Reviews & Ratings for Vai Restaurant & Wine Bar

01/12/10

Great Atmosphere - Delicious Food - Friendly Service

by jpues

After a long day of shopping on the UWS my mom and i stumbled upon Vai. It looked nice and cozy inside and the menu appealed to our mood. The atmosphere was very comfortable and the service was friendly. We ordered a glass of wine, me red, which they helped me choose. We also split a pizzette, a seafood salad, a pasta and a fish dish which were all delicious and hit the spot. This was the perfect place to stumble upon where both the food and wine hit the spot. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a casual declicous meal, with friendly service and a nice atmosphere.

• Pros: Great Menu and Wine List - Cozy Atmosphere
• Cons: A bit loud and sometimes slow because it was busy

12/16/09

Decent Food But Owner Vincent Is Really Obnoxious

by shelsfd

I've been here a few times because I live in the neighborhood and I admit that the food is pretty good/decent for a wine bar (and I enjoy the atmosphere), but I can honestly say that every time I have been there Vincent the chef/owner/host was so rude and obnoxious that it made me uncomfortable to eat at his restaurant. He seems to favor his friends or people he knows as far as getting a table, so if you get there first, but a friend of his shows up, he will give his friend the table. I actually overheard them cursing at one of the waitresses which he probably should avoid doing in front of customers. I'm not surprised about the bad reviews on here about service, because I have experienced the same thing. If you want a local place, with decent food and good wine, but don't mind potentially waiting for a table while other's get ahead of you, overhearing some curses, or being treated badly by the owner - then I would say go here, but I definitely would not recommend going out of your way for this place!

• Pros: Ambience, bread, sangria & wine
• Cons: Owner's attitude

05/05/09

Love Love Love this Place

by veronikam

Lovely Lively Neighborhood Gem. Really busy most nights and if you anything like me you will LOVE this place. Intimite and always busy without being too trendy. Bronzino is the most amazing thing I have ever had and service is warm. Nice wineselection where everything they have is available by the glass and they will let you taste also. They also offer fun wine flights. Can get very noisy but I happen to like that. My east side friends are dying for a place like this!!

• Pros: Food, Service and Vibe
• Cons: Noisy but vibey

03/29/09

Awful experience, and I didn't even get to eat!

by winecheesechocolate

The manager is terribly rude. I was very disappointed as I was really looking forward to eating there, but they lost our reservation and were extremely unapologetic about it. Unfortunate.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Rude manager.

10/12/08

Great Experience!

by polenta

Had dinner there last night with my husband. We showed up with no reservation, yet Vincent sat us with no problem! The ambiance is great - and the place is beautiful. Nice music, soft lighting, candles - it was all very romantic and very "New York." The UWS needs more places like this. Our apps were great - grilled shrimp - as were our salads. The main courses were good (although not to die for), but definitely good enough. The dessert was the best part though - little powdered donut type things dipped in white chocolate. There were absolutely amazing!

Overall, it was a wonderful experience. We will definitely be back!!

09/13/08

Fabulous food, atmosphere and service

by msuws

I'm not sure what these reviewers are talking about. I've been to Vai about 6 times and the service is always fantastic. They always greet me when I come in, are friendly and helpful.

The food is delicious and the menu has a nice variety. Most wine places serve mostly cheese and meats, but Vai has fish, pasta and good sides. For those of you who had a bad experience, try it again. For those who haven't been, go and enjoy.

09/05/08

Worst service ever!

by VillageGuy10014

Had to be the worst service ever. Had to wait 15 minutes for someone to come over to take our wine order and then another 15 minutes before the bottle arrived. Then we had to have a busboy track down our waitress so that we could order food. Once the appetizers arrived, they were ok but not great. It was another 15 minutes before the entrees arrived. Again ok but not great. The food in general was uninspired especially considering the prices and the other options in the neighborhood. We had to ask for our server several times throughout the evening. At the end of the night, we asked to see the manager who came over to the table immediately. We related our concerns about the service and he was very apologetic. We assured him that we would give them another try in the future. At that point, the owner came over to see what was wrong and was quite rude when he heard our concerns. He should leave customer service to his manager. There are too many other good restaurants on the UWS that offer good food and service.

• Pros: Concerned manager
• Cons: Rude owner, poor service

08/31/08

Thought I'd give it a try and was disappointed

by mrnyfoody

Has been my week to try the newest Italian places in town and this was on my list. To be quite honest was a bit disappointed. The service needs major improvement. The food is okay and the prices are fair which saves it and there is a decent wine list but overall not my newest favorite. It's a bit crowded and loud and just seems like it needs some changes. Not sure who the manager is but he seems to be a bit obnoxious and fake. So onto the next place.

• Pros: decent wines
• Cons: Loud - Needs some service changes

08/27/08

Love it!

by cpack212

Vai has an upbeat, "New York City" atmosphere, but I felt very comfortable and relaxed there. The food is simple, yet soooo fresh and fabulous. I had the tuna tartar--which is one of my favorite foods--and this was the best I've ever had! It was served with avocado and some type of sweet rice wine vinigiarette. I also had the caramelized pear and gorgonzola salad and finished with the sweet doughnuts with white chocolate sauce. Wow - yum! It was all delicious and the staff made me feel like I was at home.

I left there definitely wanting to go back

08/17/08

over rated - awful service - no daniel

by mrnyceats

what's up with comparing the owner of this place chrico to daniel? obviously getting someone to give him some credit. it's a small italian place with a wine list not a 5 star french restaurant. dined there with some friends who live in the area. our waitress just could not get it together and the food needs major improvement. the older manager is obnoxious and should not be able to drink on the job. there are a ton of other places to go on the uws like bin 71 or something that are wine bars with a great staff and service. if you want daniel go to daniel don't come here!

• Pros: ?
• Cons: bad service - over rated food