10/22/09

Never been dissapointed

by masterblaster01

Have been coming here since they opened. Have always had a great glass of wine here. No hassles. Great place to chill with friends. Nice job!!!!

• Pros: great wine list, awesome service
• Cons: not enough outdoor seating...

01/08/09

Jay doesn't pay his workers

by louisglass

I worked for Vino Vino over a year. I wrote a very fair review of the place under my reviewer name, Louis Glass, back in January. It was a fair assessment of the place in the same way my other reviews are fair.

And what am I to do? A month ago the owner, Jay Donayre, started giving me my tips check and they kept bouncing.

When I sought to rectify the situation in time for my August rent and health insurance checks to go through, he left me hanging, ignored, worse then snubbed.

To this day (with September rent and health insurance checks about to be sent out) he still owes me nearly a thousand dollars. He keeps ignoring me. Or he'll respond to a text message that surely the money will be ready as soon as another payment clears.

I saw him do this to wine vendors and other small businesses throughout my year working for him. I never thought he'd do it to me.

–Gabriel

• Pros: nice enough wine
• Cons: not nice enough for the price

11/24/08

Vino Vino is a winner!

by mackerelmorcilla

I've only been here a few times, but this place is, amongst other things, very reliable. It is a long, spacious establishment with a wine store inside, divided from the bar area with glass. There are comfortable leather couches - it's good for a date and for groups.

The wine selection is large; I don't recall what I had in the first times I went, but this time I had a German red which was surprisingly sweet and not tart.

This is a mature, classy wine bar. It's a far cry from the crowded, loud lounges elsewhere downtown. You will often seen customers in their 50s and 60s here quietly enjoying their wine selections and salumi platters (one of which I ordered in a previous visit and was very good).

My only concern was that it was quite empty on a Saturday night... there were 3 sets of customers including us and when we left at 11, there was nobody coming in. I hope this was just an off night, I would not want Vino Vino to close!

Extremely pleasant, comfortable atmosphere... GREAT for good conversation w/ wine. A must visit in lower Manhattan!

• Pros: atmosphere, lots of space, great for conversation, good for dates and groups
• Cons: can't think of one