High-tech wine, low-tech food at Vinoteque on Melrose

March 1, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA – I discovered Vinoteque, a newish wine bistro on trendy Melrose, on a recent first date. The date turned out to be not-so-inspiring, but Vinoteque utterly seduced me.

For years, the restaurants nestled amongst the fashion boutiques on these blocks left something to be desired. They were primarily places for slices of pizza, Thai noodles, and smoothies — expedient energy boosts in the service of shopping. Recent arrivals like The Foundry and 8 oz. have bucked this trend, offering chef-driven fare (by Eric Greenspan and Govind Armstrong, respectively). But Vinoteque trumps them all, putting principles of good food and drink before personalities.

It is the quintessentially perfect date-night spot, with warm wood floors, funky copper tables, and soft filament bulb lighting (there’s also a romantic patio for good weather). Natural wood floor-to-ceiling racks of wine bottles put the vino front and center. The international selection (French, Italian, Spanish, Australian, German, Californian, and more) is dizzying, but their high-tech system of delivering wines by the glass makes it easier to narrow down the choices. A flat screen mounted at the end of the room displays which bottles of wine other patrons in the restaurant have recently opened, so that you too can partake. If you want to open a new bottle, you just have to commit to two glasses from it. This lends a communal vibe to the already intimate feel.

But the food…oh, the food…is completely disarming. I really didn’t expect to be so satisfied. Too often, wine bars traffic in dainty small plates, which makes for perfectly pleasurable wine food, but what if you really want to EAT? Vinoteque does have “bites” for nibblers — the lamb meatballs stuffed with goat cheese and mint are a tasty choice — but they also have real, honest-to-goodness meals. I opted for the roasted chicken with caramelized Brussels sprouts and whipped potatoes. The chicken was divine — moist and velveteen, worlds beyond the chicken at the fancier Foundry. Potatoes were whipped to a heavenly consistency, more like crème fraiche than the usual mashed. The sprouts melted in my mouth like candy. My date seemed similarly fulfilled by his meaty kobe burger loaded with pickled caramelized onions, oven-dried tomatoes, and arugula. Dessert brought a flavorful, not-too-sweet mascarpone panna cotta, dressed up with a shortbread cookie, ginger macerated strawberries, aged balsamic, and strawberry chips.

Service was a little less attentive than I usually like, perhaps the only downside. Our server was quite enthusiastic and helpful with wine and food suggestions, but seemed to disappear after the orders were in. I would have appreciated some more attention…but maybe that’s just because conversation with my date wasn’t flowing nearly as smoothly as the Cabernet.

Vinoteque on Melrose
7469 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
(1) 310-860-6060
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