Fodor's Expert Review Vines Grille & Wine Bar
In the evenings, live jazz and blues music fills the bar of this dramatically designed restaurant, but the food and drink in the snazzy main dining room are headliners in their own right. A perennial winner of the Orlando magazine Dining Awards for best wine bar (and a Downbeat magazine Top Jazz venue), this restaurant has an extensive wine list (its cocktails are serious business, too) and entrées that range from prime steaks or a 1-pound Wagyu burger with truffle fries to pork osso buco or pan-seared Chilean sea bass with lobster risotto and basil beurre blanc. Be sure to start with the grilled octopus, which is simply prepared with red onions, capers, and roasted fennel. The crowd tends to dress up, but jackets and ties are not required.
Quick Facts
- Extensive wine selection and cocktails
- Prime steaks cooked on a wood-fired grill
- Daily happy hour (4 pm–7 pm) and live jazz (starting at 7)