The Wine Vault

Josh has amazing food my only regret is my business across the street keeps me from eating there more often. Excellent date night destination

This little gem is worth the trip to Vermilion. My husband and I ended up here while on vacation in Huron, and I have not been so taken away with a restaurant in a long time. Which says a lot as we live in a hip, restaurant-​filled neighborhood in Cleveland.
Be warned, this place is tiny (it probably seats 30 at most) and they do not take reservations. However, if you are OK with a gamble, the food and service is well worth it!
The atmosphere is modern and approachable. The owner greets everyone from behind a beautiful bar and staff is friendly and helpful without feeling pretentious.
The owner is also the sommelier, and the staff is well-​educated on the extensive wine list and food pairings.
The chef is inventive and playful in his offerings. I had a duck dish that was complimented with a plum ponzu, goat cheese sauce, duck potstickers (homemade), pickled rhubarb, and a fresh asian-​style slaw. Everything on the plate sang! It was like two dishes in one, and yet each piece complimented the next.
Also, be sure to save room for dessert. All the desserts are paired with homemade ice-​creams that are produced in house. My husband had a peach cobbler with blackberry ice cream, and I indulged in a decadent smores dessert made with a Malley’s chocolate marshmallow and paired with a bourbon vanilla ice cream. (It was even torched to give it that campfire flavor.)
I see many road trips in my future just to enjoy this place again.

A great find! Met friends for dinner on a Tuesday. Delicious and beautifully presented. Attentive staff. Only one complaint– the lighting is too dim. We sat at a table facing the entrance, across from good friends; we couldn’t see their faces at all, so it made personal conversation more difficult. And we needed a flashlight to read the menu.

Best place in Vermilion. I kind of want to write a bad review only so it doesn’t get so busy we can’t get a table.

Put this one on your «must visit» list! Love the old architecture alongside a well executed menu and drinks. Service was a little slow but it was packed and we were not in a rush– the owners wife even came over and pitched in! Walleye was excellent and not deep fried! My friends chicken was amazing and the sangria refreshing. It was girls night out and after telling my hubby about the amazing food– he was jealous. It was so nice to find a menu with so many delicious sounding items I wanted to try! Definitely going back for a date night!

Have always hesitated to write a review here because, well, we wanted to keep it a secret! But… they are too damn good, too damn perfect at what they do to not shout it out there. The Wine Vault is an absolute gem. Impeccable food, a wonderful wine list, a beer program that is just spot on, and the service… WOW the service. In fact, that about says it all.WOW. Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!

The whole staff does a great job of explaining what they are serving and answering questions. They know their food and drinks explicitly. They did an excellent job of talking WITH us (and not down to us) so we got the most out of our dining experience. Took a wine recommendation from Josh and was not disappointed.
Appetizer: Ratatouille. It was extremely flavorful. The crispy artichokes added a nice dimension as well as the greens and balsamic pairing.
Entrée: Carbonara. Wow… this blew me away. The sauce was so rich and creamy. You had to take a bite, sit back, and enjoy. My wife only ate half of the portion provided it was so delightful. It made for an excellent midnight snack.
Entrée: Walleye. This was a nice light dish compared to the Carbonara. Lightly crusted served with asparagus, spaghetti squash, and a jicama crab meat salad. this was presented beautifully.
Dessert: Pumpkin Crème Brulee. Served in a mini-​pumpkin and served with fresh pumpkin biscotti, this was such a treat. The texture was spot-​on and the warm helped off-​set the smooth and sweet crème brûlée.
Dessert: Apple Crisp. Served chilled with a pumpkin mousse, made-​in-​house salted caramel ice cream, and chocolate truffle. This was another one of those dishes where you had to sit back and enjoy.
This was a big night out for us, so it was a little pricey. But, you can go in and get a beer and an appetizer and be totally stuffed. My wife remarked several times that the portions were almost too big for the quality of food. But, then we had some leftovers.

Really great food. Had the mussels. pome frites… and lot a wine. Will definitely be back. Service was outstanding.

The food and service is top notch. The décor is well done. I enjoyed the atmosphere very much. I had the scallops and I loved them. The Wine Vault is a slice of heaven. They have a great wine list as well as craft beers.

The Wine Vault is absolutely amazing! The people there are awesome, friendly, and accommodating. The food is simply amazing and nothing you pick will be disappointing. It’s a small and intimate environment, so it’s great for taking that special someone to for a romantic evening!

What a wonderful experience!
Came here with my boyfriend last night for dessert. After selecting a bottle of wine we browsed the menu and decided we couldn’t do just dessert, we had to try the food. The menu looks amazing. I wanted one of everything. We ended up selecting the cheese plate and the charcuterie fish board. My boyfriend and I were blown away. The portion sizes were huge! The accompaniments were fantastic. I have not had a better charcuterie board anywhere else. I wish I had more room to try the entrees! We will definitely be back to same them! The couple next to us ordered the duck confit, and it looked superb. We selected the dessert special of the night, a s’mores, and everything about it was wonderful. The chef is truly talented and put out a wonderful menu.
I do have minor two complaints.
The place is small, tight and cozy. My boyfriend is a little bigger and it was an extremely tight squeeze when trying to pass behind his chair. We were there on a slow Monday, I cannot imagine it on a busy Friday! The atmosphere is classy, and they did the best they could with the small space they have.
The wine list also did not impress me for a place being called wine vault. A lot of the bottles were priced over $ 65 and up, having other price points would have been nice. Also other selections. They only had a few selections of each varietal.
All in all, I give the place 5 stars and cannot wait to return to try it again!

Great wine selection. But don’t come here unless there are only 2 – 4 of you (extremely limited seating; no reservations) and if you are overweight. You seriously will have trouble getting in and through the bar, which is unfortunate indeed. (Our friend Chuck who is about 6’2″ and probably a trim but healthy 265 lbs could not find a comfortable spot so ended up standing by the bar near the entrance the entire time). The Appys are expensive and not anything great. We had a very good cheese plate (your choice: cows, sheeps, or goats milk cheese), a bland rice ball concoction that was ho-​hum, and carbonara which was terribly underdone and not all that flavorful. You got a very small amount for the expense. I’d go for wine only… And perhaps a plate of cheese.

Fantastic dining experience! You won’t find food this good for this price anywhere else! Wine list is complete, by the bottle and by the glass.
This beautiful old building actually use to be a bank and the vault still remains and is used to… you guessed it, store the wine.
It is a tight fit but this adds to the authenticity as many of the finest restaurants in Paris and Rome are equal in size. What it lacks in size it makes up for in stature.
I’ll be back soon!

Very quaint and inviting atmosphere. Somewhat upscale but not intimidating. The staff there was very friendly and the food looks great too.

I’ll say that I really loved the inside of this restaurant, even though it was cramped and slightly awkward. The main door is beautiful, and I’m a sucker for tin ceilings and the bar was really pretty. I always give the benefit of the doubt that I might have chosen the wrong menu item, but I ordered the carbonara and it was really sub par. The noodles were dreadfully overcooked, and you need a substantial noodle to stand up to that sauce. And it wasn’t listed in the description but they also they in edamame and corn, and it didn’t make up for the lack of noodle texture. My boyfriend had the pork belly, which tasted very good, but the portion was off. The wine recommended was spot on, so I would go but just stick to wine and appetizers.

We discovered this place from a friend and what a find it was. We were driving back to Toledo from Cleveland and stopped in Vermillion to find it for an early dinner. It’s very small (in an old bank bldg.) and they don’t take reservations but we didn’t have a problem because it was a Tuesday night (early fall) and they open at 4:30. I can imagine it’s a bear to get into during the summer months. One of the owners, Josh, greeted us and got us settled in. His wife works there too. The food was creative and reasonably priced. The carbonara was amazing — with edamame beans –a different twist from traditional and I’m still dreaming of it. We split lots of dishes and enjoyed it all. Wine and beer selection is great. Take Josh’s wine recos and prepare to enjoy a great meal.