uva wine bar — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

3.5 stars. We booked a reservation for Day 1 of restaurant week because they're on the list of restaurants participating. When we were seated and I asked about the restaurant week menu, they said they weren't doing anything this week, and maybe would plan something for the next weekend. Bummer! So call and ask if you're going to come here for restaurant week.

Obviously a lot of choices for wines primarily from the US, France, and Italy. Their house special flights are all reds so I stayed away from those. They have usual house flights, 3 of which are whites and the others are all reds. We chose the Patio Pounders (Reisling, Vinho verde and a Pinot Noir Rose), Great Whites (Souvignon blanc and 2 Chardonnays I think or maybe the other way round) and one of the reds flight that I don't remember the name of now.

I liked my Patio Pounders flight. The Rose didn't taste too red and actually was a little on the sweeter side so I did not hate it (my usual reaction to reds/roses). The Vinho verde was a little mild and smooth which I really like. The Reisling was delicious!! Considering the Reisling is my go to white wine, loved this particular glass! My friends enjoyed their flights too but I didn't taste those myself to be able to comment.

The food: we were told they have a late shipment so many of the things were not available. We got the burrata, ceviche and the fig and prosciutto flatbread board. The burrata was very nice. The nachos with the ceviche were good but the ceviche itself was just ok. My friend, who is from Miami, was not very impressed. The flat bread was very very good and we recommend that for sure!

Pricey place. We each paid about $30 bucks for this whole menu. They also said that reservations are for 90 mins blocks. So you may be asked to leave after then. We finished dot on time, so I can't say that...

I'll be the odd one out and rate our experience at Uva as "just o.k." We diverted from our long list of COS restaurants to try on our weekly date night and headed to Uva, as it was nearby. I'd say there was some good, some o.k., and some bad (I'm looking at you, ceviche). As far as ambiance, the inside of the restaurant is pretty loud, even when only partly full. They could definitely benefit from some noise attenuation so you can better hear your dining partners. There is a variety of seating, to include some vinyl couches, small-to-mid-size tables, high tops, and bar seating. Outside, they have a nice patio, but it looks north onto the connecting road next to Scheels. As far as the good, I'll include their wine flights, cocktails, and the mushroom arancini. For the bad, that ceviche is the saddest thing I've eaten in a long time. It was little chunks of shrimp floating in citrus juice with an herb or two, served with tortilla chips. I've had and made ceviche all around the world (including elsewhere in COS) and this one just broke my heart. Maybe we got the bottom of the bowl? Because the pictures of it in other reviews look pretty decent. Next, the patatas bravas were essentially lukewarm, lightly seasoned home fries with mayonnaise squirted on the top. Finally, we had a skewer of coconut curry chicken, which had decent flavor and was served with pita bites. We thought about trying a few other items, but opted instead to leave and just get dessert elsewhere. Our service was average to inattentive. This may have been an off night for them, so I'll give the benefit of the doubt on that account. But, right now, I wouldn't recommend them for much more than a couple drinks with friends on the patio, and...

What a pleasant surprise this was. Wanted something nice to drink & nibble on & this place seemed different, so I gave it a try. Got a nice bottle of French pinot noir to share, along with the arancini and a small meat & cheese platter. The wine was perfect, the arancini a bit large overall, but good. The fry oil was very fresh, and the mushroom stuffing made the flavours. Might could use a stronger cheese inside, and maybe a little kick of arrabiata to the sauce. I rarely see arancini on a menu, so was very pleased. The meat & cheese platter was quite large, more than I expected. Overall it was really good, but I would have liked more selection choices, thinner cuts, and a smaller portion. Some of the pairings were a bit off, never had a strawberry smear on a board, fig preserves would have been nice instead. The honey smear could have been a nice chunk of comb. The baguette would have benefited from being lightly toasted, and a pickle or olive offering would have put it on another level. Definitely recommend though, and I look forward to going back, and probably often once the patio opens up! Christian our server was top notch and a real asset...