104 Wine Bar By the Ocean

Love the wine dispensers; the concept is very nifty and highly customizable especially for picky drinkers like me. The quality of the wines I tried was good. Do go there to taste-​test, and talk wine — communicative staff too, and I don’t mean that in a snarky way.
On the downside, it’s not a cozy, relaxing, sit-​down kind of place. If you want peace, quiet, and a wine with your meal, that’s not what to do. Treat this as a kick-​off venue, though: cool for fans of wine and those who want to be just that. A mixed group can and should come here.

This place is so chill and so fun– a gf and I were able to chat and hear each other while still feeling like we were at a cool spot on a sat. night– right in the heart of third street promenade area. It was perfect for me as I like to take little sips of this and that and not have to commit to a whole glass of something! Super reasonable prices and super yummy wines! Except for the random Japanese one to the very left of the international red wines– NASTY! It wasn’t even red, so maybe it was misplaced/​gone bad?
:) Will be back for sure!

After one month later, I came back to 104 Wine Bar for tasting more wines. The vibe inside the bar has changed. I missed Simone who used to be the manager at this wine bar and it looks like they have new employees. One of the employees name: Ken, seems to have good knowledge on varieties of wine. He served me with good food and tasty wine that I enjoyed my time staying at the place. He has good sense of understanding the wine taste and his customer service is excellent. The employees seems friendly and kind.
I highly recommend people who likes a quiet wine bar and spend enjoyable time eating good food and drink wine. Thank you very much for your time, Ken.

had the happy hour chardonnay (easy to drink, good wine)
and the meats/​cheese plate: bresaola (really good air-​dried beef), mortadella (nothing special… reminded me of the bologna i used to eat as a kid), manchego (cant go wrong with manchego), fresh mozzarella, and a brie. enjoyed the plate very much.
we wouldve stayed longer and tried the hummus but there was something about the vibe and service that didnt quite click with us. menu had messy blotches all over because they couldnt print out new ones due to a broken printer… when we ordered, the guy tried to remember the 5 things but failed to do so and came back with a pen and paper to «double-​check» the order… i might be getting too picky but its the little things that get to the customers at times, especially when theyre in the resto biznatch themselves…

Great wine selection, but you feel very rushed while trying to enjoy your wine. I’ll need to give it another chance. Maybe it was just an off day.

We had an expired Groupon… they gave us the face value of $ 15 of wine tastings… no questions asked.
It’s an interesting system with the cards and the pours. I wish they explained the Happy Hour better because once we went thru our $ 15 Groupon value we thought we were on Happy Hour for all wines… turned out we weren’t and we ended up with a rather large bill for some cheap wine. Apparently, Happy Hour only applies to certain wines. We didn’t know that.
It’s a cute place. Staff is friendly. But Happy Hour should be a happy hour… and it wasn’t for us when we saw the bill.

What a cool casual place to kick back and get your booze on in a terrible classy way. I really love being able to taste what you want and not what they want you to taste. They have one of those supper fun serve yourself tasting machines. It is a little bit steep per taste at about $ 3 for a 1 oz. taste, but whatever – I had a groupon deal for half-​price on the tasting card so it wasn’t as bad as it would be if you had to pay for it outright. My friend and I burned through the $ 30 card in no time. I guess if you figure 1 oz. for $ 3, we had 10 oz for the entire $ 30…that is expensive. Eh, It’s still fun and all the wines were pretty good too.
The place is quiet and cute. I hate loud crowded wine bars when you are trying to relax and talk.
They have a great happy hour too and their hh red is pretty nice.
The food was good and the people working their are really great.
They have a lovely little patio that allows dogs. I will be back to enjoy the happy hour and the patio when it isn’t so cold.

Unlike other wine bars, it wasn’t jam packed on a Saturday night. I guess that’s bad for them, but it was great for us, because we didn’t have to put up with any shoving or shouting. It was a cute little place to spend the evening, sipping wines and nibbling on cured meats and cheeses. I wish I had stopped in before now.
Out of every wine I tried, there were only two I didn’t like (and that’s just my own personal taste), and I found a couple that I absolutely loved.
We had a difficult time choosing meats and cheeses, so we got a little help from the staff. They were so nice and we got some wonderful options that we might not have picked otherwise.
This spot is a little gem. It’s slightly off the beaten path, but it’s surely worth the trip.

Great location. The place was smaller than I expected, it’s really tiny. The wine vending machines are set up around the room and it’s around $ 3.00 for a taste. A TASTE… is exactly what you get. I was a little disappointed in that. At another wine bar I’ve been too, you get an option of size of pour for different amounts of money.
The reviews on food aren’t so great so I wasn’t expecting much. I thought the food was REALLY good. I got the 104 panini and it was fantastic. My date got the salmon and I don’t usually eat fish but it too was really good and had a really good sauce.
The minus one star was for two things…1. The tastes were tiny and when we switched to a glass of wine, they didn’t open up a bottle, they would use the vending machines which took a little time. 2. They gave us a specials menu for food and pushed the risotto so we both were going to get the risotto. Well, they ran out. ;(. Maybe check to see if you have something before giving us the specials.
They had live music there (It was a Sunday night). A guy playing guitar which wasn’t too loud or overbearing but at one point he left and not sure where he went. He didn’t return but left his guitar. A little strange… perhaps.
I’d definitely come back. I loved all the wines I tasted, loved the ambience, friendly attentive service and great food.

Enjoyed this little place. Loved the pouring machines and the wines we tasted were all excellent.
The down side to this place is the cost… Were it not for our Groupon deal it would have been one expensive night.
Chairs were a little stiff.
With silent movies playing on the wall and a few nice patrons to stare at, I was able to overlook the few irritants like small pours and high prices and have a good time.
Unlikely we will return, but worth at least one visit.
Olives were excellent. Very nice owner and servers.

I’ve been here a few times and never got around to write a review.
This place is a cozy not so big place but definitely good size. The people working there including the Owner is very hospitable and friendly. They help give suggestions and are very good about refilling water and giving suggestions when asked.
Look forward to going here again!

My friend and I just so happened to stumble upon this place at the right time. Tuesdays are Happy Hour all night! So that means 50% off selected apps and $ 3.50 house wine. Can’t beat that!
We ordered paninis. I got the 104 and it was super good and filling for a light snack. Simone (our gracious host) was a delight, and got us hooked on this delicious Roscato (moscato rose).
I can’t wait to go back again (on a Tuesday, of course).

Very nice, genuine owner/​manager. We were very glad to have found this new wine bar.
For wine tasting: So, you get a prepaid card with a value of $ 30. You have 4 stations with tons of different types of wine you can try. So you insert the card into that particular station’s card slot then you push the button of the wine that you would like to sample & it gives you a pre measured amount. Each sample has a set price on how much a sample will cost you right above that particular wine bottle in red which will then be deducted from your $ 30 prepaid card. You pay for however many tastings you do. You then can choose what bottle of wine you would like. Really loved the concept & the atmosphere/​music.
They have happy hour 7 days a week from 4 – 8, bottles are $ 5. Every tuesday they have a live band too! They also have really good bread pudding!

Hospitable and informative hosts, and an amazing selection (from the perspective a newbie to the wine world).
You get a credit card, walk around and select wine (2.75 for roughly ¹⁄₆ a glass) then afterwards you pay. I had a great time and it’s a wonderful atmosphere.

Came here recenly with a girlfriend. I had mixed feelings. I love the location and décor. The enomatic wine machines are fun, and the wine list by the glass was excellent and varied. However, the food and service were just okay.
Regarding the food, there were good options for the cheese plate, but the portions were very small and the rye/​nut bread that came with it was not very good. It would have been better with crackers. My friend asked for olive oil with the bread and was brought a tiny little ¹⁄₈ cup size serving of oil. We left hungry.
Regarding the service, we sat alone for long periods of time (even while we were the only people there). I was sitting facing the bar and observed our server on Facebook on both his phone and a laptop many times throughout the night. It seemed like he would only come over when we were at a point in our conversation when we wouldn’t want to stop and chat with him.
I would give this place another try because it is so convenient for me, and I did love the wine.

Bestie snagged a groupon now for this place, but I happened to miss the deal. But we decided to head there anyways. Street parking isn’t really an option, so we chose to do the parking structure on 4^th street.
Came into this cute place with two groups already there. The owner, I’m assuming, helped explain what the groupon was worth, gave us a menu, and told us how the whole process was. It is very similar to a place in Davis, so I could figure. They had three side tasters and a round one in the middle. Same idea — prepaid card that you can put into the machines and you just press a button on the wine you want to taste, and it pours you an ounce of wine into your glass.
The groupon was $ 30 for $ 15 on the card, which was surprisingly the right amount for two girls. We also ordered a three cheese platter with blue cheese, truffle cheese, and I forgot the third. Wasn’t a fan of the blue, but the truffle was good. They also were refilling our bread, and it came with complimentary grapes, apple slices and jam.
Was a very good experience to wine taste and have a small appetizer and catch up. The only thing was the two people working there were very attentive. A little too attentive that it felt like they would linger a little too long that there were weird awkward silences that followed while they stood there.

What an awesome little place! I bought a Groupon for here to give it a shot and am so impressed I can’t wait to come back!
The owners were so incredibly friendly and made awesome wine recommendations and their menu was great for splitting a few plates with a friend while enjoying many different tastes of awesome wines.
The deal here is that you can buy a card with some amount on it and then you purchase little tastes from their wine kiosk things (it’ll make sense when you get there!) and so you can try as many as you have on your card. they also have an awesome cheese and meat menu along with paninis, soups and salads.
Happy hour is EVERYDAY from 4−8pm and it’s 20% the entire menu! Wonderful!
Their patio is PET FRIENDLY and that have a handful of tables out there with heaters they can turn on if you’re in need of some warmth.
Linka and Simone (I’m not sure how you spell their names, sorry guys!!) were just adorable and I can’t wait to go back!

I bought two groupons for $ 30 worth of wine tasting and if you bought that deal too, then, hopefully you will be glad you did because I sure was.
They open at 4pm on Sunday and we got there around 4:30. It was empty, so we received special attention which was nice. The self-​service wine tasting with the prepaid card was really fun. $ 30 gets you about 10 tasters of 1oz wine samples. If you have any questions about the wine, just feel free to ask. Otherwise jump in and enjoy yourself. There were some good selections. I only had one taste that was extremely gross but sadly I can’t warn you because I forgot what it was called. But if you like sweet whites the Vouvray Chenin Blanc was amazing!
Anyway, after tasting we ordered a glass of our favorites and a cheese platter to compliment the wine. Totally delicious. We even received a few more free samples as well. This place is great. It would definitely make for a fun date idea or to bring your of town visitors because of its proximity to the ocean /​Santa Monica pier /​and the 3^rd street promenade.

I was going to do a 1 but then I bumped it up to 2 because maybe I’m being a little harsh. Unfortunately, I can’t help but compare this place to Pourtal, what it used to be before the change in ownership.
If you’ve never been here the interesting feature is that you can buy an electronic card with a certain dollar amount on it, and then use that card to wander around the bar and sample various wines. It’s actually really fun and 20 bucks is usually enough to have a good time. Then, in theory, you can go buy a glass of the wine you liked best. Barrel Malibu (if it still exists) does the same thing.
Unfortunately the selection of wines you can buy by the glass is now extremely limited and does not cover hardly any of the ones you can sample. As another reviewer noted, they’ve also stopped refunding you the money you haven’t spent on the card, simply suggesting you bring it back with you.
They also took away the wine wheel, which was a very simple and fun feature. Essentially, Pourtal had this small wheel numbered 1 – 36 that you could spin, with all the wines around the bar having a corresponding number. It was a really interesting thing to play and take you out of your normal comfort zone if you and your friends adhered to a strict rule of drinking whatever it gave you. That kind of «fun» seems to have been sucked out of this place for a cheaper, yet more serious atmosphere. Perhaps that was best demonstrated by the fact the last time I went there the place was dead quiet, with 7 total patrons, at 9 PM on a Friday.
Maybe the reasons why this place was so great before are the reasons the original owners had to sell it and leave. It’s just not what it used to be.

Great wine, great food, and great atmosphere!
When it comes to wine, the manager (Shige) is a true professonal.
Finish a day of shopping or work and relax with some wine tasting.
I have to update my review now… Since the owner has messed up the place and it is obvious that the orginal staff is now gone. This place had a good chance, but now that Shige is not there this place will fail. Hopefully the owner will not mis-​manage the money like he did at the begining. The wine is way over priced, and the food now is bad. If you want quality wind and food, go to the wine bar ontop of the mall!!!