less discerning took the mystery Chardonnay just like they were at a banquet hall wedding). Anyway, like I said, I don’t like to order off the HH menu anyway, and maybe that is their point, but still… that was the reason some of the gals wanted to try this venue and it felt a little bait-​and-​switch-​y.
The food was hit-​or-​miss. The fried rice with poached egg was delish but the fish and chips were the worst I’ve ever encountered — serious about that. I’ve had better at a school cafeteria.
The service was friendly enough but not enough to make me want to come back for it. Sadly, since I live so close, I’m bound to return for one reason or another. Maybe it’ll be better next time.