Wink Restaurant & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Austin

Disappointing. This wasn't our first visit. We've come here every year to celebrate and it's always been wonderful. Tonight, not so much. It's always been worth the effort to fight the traffic, but this evening, traffic was worse than I'd remembered, so I was hoping for a phenomenal dinner to offset that. We had the same waitress we'd had for our last 3 or 4 visits. She'd always been passable as a waitress, but the same stale quips and comments were wearing on me. She asked if we'd been there before and even after I told her it had been an annual thing for many, many years, she felt it necessary to explain how the menu works with the apps at the top, lighter fare next, and finally the "heavier" entrees (her words, not mine). It was like being on the phone with internet tech support and having them follow a script from which they couldn't stray. I started to ask for a couple of glasses of bubbles, but before I could finish asking, she rose up, turned, and walked away. Tried again as she finished talking to the table next to ours and it was as if I were incorporeal. Finally after she brought the amuse, she paused long enough to hear me. She didn't "hear" me, though because she brought the wrong bottle and had to go fetch the right one.

And about the amuse... A tiny trout "meatball" that was quite tasty, but only after you got past the outer layer of salt. Overseasoning was to be the theme for dinner. I just didn't realize that yet. Our waitress returned to take our order. I ordered the carb and lobster ravioli and the foie gras for starters and scallops for my wife. I'd opened my mouth to order my meal, but before I could finish the first word, she said, "excuse me" and headed to the front. A customer had entered and she felt it more acceptable to interrupt my order to go and greet than to make them wait 60 seconds. Apparently the host had to leave, so they were short-staffed and even though she apologized while explaining that, I didn't feel the sincerity. In what world is it okay to interrupt a customer and leave the table in the middle of the order? I got in my order (striped bass I think) and an order for a bottle of wine and off she went.

She returned with the wine. I'd chosen a Gewurztraminer, thinking it would be versatile enough to go with everything. The idea was reinforced by the fact that it was the wine was paired with the scallops on the tasting menu. The waitress, however, felt it necessary to point out that it was a nice aperitif, but would work with the meal.

The ravioli came. My wife took a bite and had to stop. I wondered was the problem was until I took a bite. The cayenne in the filling was overpowering. That's okay in crab cakes, but why overpower lobster with spiciness? My wife couldn't eat it. I finished it, but as I said, overseasoning was to be the theme of the dinner. Next the foie gras... It was served on a bean ragout, which should've been designed to complement the delicacy of the liver. Alas, the cayenne from the ravioli had found its way into the beans. The liver was wonderful in spite of the beans, but again, overseasoning... The entrees arrived, delivered by someone we hadn't seen before. Our waiter had always been the one to present our meals in the past at Wink, but I guess the growing trend is to serve the masses brigade-style ala Chile's. My wife said the scallops were good, but not the best she'd ever had. My bass, like the scallops, was good. I won't go into the dessert other than to say it's usually the weak link here. It never varies. It's been the same assortment every year and it would be nice if they'd mix it up a bit.

Wink has always delivered on the quality of the cooking, but tonight, the seasoning was just way overdone.

Overall a disappointing evening. So much so that midway through our meal we talked about where to have our anniversary dinner next year. That hadn't been a question for some time since we were in love with Wink, but after tonight, I...

Q: What to do when you’re two vegetarians celebrating your 25th wedding anniversary? A: You go to Wink!

Wink went above and beyond to make our night so special and delicious!

Wink changes their menu daily so we wrote a note on the reservation that we were ovo-lacto vegetarians hopeful to order the 5-course tasting menu and celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

When we arrived, the staff greeted us as if we were old friends. We found a special vegetarian 5-course tasting menu waiting on our table! We were so excited!

Wink’s online information states that they’re happy to work with dietary needs but as folks with special diets know that sometimes means you’re going to get a lettuce salad… NOT HERE! Wink creates pleasing, satisfying dietary friendly fare that is inventive and delicious!

Each plate was paired with a perfectly chosen wine that made all the flavors amplify in the most incredible way. Our server was very knowledgeable and shared information about each wine as he served that made us enjoy them even more.

First came the amuse bouche. We woke up our palates with a small refreshing bite of lima bean and dill that was a taste explosion! Creamy, spicy, savory.

Then a beautiful plate of locally grown arugula, strawberries, chèvre, spiced pecans and a light balsamic. Fresh, sweet, savory.

The barley stuffed cabbage, trumpet mushrooms and sorrel-walnut pesto came next. The plating was beautiful with the roll halved and a large piece of trumpet mushroom scored and cooked perfectly with the deep forest green of the pesto. It was divine!

Next came a dish that my husband I will remember for years to come. Red and yellow lentil dahl flavored with earthy spices, fresh chard that was tender and perfectly seasoned, and a bright coriander flavored yogurt that elevated the already incredible favors of the lentils and chard.

The fourth course was like a trip to the woods. Deep dark tender sautéed kale, perfectly seared oyster mushrooms, and a date-molasses brown sauce that added an earthy sweetness. Thoughtful flavors and beautiful presentation.

Then came the desert course! Wow, wow, wow! They have a trio of incredible deserts but this special night, they brought out a fourth as well. Each was so different and incredible. The el ray chocolate cake is exactly what you want from a chocolate desert - deep flavors, tender, good moisture. Then a delightful crème brûlée with a sugar top that cracked perfectly when digging in. Great toppings on the crème brûlée too! I have never had a desert as intriguing as the lemon meringue pot! The hard meringue shell melts instantly in your mouth, with a lemon curd of some kind and sugared lemon rind. I miss the words to describe this properly! Bonus four was a chèvre cheesecake. This was so special - kind of a cheesecake with more depth of flavor.

As we ate, drank and enjoyed being together in this delightful space with such thoughtful service, we agreed this was the best meal we’ve ever had. As we were ready to go, our outstanding server presented us with a copy of the personalized vegetarian tasting menu signed by the staff!

This was a special night made even more special by the amazing flavors...

I’m writing about the wine bar which is adjacent through a small passageway to the restaurant. The wine bar has a great bar menu which comes from the restaurant next-door.

I took a friend here last night who had never been. The wine bar is cozy it’s small and although the tables are a little too cramped if you are a party of two, you might be able to move them so that there’s enough breathing space between you and the people in front and back of you

Although it wasn’t on the menu, I wanted a Multepulciano Italian and the server said sure we have it will bring it right over. She was a little too enthusiastic in the presentation, which was basically putting a wine glass already filled in front of me with a bottles label that I could not read, nor did she explain anything about the wine. I liked it well enough but definitely expected to taste it first and to read the label. It’s a wine bar no? We ordered four burger sliders to choose from various toppings, but decided to take just the fois gras on all of them with a recommended side of fries.

Well, the burgers were slightly disastrous because we ordered them medium although again, the server didn’t ask us. We had to tell her. The first order came out medium rare so I gave it back. The second time the order came out the fois gras was cold. Can you believe that? I couldn’t. The third round and final round they got the burger and the fog guac correctly, which led me to believe they do not have any train chefs in the kitchen more like line chefs from a diner that don’t know what they’re doing in a fine dining establishment.

The fries were less than desirable as they were burnt in some places and more or less soggy and definitely not freshly cooked. They were not hot and I didn’t want to them by giving back yet another order, so we just ate them. It was also a little bit strange to see kitchen staff go back-and-forth in the restaurant and walk from the restaurant into the open air with the food, and then the food being temporarily delayed at the bar, and then brought to the table. The dessert was good. Three different small portions of a chocolate gluten-free cake, a crème brûlée, which was way too vanilla and lastly, some lemon custard like dessert. The manager gave me the second glass of wine for free as compensation for the mess-up with my order.

Will I return? Hmm. Got to...