Danielle:
I
love the location of this place. Finally, a place in OC that just has a
great vibe for chilling out on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I
especially appreciate it now that I rarely visit the Camp due to the
horrendous parking that takes me back to school where you drive through
the parking lot stalking people and waiting on their spaces. I hate that
feeling at the end of a long work day so I’ve cut back to visits to the
Camp for obligatory events. I drop by here fairly often and it’s the
kind of place that you can go alone or go early and wait alone for your
posse to arrive. In fact, I always see patrons there sipping wine alone
while catching up on work or reading.
I
like that they have acoustic music here on Friday nights and hope that
it creates a laid back diverse alternative for locals on Friday nights.
While we were there, it was fairly crowded. We peeked as we left, and it
looked like a couple more people had arrived.
We
left soon after arriving due to being hungry after work and Candice’s
wine mishap. I love the sushi place right outside, Waiiha. Hunger beat
won over continuing to check out the crowd. The menu is small so it’s
not the best spot if you are hungry. I do enjoy the cheese plate that is
made of cheeses from the cheese shop across the way.
On
the particular night, service was slow and the staff was visibly
slammed by the unusual crowd. If you visit here at other times, service
is extraordinary. The gals working here frequently drop by to help you
and make sure you are still set. If it’s slow and you are seated at the
bar, the girls have been very friendly and chat with you while you wait.
Another
perk to this place: try the olive oil! There are so many kinds and you
can sample them by asking. There’s usually one out with pieces of bread
for the taking, but if you are interested in buying, then ask! I didn’t
realize I like olive oil so much until trying their variety.
Food: ★★☆☆☆
Service: ★★★☆☆
Price: ★★★☆☆
Ambiance: ★★★★☆
Overall: ★★☆☆☆
S Factor: ★★☆☆☆
Candice:
As
much as I love, love, love the location of this place and concept of an
olive oil bar combined with a wine bar, it is with morose that I
express my disappointment with my visit to this place. Perhaps I
anticipated much, being that the setting is marvelous as it is located
in the OC Mart Mix and is surrounded by trendy, hip boutique shops with
fairly attractive people meandering about and sipping their espressos at
the nearby chic coffee shop (that is, if you like that kind of energy).
When I arrived, the crowd was just starting to enter and I settled in
comfortably at the bar watching the guitarist set up and waiting for
Danielle. Following my partner in crime’s arrival, we perused the menu
which unfortunately had an extremely limited variety and selection of
snacks to pair with the wines. We then decided we would enjoy a glass
of wine with the music and have dinner afterwards next door. I
initially ordered a glass of Riesling, and to my dismay, it had a
distinct and unfortunate smell and taste. Now, given that I have had an
unforgettable exposure to corked wine and this wine appeared to have a
very similar disposition, I was not going to take any chances. As a
result, I hesitatingly and politely suggested to the owner that the
newly opened bottle of wine may be contaminated (just as a polite
forewarning to other patrons), however I was surprisingly met with what
felt like a pretty quick dismissal. After the owner poured and sipped a
sample from the bottle, his curt response was that the wine was simply
exceptionally sweet. Okay. No offense, I admit I neither own a wine
bar nor sell wine, however the owner does not know me and know how
discriminating my palate is toward the aroma and taste of the sweetest
of the sweet wines. So unfortunately, I very much disapproved of his
retort (sorry patrons if you did get sick… I tried!!!) and the
associated indifferent attitude. Regardless, I did appreciate the owner
replacing the wine with a glass of Pinot Grigio which was of nothing
notable except the elevated cost.
Although
this place has great opportunity for people watching and a comfortable
place to chill outdoors, I would not suggest hanging out here when the
wine bar is crowded. Within an hour, the place was pretty filled, which
unfortunately resulted in very unsatisfactory service. Granted, only
the owner and an additional hostess was available to take care of the
crowd, but to make eye contact from one of them or even a smile when eye
contact was made occurred only three times in a span of over 60
minutes. You can see where I am going with this and I will quit while I
am ahead because I honestly do think this place has really great
potential. For starters, improve the customer service, increase the
selection of snacks, and alter the pour size or alter the cost of the
pours and flights, and maybe, just maybe, this place could get more
traffic throughout more times in the week. Overall, as much as I would
have enjoyed writing a praising review of this place because I simply
adore the location and setting, my experience this time was not at all
enjoyable (as evidenced by my ratings below) and I think there are too
many more ample wine bars, cafes, and/or restaurants nearby that can
offer much more for the cost and experience. I will admit I would
probably return only because I really like the setting and because when I
have been to this place previously during a fairly unoccupied time, the
service has been respectable. Nonetheless, I believe that customers
deserve consistency despite how demanding the environment becomes as
well as quality service that should come close to as exceptional as
possible at any time of the day or night.
Food: ★☆☆☆☆
Service: ★☆☆☆☆
Price: ★☆☆☆☆
Ambiance: ★★☆☆☆
Overall: ★★☆☆☆
S Factor: ★★☆☆☆
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