Vineland Estates Winery — Restaurant in Lincoln

Heard people rave about this place $50 lunch menu and decided to check it out ourselves during weekday.

We arrived a little late, but we still have our table waiting for us. It was a bit windy even when we were seated in the "indoor" dining area, which is basically like a sun room with patio door leading to the outside.

The patio door constantly open and close as there are other customers sitting outside so the waiters and waitresses need to go in and out to the patio.

We asked to move to a less windy corner and staff happily assisted us.

They offer flat or sparkling water, both without extra charge, from a jar/ decanter looking glassware. The water glass that we were using smell a bit odd, i checked all the water glasses on our table, they all smell that way. It looks clean, so we go ahead and drink out of it without informing our server.

$50 lunch set menu includes an appetizer, main course and dessert. We were told to order everything right off the bat since it will be easier for the kitchen to handle.

2 of us opt for premium wine paring for an extra $40 per person.

Here's why it's 2 stars.....

The quail appetizer is overly salted; even the salad is also salted and overly dressed, so it does not help to balance the saltiness from the quail. The cured coho salmon portion is little and the way they plate it makes me think the dill croquette is the main feature instead of the salmon. Mushroom taste good but the toast is super soggy.

The wine pairing that comes with the cured coho salmon is a 2021 Riesling. It is super sweet and almost gewürztraminer level sweet. I do not think it is a good pairing for the dish. My partner got a 2014 Cab, that one is not bad to pair with the over salty quail.

Moving on to the main course, the braised beef chuck flat is slowly cooked, tender and very flavourful. Portion is generous. However, the 2018 Cab Franc does not have sufficient body and complexity to compliment the dish. They got the duck confit as main and again, portion is large, but it doesn’t seem to be on par with the ones I had at traditional French restaurants. Plating is a bit rough, not as refined as one would expect for a high end/ fine dining restaurant.

Now, the most disappointing part is the dessert. The match ricotta cake is so dense/ hard like a butter pound cake being placed in open air for a few days. They pair with ice wine, which just makes everything taste overly sweet and one-dimensional.

Service is not bad, our server is nice and attentive; but they do not have paper napkins.

This place is wheelchair friendly but the flooring is a bit uneven so need to be careful, as the building is old.

In general, I wish the portion is a bit smaller, but more refined. Wine pairing should be more carefully select, and some small surprise, such as amuse bouche, will bring the dining experience to a higher level. Or, lower the price to $35-$40 for 3 courses, and $20-$25 for wine pairing. Also, note that they do not provide free bread to start. If you’d like some bread, it’s $8 for some sour dough.

The dining room is quite bright and good for photos. Washroom is clean and well-maintained. Overall, I don’t think I’ll visit again unless there’s significant...

First of all, finding the venue for our wedding was so important. It will set the tone for the entire event and Vineland Estates Winery definitely gave us that whimsical and magical feeling. It's straight out of a fairy tale with lush green vineyards that stretch as far as your eyes can see, beautiful sunset over the horizon, and trees and grasses that sway with the wind blowing. Very serene, calm, and away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

When we first met with Diane (Director of Hospitality) at Vineland Estates Winery, we were immediately drawn to her peaceful aura. She was smiling a lot and very calm. Most of all she was genuine. On our drive to Vineland, we fell in love right away as soon as our car drove past the long stretch road leading to the carriage house. As soon as we stepped into the carriage house and the patio right beside it, we knew that this will be the magical place where we say "I do". Right away we booked this venue back in Fall 2017,  less than a year before our big day.

We must say that Vineland Estates Winery is a  PERFECT venue for a small intimate and romantic wedding. Diane made sure that she got all the small details they needed for our wedding. She was very accommodating and ensured that my husband and I were happy with everything. She even accommodated us to set up the day before to ensure that we had enough time for set up.

The FOOD was AMAZING!!! We were fortunate to try the food at their restaurant and their wines at the shop prior to our wedding date, and we must say the FOOD was amazingly delicious. It definitely matched the beautiful scenery of the venue. Our guests loved the food and they have nothing but positive feedbacks..."so delicious", "so tasty", and "so beautifully presented". The beef, chicken and salmon were all amazing. The salad was just divine and so fresh, and the dessert - Lindt Chocolate Lava Cake - WoW!!!

The SERVICE was excellent throughout the entire day. No wineglass was left empty and everyone was so kind and so hospitable. Our favourite part was when one of the waitress followed us during our photo session after the wedding to make sure that we get to eat and at least try the hors d'oeuvres. The pork belly and the fresh oysters were such a a big hit!

Vineland Estates Winery was reasonably priced for our wedding and the memories we had there will be cherished in the years to come. Diane, our wedding was perfect, thanks to your amazing staff and your beautiful venue and delicious food. We will definitely be back again. Love Mike & Kim.

PS Thanks for meeting with us before we walked down the aisle and see each other for the first time. It brought back memories when we first met almost a year ago. You're so genuine and we felt your warm regards and happiness for us. Also, our beloved dog, Miko,...

Some good some bad.

The good: Food was delicious for the price. Generous Flight portions. Carmen the staff was friendly.

The bad: The kitchen were not very accommodating. There’s some inconsistencies in policing what is allowed and what is not.

I came here solo and went to the tasting area first. This is a Thursday lunch time, the it was not very busy.

I got a flight at the tasting section of the winery and since I was hungry, I asked if I could take the wine to the restaurant. They said no. They offered to keep the wine until I return after lunch. I appreciated that. Upon return Carmen did pour a fresh flight. Thank you.

At the restaurant, typically most establishments will go above and beyond to impress solo travellers. Not the case with Vineland. I asked if they could do half portion charcuterie board. They refused. I asked of they could do 3 oysters instead of half dozen. They refused. I asked if I could have a non-sweet savoury dessert. They refused.

All of these requests were not very difficult to accommodate especially the oysters. All they have to do is shuck less of it.

When I was sitting at the restaurant, I saw a mid-age french speaking couple who were at the tasting area and they had brought their glasses of wine from the tasting area to the restaurant. I was not allowed to bring mine, but they were allowed. The lack of consistency is disappointing, or should I take this as discrimination?

This couple asked if they could have a small portion of cheese, not the full charcuterie board. I offered to share a full board to be split with them. They chef NOW decided to serve them a small cheese plate and I get to have this option now instead of the sweet desserts. Just disappointing.

Wines that were served were typical Niagara region stuff, nothing impressive. I don’t usually touch new world wines but today was a reminder why I decided to do so.

Wish they were more accommodating. Although my experience was disappointing, to be fair, my rating is 3/5 stars to keep my...