Vintage Irving

During football season, I’m usually camped out at Side Bar. The room typically designated for my team is towards the back in what is actually a wine and tapas restaurant by night (i.e. Vintage Irving). Watching fans every Sunday take shots of Jameson while wearing the honorary helmet makes me think of this space as a rowdy sports bar… until last night that is, when I went to Vintage Irving… for Vintage Irving.
The football crowd had been replaced with wine-​o couples and the Side Bar manager had been swapped out for a yoga go-​lucky Sommelier named Eric. Although Vintage Irving is open for regular dinner service, they also occasionally host wine tastings via $ 100 tickets (a friend generously bought ours through an online discount). The tasting ran about 2.5 hours plus we stayed for one/​four extra sips/​glasses of wine. Eric was informative, fun and SUPER cheery in all of the best ways. A plate of two cheeses and two meats accompanied the six French tastings. We also ordered calamari (eh…so so) and the grilled shell steak (mehhh…) with rosemary-​asiago fries and porcini mushroom butter (awesome).
Our favorite wines included the 2007 Henri De Villamont Pinot Noir from Bourgogne, France, the 2006 Château De Vangoudry Cabernet Franc from Chion, France and the 2005 Château De Plassan Cuvee from Bordeaux, France.
All in all, the perfect way to celebrate a relaxing MLK holiday.

My girlfriend and I finally made it to Vintage Irving last night. Overall: 3 stars.
Here is the breakdown of how I rated the restaurant:
Appetizer (tuna tacos): 5 stars
Main Course I (roasted chicken): 4.5 stars
Main Course II (seared tuna): 2.5 stars
Atmosphere: 1.5 stars
Service: 3 stars
I’ve lived within three blocks of the restaurant for a few years, but had never been. We started with excellent Tuna Tartar Tacos with a avocado (!), salad. Excellent, really a wonderful dish– 5 stars.
Then we decided to both get specials of the night.
I got the roasted chicken, my girlfriend got the Seared Tuna. The roasted chicken was served over mashed potatoes (excellent!), Green beans, and with Shallots– the Shallots were sauteed in some sort of buttery sauce, which made them absolutely delectable. The chicken itself was very, very good– the sauce has a deep, nutty, almost cinnamon flavor that enhanced everything it touched (Shallots, Potatoes, Chicken). [Side Note: I have an allergy to green beans, so scooped those on a separate plate for my girlfriend to enjoy). The chicken was 4.5 stars.
My girlfriend’s seared tuna was just okay. The dish came with roasted potatoes, spinach sauteed in garlic (lots of garlic!) and had an olive tapenade on top. The roasted potatos were just okay and the spinach was good. Neither my girlfriend nor I loved the Tuna on its own. When eaten with the olives it had nice flavor, but I don’t think the flavor of the tuna stood on its own– important when ordering fish seared! Tuna 2.5 Stars.
The atmosphere of Vintage Irving leaves little to be desired. Our table was near an open door whose hallyway led to SideBar– a sports bar that gets 2.5 stars on Unilocal.I’ve been to the bar a few times, it’s incredibly loud and full of college sports fans. Indeed during dinner a man in a Florida Gator polo yelled over our table to the bar to order drinks… Fine for a (side)bar, but not quite in tune with a place that is trying to be more upscale. Indeed, we could hear the music pumping next door at Sidebar. The atmosphere was 1.5 stars.
Finally, the service.
Service at restaurants can succeed or fail due to two factors: the quality and quantity of the wait staff. Our server did a very good job steering us to the right amount and types of food to order– but there appeared to be only one server and a cocktail waitress servicing our entire section– as such service was slow. This is an issue with the restaurant not having a large enough quantity of servers, which of course leads to a detriment in the overall quality. Service was slow, but our server enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Service was 3 stars.
I would likely go back, but won’t rush.

Went here last night to use my groupon for the sangria flight. Even though it was expired, they let me use what I paid for the groupon and applied it towards the price (half off). The sangria was really good. I am not a fan of sangria that tastes too strong of wine and little fruit, so it was perfect for me. The vodkas in the sangria were a nice touch too!
It was three of us and we ordered four small plates. Food was great! We ate the following:
Special plate not always on the menu — hummus topped with feta, diced tomatoes and diced cucumbers. It was fabulous! Highly recommend it;
— spinach and artichoke dip — very tasty especially with the the cream and cheese on top;
— rice balls — first time having rice balls. They were amazing! They are almost like a croquette filled with mashed potatoes; and
— chicken meatballs — these were ok. Tasted good, but definitely not my favorite dish of the night. The others were really good.
The ambiance was cool too. I though it looked quiet and boring from the outside, but when we went in, it was lively and just the right volume. Friendly crowd and not overcrowded.
Service was top notch! Stephanie was on it and so friendly! Would definitely go back soon!

Cute place, though it feels like it’s trying to be more than the hole-​in-​the-​wall that it truly is.
I only went because I had a Groupon for a discounted Sangria flight. AWESOME FLIGHT! My only issue was that the Fig Sangria was BY FAR the best of the flight… possibly the best sangria I’ve ever had! But it’s not a menu regular item. Actually, Sangria is a seasonal item for them. So I’d only think of going back during the spring and summer seasons.
As the flight went, the triple berry was ok… a bit too sweet. the champagne was ok but off in a way that I couldn’t wrap my tongue around. The peach was quite pleasant.
I had no desire to try the food menu… although the bartender (Jeff) was the epitome of what service should be! He was informed, responsive, respectful, suggestive while never pushing, and flat out charming! The guy at the door was similar, even offering an extension on the last day of this Groupon since they were fully booked that night.
The layout is nice… the music choice was superb AND played at a perfect level to create a really nice background ambience without invading conversation… the bathrooms were spacious, clean and had awesome faucet fixtures… and the yummy yummies poppin’ in and out of the kitchen were SCRUMPTIOUS!!!
But, overall, it really didn’t feel like anything special. I’d go back if I were in the area and a friend wanted to try it… or to see if that amazing sangria was a special for the night… but it’s not a must-​try destination.

I think the «3 star» rating is skewed from way too many Groupon reviews. As a non-​coupon holder (though I definitely had my share of the delicious Sangria), I thought this place was great.
The octopus, choriza, & scallops were delicious, though I wasn’t that impressed with the Calamari. We had a great server named Joseph, who was friendly & helpful without being too pushy or aggressive.
I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that I received a 10% discount after checking in on foursquare.

My friend and I were lured to Vintage Irving by the Groupon deal. I actually paid only $ 5 instead of $ 10 for it because I had a credit. In fact, I do believe it was worth $ 5 because I’m pretty sure the sangria was 95% juice and 5% alcohol. In my opinion, part of the attraction of sangria is that it tastes so darn good, but you have no idea how much alcohol you are drinking. Make no mistake — this flight was extremely tasty. However, I was disappointed by the apparent lack of alcohol in the sangria. Ever hopeful, my friend and I proceeded to order a carafe of our favorite flavor from the flight. Hours later, we were still sober and confused.
The food was pretty tasty. We split the scallops, which were perfectly cooked. Also, had the paella, which was well seasoned and flavorful. The chicken meatballs were sitting in a delicious sauce (I could have dipped more bread than the 2 pieces provided), but the meatballs themselves were uninspired. Was thoroughly disappointed by the chorizo, which was burned, tough, and chewy.
Nice ambiance… a little dark, perhaps a romantical place to bring a date, but don’t expect that the sangria will provide a decent buzz to help to break the ice.

If it weren’t for the Groupon deal ($ 20 Sangria Flight), I probably wouldn’t have found my way to Vintage Irving, and that’s kind of sad. It’s a nice looking place and our server was very nice. He bought out our flights and explained which ones they were and in which order to drink them. I was impressed by most of the sangrias. Most were sweet, one tasted like cloves, which isn’t a bad thing, but it felt very Christmas-​y, and one of them i didn’t like too much. We also ordered the spinach-​artichoke dip, which was really good. Crunchy pita chips with a delicious blend of spinach, artichoke and cheese, topped with breadcrumbs, and baked. It was delicious.
After sampling our sangrias and munching on spinach-​artichoke dip, I left feeling good, but not entirely impressed. Perhaps, it was because it was like 50 degrees inside on a brisk summer day, making it rather uncomfortable. Or maybe it’s because I wanted to try the absinthe, but I couldn’t on a work day. I wouldn’t want to go into work the next day seeing green fairies.

I went to Vintage Irving with friends a couple of weeks back with my $ 20 Sangria Flight Groupon and was pleasantly surprised by both the service and the food. Our waiter was amazing (wish I remembered his name, darnit!) and very attentive without being pushy and annoying.
We started off a the bar waiting for a few others and had a glass of wine (as if the sangria flight was not going to be enough) and a delicious cheese plate. When we got to our table, we basically ordered one of everything and there wasn’t one thing i didn’t like (calamari was really good).
It may not be the best place i’ve ever eaten but it is definitely somewhere i’d go again.
There was a comfortable atmosphere, good service, good food, conveniently located and it was decently prices.

I came to this place a while back because I had a Groupon for $ 20 Sangria flights. I arrived in a rather poor mood, as I came to break up w/​some guy (using coupons… that was such a class act). The bartender was so cheerful that his mood was infectious. Maybe he was being nice because he sensed the impending doom, or maybe he was just a bit tipsy and happy, but he poured us 2 free shots and chattered away. The sangria was awesome. The bartender was awesome. I’ll come back for him alone if not for the drinks (I wish I could remember your name and give you a shout out, but alas, you got me too buzzed).

This place has some nice ambiance for a night out with some friends (which is exactly what I came here for). The service was fine, nothing too great because the waitress was hard to grab to make orders. I got the sangria flight (coupon from
) and recommend the citrus strawberry sangria. We ordered the cheese platter — loved the manchego and goat cheese. I also got the mesculin salad with rice balls — also what I liked. I think what hit it here with me was the service and the food was good — not extravagant.

VI gets great reviews on other online review sites, but not tops on Unilocal,so I wasn’t sure to try it out. The problem w/​being new in NYC – there are so many awesome places to try, that you feel a sense of wasted opportunity, if you end up having a bad experience.
Decided on VI because of its convenience to the movie theater, and pleasantly surprised that everything was good and decently priced. Despite being tapas, the portion size of each is as big as an entire entrée at fine dining restaurants.
I got the grilled octopus asparagus and it was YUM. Three big juicy tentacles and the meat was sooo tender (reminded me of Greece). About five big pieces of asparagus, a cilantro tomato type topping, in a lemon butter herb type sauce. $ 12.
Cheese plate… options aren’t plentiful and it’s the safe, mainstream type of cheeses. Drunken goat cheese was good. Was into the mustard, jelly, and other accompaniments. Had the duck prosciutto and it was okay.
Spinach artichoke dip. My friend ordered this… I love junk food, but this dish reminds me too much of going out to eat in suburbia, so I would usually never order this. Thankfully, it is obviously home made, with real artichokes and fancy cheese, so not bad.
Olives. Probably about 50 olives for $ 6. Enough olives for 4 people to share. I didn’t see any table of two that could eat more than half of the serving.
My friend had a cocktail. She said it was good and strong. Just the way I like my men.

I’ve been to Vintage Irving a couple of times now. The first was for brunch, which I assume they’re still offering. They don’t offer an AYCD deal, but they do take reservations and mimosas are $ 2 a pop. Not too shabby. I remember that the actual food I had was not particularly memorable — french toast I believe — and I vowed I’d have the burger if I came back since I was not sufficiently full off of my brunch selection. The music was great as was the service though, and they let us stay for hours without being bothered. Definitely value in that.
Last night I finally went back and had dinner here. It was great at night — lit by candles and the small tables felt very nice and cozy for a wine bar. We ended up splitting three of their small plates. We had the truffle chicken mini meatballs, which was served with a thyme-​scented sherry wine sauce. The meatballs were very flavorful. I think it was the truffle oil which kept them so moist and flavorful. Warning though the sauce comes with mushrooms. I wasn’t expecting that, so I ended up just eating the meatballs and not going back for the sauce (which worked — I’m allergic to mushrooms).
The pan seared scallops were absolutely excellent. They were served with truffled Yukon gold potatoes, chive crème fraîche, and caviar. Sometimes I find scallops to be too chewy — thankfully not the case here. I can’t say I’ve ever had caviar, so was nice to expand my horizons here. I can say not half-​bad, though perhaps a tad salty for my taste. I wished it wasn’t my last bite as the after taste was pretty prominent!
A dish they had which is not shown on their menu online was chorizo served with an avocado and fresh tomato salad. I could have eaten a big bowl of that salad… very nice balance to the zing of the chorizo, which I knew I’d love. Rarely have I met a chorizo I didn’t like. The preparation made it a tad smoky which was a nice variation.
They had an excellent wine selection — much more than indicated on their website. They had several resonably priced ($ 30s) bottles as well — and our red was quite tasty.

It was fine, nothing stellar.
Went for a dinner with a gf and the waitress asked us (count em) 6 times if we were ready to order in a span of less than 10 min. We were deep in convo catching up on our respective lives and by the 6^th time it was like, really? There are 10 tables here, leave us alone! No one is waiting on us to get moving and you’re not that busy!
The cheese plate was excellent but the rest of the food fell flat for me. No inventive combos, no great flavors, nothing to remember a week later.
The prosecco was quite tasty. That’s all that stayed with me!
Will not be returning.

30^th birthday party. private room. fixed menu. GREAT TIME!
the drinks were delish and the food was great. everyone had a wicked fun time and enjoyed themselves immensely. the service was very good.
don’t go there when a game is on in the «shared space» though — eek!

Went for a private group thing so we had a separate room with a planned menu. The service was attentive and friendly and handled our large group (apprxo. 25 on 3 separate long tables well). I had the steak which was cooked to perfection (as requested, medium rare) and had a nice brown to it but was till «fluffy» as someone described it. Nothing like fresh, good meat! The porcini butter sauce was flavorful and the asiago fries that accompanied it were DELISH! Only thing missing was the steak sauce.

Pretty nice but it needs better Happy Hour specials.
I have to admit that it was the 5−6pm Free Sangria that lured me here. Alas, I didn’t make it.
Did make it in time for $ 6 Sangria specials (the white sangrias are all too sweet) and $ 4 draft beers.
Alright, if ur a microbrewery draft beer drinker ur good but a $ 6 Sangria isn’t enough of a Happy Hour deal for me.
Overall, this place is spacious, clean and seems relatively new. But, like I said, they need better Happy Hour specials.
The pictures make it seems ultra posh but this place is much more relaxed (in a good way).

**Note, this review is solely based on the free Sangria nights**
Free Sangria from 5−6pm Monday-​Wednesday plus appetizers?
Uh, sign me up!
Well, that’s pretty much the conversation I had in my head when I initially saw this post in the Unilocal Events page. Too good to be true? Hrmm…
So, Molly and I headed over during one of NYC’s many torrential downpours last Monday.
After a slight delay of being caught in a Northern VA strip mall bar vortex, we found Vintage and met up with Janeen… and it wasn’t a mirage. Much to our glee, they *do* indeed offer free sangria and appetizers.
There are three white Sangrias from which to choose: honeydew melon, pineapple ginger (and I forget the third selection), as well as one traditional red sangria.
I had a couple glasses (or was it three? oops) of the pineapple ginger and Molly and Janeen both had the honeydew melon.
After taking the first sip M. exclaimed, «F*ck yea, that’s good!»
(I thought the same thing).
The appetizers consist of a random cheese (goat and cow’s milk) plate and tasty, crispy rounds of sliced baguette.
There’s also a nice selection of random, modestly priced appetizers from their menu – I chose the olive plate, which was a nice mixture of three types of olives (and don’t make me name them, b/​c I don’t know what they were).
Oh, and the bartender* couldn’t have been more attentive or sweeter. We’re definitely going back. I mean, really, what better way to shake off Monday work blues than with free Sangria and snacks?
*He also informed us that after happy hour, at 7pm, there was a sorbet making class AND a sushi making class (not free, maybe $ 20, but I don’t remember the cost). Apparently they offer such classes and the like all the time. Another reason to like Vintage Irving.

Went in for dinner last night and had a great experience. Our server was knowledgeable and friendly and our wine was good, if not remarkable.
The food was definitely the standout. We had the grilled octopus, the truffle chicken meatballs and a meat (proscuitto)/cheese (blue and buffala mozzarella) plate — all of which were great.
We wanted to order a dessert at the end but our server informed us that the kitchen had closed. To make up for it she brought us delicious housemade limoncellos, which was a great way to cap off slightly too much wine and a lovely meal :)
The only negative — I found the décor to be extremely generic. Nothing interesting about it. Also, there was only one regular table in the place, the rest being bar height. All in all though — I would definitely go back.

I went to vintage Irving for there sangria tasting for $ 20. I came 5min late got a table from the manager right away. He is very helpful and nothing bad to say about him.
The waitress gave me the food menu finally after asking her for a 3^rd time. While I was asking she made it seem as if she was busy emoting other customers glasses and bringing new ones.
I ordered rice cake and beet salad. Rice cake was fried filled with yummy cheese mixture. Beet salad was satisfactory.
Finally I got my 2^nd sangria when everyone was getting there 2^nd.
Service terrible from my Asian waitress.

–Overpriced wine and food? CHECK
–Managers with an unnecessary public display of chest hair? CHECK
–Managers who tell you they’re «sending over some treats» in acknowledgement of your recent engagement? CHECK
–Managers who don’t actually send over promised treats and leave guests wondering how clueless they must be? CHECK
If you’re looking for something really vintage on Irving, do yourself a favor and go up the block to Pete’s and skip this imposter