Vinoteca, DC

After spending the evening in the theater, we headed over to Vinoteca for some light food and drinks. Vinoteca is a wine bar and bistro in the U Street Corridor located at the corner of U and 11th Streets NW. We had made reservations online for 10:30 p.m. not knowing that to make reservations you need to be eating dinner. So, when we arrived we were told we couldn't be seated at a table unless we were having dinner. We said that we'd be having a few bites and after some coercing, they allowed us to sit at one of the small two-person tables.

The bar area was packed, which is the area you sit in when you are just grabbing some glasses of wine. The tiny dining area was busy as well. But, this place isn't that big so it doesn't take too many people to fill it up. I really wasn't that hungry so I ordered a glass of wine. They have an excellent selection of wines by the glass here.

The wine I ordered was a French red by Chateau des Jacques (2009). It was a gamay with a medium body that had a hint of red cherries. It was very nice.  Zach ordered a Pinot Noir by Jezebel (2009) from Willamette Valley.  His was much lighter than mine also with hint of red cherries. This was a great pick as well.

Zach was hungry so he asked about the vegan options of which there were a few. He ordered the grilled hen of the woods mushrooms. The mushrooms were seared and served with baby leeks over white bean and truffle puree. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this dish was pretty good!

We also ordered the spicy pecans and figs. Yum.

(Sorry for the overexposed pic!)

The atmosphere felt more like a loud pick-up joint than a wine bar.  It was too loud for us to really hear each other because we were sitting very close to the bar. It isn't at all like a classy wine bar that offers separate seating for everyone. I think this is a good place to go with friends, but not so much with a date. I am glad that they have a few vegan small plates available and am pleased with the wine list, but, on this particular occasion, we would have preferred a quieter area to talk.

Vinoteca
1940 11th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 332-9463