Wine Cellar
(408) 354-4808
50 University Ave
Los Gatos,
CA
95030
37.2235
-121.9817
Reviews & Ratings for Wine Cellar
53 reviews
What users are saying:
Showing 1-10 of 53 reviews
Great choice for dining in Los Gatos!
by BrendaKashuba
April 04, 2008
The Wine Cellar is one of our favorite restaurants. This is where we held our employee Christmas dinner this year since La Fondu was such a disappointment the year before. All eight of us were raving about our meals and we were impressed with how well they managed to serve quickly on such a busy night. We all love the ambience at The Wine Cellar. My husband and I like to pop in there for a glass of wine and an appetizer when we're shopping in Los Gatos. It just has a great feeling there. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The employees are friendly and the service is fast. I highly recommend the short ribs! The only dish we did not like was the "apple crisp" for dessert. It simply was not sweet enough to be a dessert and the topping was not crisp at all. When I gave this feedback to the waiter, he said that there are so many people who come there specifically for the apple crisp, I realized that their recipe is one you either love or hate. But everything else was outstanding, including all the other desserts we ordered. Definitely two thumbs up.
So-so
by Lindsey213
March 12, 2008
I read through many reviews to determine the best restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday. The menu looked promising and the management showed that they really cared about their business.
We ordered the abalone, which was pretty tasty. My salmon was also pretty good and so was my husband's duck (order it medium). The sauces (on the abalone, salmon and duck) were the highlight of our night; they really complemented our dishes. At the end of the night, all the food added up to a bit over $100 (without wine). So, everything ended pretty well; nothing special.
I personally thought that our last celebration at Crimson restaurant in Los Gatos was by FAR superior to the Wine Cellar. It was cute, romantic, the food was AMAZING, and the bill including appetizer, 2 entrees, and dessert, and wine was only about $85. I loved it.
Our experience at Wine Cellar paled in comparison to Crimson. I won't be visiting Wine Cellar again because there was really nothing out-of-the-ordinary there.
great wine, great meals
by yuk52
February 15, 2008
I just had Valentaine's day dinner with my husband there.
OMG, it was a great dinner! I have never had such tender lamb chops before!
Great wine, great atmosphere, great location too.
I had crab cakes to start off the evening. Crispy outside, moist/soft inside.
I love that waldorf salad with maple vinegarette.
My husband really liked the Tiramisu. I had Napoleon to finish off the evening.
This place never disappoints me.
awsome steaks
by jayherm
November 24, 2007
I want too let everyone know what a great experience I had at the Wine Cellar. If you want a great steak come here. The service was excellent to match the food. I can not wait to come back for lunch to see what that part of the menu has to offer.
very slow service, do not recommend if you actualy want to eat
by michaelb70
November 21, 2007
Waited for over 1 hour, when waiter was asked about our food it turned out he forgot to order it.
Do not recommend
Response from this business
winecellar– December 07, 2007 at 14:52:18 PST
We spoke via email. I agree this is unacceptable and I offered to make it up to you if you would give us another try. You accepted and we look forward to that chance. Again, my sincere apologies...
Good food in an okay atmpsphere by Gail C. at InsiderPages
Contributor
October 16, 2007
My husband and I celebrated Valentine's day at the Wine Cellar and very much enjoyed the special menu. The staff was efficient and seemed geared up for the holiday. Our experience upon returning a second time was not as good. The waiter was a aloof and the service was mediocre at best. We have not been back since.
Customer service needs work
by boaterdd
October 04, 2007
I have lived in Los Gatos 36yrs I go to most restaurants in the area, I called the wine celler to make a reservation for ten I was told thats fine and they needed my credit card to hold a reservation at 6pm I don't give out my card info since I have had fraud twice in the last 6 months I told the manager this and was told they couldn't make the reservation I said ok thanks and hung up.
Well it turned out to be the best thing I ever did, I ended up making a reservation at Crimson on the other side of town the 10 of us showed up and we all agreed it was one of the most fantastic meals we have had in years.
I am not one to give out compliments easy since I have been in the restaurant business for 36 years but the Crimson deserves a big big thumbs up.
Response from this business
winecellar– October 06, 2007 at 12:44:53 PDT
Thank you for taking the time to write down your frustrations. I would love to explain the policy more clearly. We have have had several occasions where large parties have made a reservation, and when unable to keep the reservation, failed to call and let us know. This large table then is held for a considerable amount of time before and after the reservation time for the missing party. Being a small family-owned restaurant, this inconsideration greatly affects our sales for the day and prevents us from taking reservations for others that really wanted to dine with us. We now take a credit card #, which, if more comforting, can be given solely to the manager/owners and is password protected. People now take their reservations seriously and always call if they need to cancel. Not once has anyone needed to be charged. Thank you for your time and I'm glad you enjoyed Crimson. Chef/Owner Diane is a nice person and a great chef. Kudos to her!
Birthday Bummer
by cllerena
July 08, 2007
After using Citysearch reviews as a guide, I took my husband out to Wine Cellar for his birthday. According the reviews, Wine Cellar is considered one of the most "romantic" spots in Silicon Valley but we could barely hear one another speak the entire evening (7-9:30pm). Not exactly the most intimate ambience. It was similar to a hall--with nothing to absorb sound.
Also the hostesses (one in particular who was stationed outside by the patio but kept hanging out with the hostesses inside) were rudely oblivious & blocked guest traffic to the corridor bathroom when chatting(already an inconvenient location as it's across from where servers pick up the food). As an 8 month pregnant lady, I really don't appreciate having to elbow my way to the nearest lavatory. They didn't even notice that guests were waiting on them to move.
Our waiter was average and the food was overpriced for its quality. After mentioning my husband's birthday to the hostess and on my open table reserveration, they still forgot. I had to remind the waiter who put a candle in the average banana sundae & that was it. They did not comp my husband's dessert (for his b'day) which I thought was tacky. We're never going back.
- Pros: Location
- Cons: Everything else
Response from this business
winecellar– July 16, 2007 at 12:11:37 PDT
We do apologize that your special occasion was less special because of our noise level.Unfortunately, during prime time on a busy Saturday night, we are not our most Romantic! We do have custom acoustic sound panels located throughout the ceiling area, which despite what it seemed, have incredibly reduced the sound level during busy hours.
Your experience with the hostess is unacceptable and she has been spoken to.
Regarding your Banana Phyllo Sundae, which is actually quite a popular house-made dish similar to a Bananas Foster... we do provide a complimentary ice cream dessert with a candle to birthday and anniversary guests if they have not ordered their own dessert off of our menu. We also spoke to the hostesses about remembering Open Table guest notes when seating a guest.
Again we apologize for your unpleasant experience with us! We always strive to provide our guests with an excellent dining experience and in this situation, unfortunately, we did not.
Great Cozy Place & fresh food
by dianes_sunshine
April 17, 2007
I've been going to the Wine Cellar for so many years and the food is consistently fresh and wonderful! I go specifically for the fondue though. I also enjoy the cozy and private feeling of the ambience. The fondue is by far my favorite thing there and I like to follow it up with a nice fresh salad and if I have room, maybe a dessert chocolate fondue too.
Last weekend I was actually up in time to enjoy Sunday Brunch. I loved the fruit and pastry bar and my avocado and tomato benedict was delux. Also notable were the fresh potatoes. At other places one of my pet peeves are soggy and luke warm potatoes. None of these things here though. They were actually made fresh and were piping hot.
I always enjoy The Wine Cellar and am apprehensive to do a review on it because I don't want it to become ruined by huge crowds.
Cheers!
A Big 0
by cindydd
December 21, 2006
I travel a lot and have had the opportunity to experience some of the best fine dining establishments from New York to Paris. Never in any of my years of travel going to some of the worlds finest restaurants have I ever been turned away because I was dining alone. On a Wednesday evening I showed up at the Wine Cellar restaurant for dinner and was turned away because I was alone. The hostess offered me take-out as an alternative. I was humiliated.
This restaurant is a big zero. I will be sure to tell any of my business associates about my experience, and also mention all the poor ratings mentioned on this site, when asked for recommendations in this area.
Response from this business
winecellar– April 02, 2007 at 17:10:20 PDT
Dear Cindy~
We apologize for the delay, but we just received access to 'Owner Response'. We never have been in the habit of turning away a guest because they were dining alone. In fact, we have many valued patrons that dine alone on a regular basis. The Wine Cellar had been extremely busy during the weeks preceding the holidays and the particular night you came in was no exception. We are terribly sorry if the hostess did not effectively communicate to you why we were unable to seat you at that time and made you feel awkward in any way for dining alone. We have attempted to take every precaution to prevent this unfortunate experience from reoccurring in the future. We hope that if you happen to read this, you may contact management directly so that we can personally apologize and perhaps talk you into giving us another chance to provide you with a pleasant dining experience. Sincerely, Wine Cellar Restaurant
