Governors House Wine Bar & Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Covington

My husband and I ate dinner at this restaurant with another couple for the first time this past Saturday evening. The building itself is a really beautiful historic building with very nice outdoor seating including heaters for the cooler nights. When we entered the restaurant we were met by a young woman that was the hostess but I was confused by her appearance. She seemed to be wearing some kind of very short gauze skirt that was inappropriate for a restaurant trying to give a classy vibe. She offered us our choice of tables and we ended up sitting in the very back room. We were greeted by Haley, our server and she brought us water and took our cocktail order promptly. The cocktails were terrific. I ordered the Caprese salad special appetizer. The other couple ordered the charcuterie board. The Caprese salad was delicious with very tasty ingredients. The charcuterie board was disappointing in its offering for the price. We mentioned when looking at the menu that no bread came with the board, and our server offer to bring more meat and cheese. She actually ended up bringing another full charcuterie to our table. For my main entree I ordered the manicotti. It did not live up to the menu description, I did not detect any sausage in the dish and the sauce was very bland. I mentioned this to our server and she offered to comp my meal which I declined as I was only trying to give feedback to the kitchen. My husband ordered the special lasagna Bolognese. I took a taste of his and his sauce was very good but his lasagna was barely warm. Our friend ordered the beef Wellington cooked medium and his beef was very rare when he cut into it. We did order two desserts to finish our meal. My husband and I shared the chocolate lava cake which was good. Our friends shared the turtle cheesecake which they said was good but not the traditional New York style cheesecake they were expecting. When our check came,Haley,our server, made some brief explanation about the extra meat and cheese that she brought us and added the price of the second charcuterie board to our bill. If anything should have been comped it should have been the second meet and cheese board as it was her mistake for not bringing out the bread until the first board was eaten and she never mentioned charging us for a second board before bringing it. Overall the restaurant was nice but didn't wow me. A gentleman named Harry visited our table prior to dinner to introduce himself and offer any services and I wish he would have come to our table after the dinner so I could have told him our complaints...

My husband and I just happened upon Governor's House Wine Bar and Kitchen while trying to find someplace we've never been. And, I'm glad we found it! First off, the ambience is superb. It's in an historic house built in the 1800s. It's got the vibe of stepping into a bygone era yet, very modern at the same time. They offer an extensive variety of wines and mixed cocktails. My husband ordered the Old Man. It consisted of bourbon, a bit of sugar, a Luxardo of cherry, and an orange peel twist. He loved it. He said it was very smooth, and was perfect for sipping. We ordered the Thai shrimp skewer appetizer. The shrimp were topped with chunks of mango and micro greens, with a nice Thai chili sauce. The sweet, and slight spiciness, played well with the plump shrimp and mango pieces. It was definitely a great starter. My husband ordered the braised short ribs, with fingerling potatoes. The meat was so juicy, and tender yet, had a great charred crust. The fingerlings were roasted perfectly. Soft, with a lightly crisp skin. And, the red wine mushroom sauce that accompanied both was so rich, and delicious, with bold depth of flavor. Highly recommend this dish. I initially ordered the baked shrimp scampi over spaghetti. For me, the flavor profile of the scampi sauce was not quite to my taste. Just a bit lacking. And, honestly, I'm not a big baked noodle fan in general but, figured I'd give it a try because, it sounded really good. When Matt Combs, the manager, came by to check on us, I told him I wasn't feeling the dish. He quickly remedied the situation, and offered me another option. He was awesome! Everything a great manager should be! So, I went with the ruby red trout and grilled cauliflower. I'm so glad I did! It was PHENOMENAL!!! The trout was flaky, and baked perfectly. It had the most flavorful lemon caper sauce. The pop of the capers were a great touch to both the trout and cauliflower. And, the cauliflower, itself, was the precise texture. Not overly crunchy, not overly soggy. Just the right snap. Our little girl was with us, and wanted the short rib nacho appetizer. It was huge! Even with my husband and I eating some too, we still had plenty to take home for later. They were a mix of blue and yellow corn chips, topped generously with braised short ribs, scallions, jack cheese, and 2 sides of a light, spicy, creamy chipotle sour cream. This is a great dish to share. It was fantastic. Governor's House is definitely a must try! Friendly staff, wonderful food, and a...

My husband and I visited here with another couple; we were really looking forward to eating here because we previously tried to eat here but didn’t have a reservation and were turned away. We had a 6:00 reservation and were seated immediately in the upstairs room. This was a bit of a disappointment because the upstairs did not have the same atmosphere as the main dining area we walked past; it was very dull and honestly felt like we were visiting an assisted living facility. We shared the burrata salad and the ravioli duo. 3 of us took a few bites of the salad but no one wanted any more- the vinaigrette did not have much flavor and the fruit/veg that were on there just fell flat. The ravioli both came out lukewarm; the wagyu/truffle tasted ok but the goat cheese ravioli needed salt/seasoning. I ordered the salmon; this might have been the most disappointing entree I’ve ever had. The salmon itself was way overcooked and the lemon beurre blanc was SO sweet. I was expecting a nice and creamy, well seasoned beurre blanc sauce but what I got tasted like melted lemon starbursts. On top of that, it came out warm at best. My husband got the filet but since he can’t have gluten or dairy he asked to sub the fingerling potatoes, or any veg that doesn’t have gluten/dairy. What he ended up with was the filet with 5 pieces of asparagus. The filet was cooked to a perfect medium rare but to not have a starch or something besides 5 asparagus felt steep for $38, especially because he left hungry. Our friends both got the short ribs. This was honestly the highlight of the meal and really left me wishing I had ordered that instead. We also got the tiramisu to go; it was not appealing looking in a to-go container and was very soggy; Unfortunately it tasted as good as it looked. We all got drinks which were ok. Service was just ok. Overall, we survived but after spending over $300 between the 4 of us, we all decided we...