Vines By H — Restaurant in Dr. Phillips

I would not recommend this place. There are equally as expensive restaurants in the area that have better food and wayyyy better service (Ravello, Capa, Kres, etc.).

Booking:

I booked a reservation online for my wife and I for our one year wedding anniversary. The booking online went smoothly and I followed up with a phone call to request that our server wear a mask during our service, which they were happy to accommodate and we appreciated that.

Check In:

Upon arriving at the restaurant we were seated promptly. The atmosphere was good, live music, a very lively place. I would not go here for a romantic dinner as it was quite loud and difficult to have a conversation. We were not seated in the same room as the live music but could still hear it very loudly from where we were.

Food:

We had the escargot and grilled Octopus to start. The apps were good, but we've had better. For our main entrees we had the skirt steak and the lamb chops. The skirt steak was ok, slightly overcooked and tough. Usually we are expecting this to be medium or mid-rare, but it came about mid-well. The lamb chops were really good, they had a nice char to them which I liked and were cooked to a good temp. The micro greens / salad that came with the lamb chops was delicious. We also ordered sides of whipped potatoes and a shrimp risotto. The whipped potatoes are anything but whipped, would not recommend. They were bland and not whipped, more like crushed. Would not consider them mashed either, there were still large chunks of potato still in the dish. The risotto was very nice. For the deserts we ordered the bread pudding and the orange blossom. The bread pudding was too tough to eat. The orange blossom was probably the best thing we had all night. It had a combination of textures and was not overly sweet, by far the best thing of the night.

Service:

Our waiter arrived promptly and provided us with menus. This is where the experience took a turn. From the start the waiter was not very friendly and seemed like he did not want to be our server. During the entire service our waiter would only come by to drop the food off and leave. He did not check in on us at any other time, not to refill water, not to refresh drinks or get another round, nothing. At the end we were left sitting idly for about 20 minutes after we finished desert. I asked another server if she could grab him and tell him we were ready to go and get the check. I saw him come out of the back room, look at our table, he saw me looking at him, then he proceeded to walk away to another table. After finishing with that table, he looked at me and saw me, and I flagged him, but he proceeded to ignore me and instead walk to the bar. He was standing at the bar, not serving other patrons, so it wasn't like he went to check on another table. I ended up having to go to the bar to get him, asked him for the check and the manager. The manager, Larry, was able to calm the situation down, I was livid at this point, and comped a round of drinks (we only had one because we were never asked if we wanted another nor given an opportunity to order another, and the deserts. Overall, any good thoughts we had about the food and rest of the experience were diminished by the extremely poor service. This was an expensive restaurant, we did not dine off of the magical dining menu, the level of service we received was unacceptable for an establishment such as this. We still left a decent tip as I make it a point to tip at least 20%, but after this experience it really has me...

The Orlando area is currently in Magical Dining (Restaurant Week/Month). This was my first visit, and I indicated so on the reservation. A Host/Hostess can really set the tone for an experience, and the ladies upfront were great, acknowledging our reservation, seating us promptly, and doing so properly. Our server arrived immediately and everything started out great. We had a team of 3 to take care of us who were spot on with refills and literally everything we needed. Something should be said about being proactive. Our server knew the menu, made suggestions, and even kept me on course about their house dressing when I tried to sway. I ended up being very happy with it (I did need a bit extra). I ordered the Sea Bass, which was an upgrade from the Magical menu. My guest, the filet. Sea Bass is one of my favorite dishes. I was shocked that this was going to be a 10oz portion, on top of a red shrimp risotto with asparagus. It arrives, and I'm wowed. It looks really good. My guest's filet looked as good as any filet you'd expect from a nice restaurant. Now for the less than great. My Sea Bass needed another minute, and my risotto was under cooked. The shrimp was just barely done based on the texture and temperature (the Sea Bass was piping hot until the last bite). I said nothing as I wasn't going to ruin the star of my dish. My guest's filet was Medium Rare, the exact opposite of a Medium Plus. We mentioned it, but I personally don't suggest re-firing beef as you're not going to change the center temp, and the outside is just going to be over. That was the last we spoke of it, which disappointed me. After stuffing myself with what was almost the best Sea Bass dish I've ever had, it was desert time - we selected the chocolate lava cake. Our server suggested a togo plating when we said we'd only eat a bite. Little did we know the desert was going to be a 3 inch x 0.75 inch high circle. My first bite was just okay, and I love chocolate. I had another, and decided it wasn't for me. Desert was a disappointment. It really needed a butter size scoop of ice cream or something else. When you think of chocolate lava cake, this isn't what comes to my mind.

During Magical dining, it's Vine's policy to collect your entire order upfront (as well as add an automatic 20% gratuity). The problem I have found when you do this at any restaurant, the timing is way too fast. In fact, we were out exactly 60 minutes from when we sat -- in a fine dining restaurant. If this weren't Magical dining, I'd have given a 3 star rating. My guest was adamant things were rushed because we didn't order alcohol, and this could be true as I watched the other tables.

I initially had thought of sitting in the lounge, as I wanted to try a few items on their Happy Hour, but on arrival, that area just looked like a madhouse. If you're having the same thoughts as I am, try a different night of the week than a Friday.

We sat in the back room, which appears to be used for private dining normally. It was nice and much quieter. However it needs some attention, the baseboards were covered in dust and the edges of the carpet aren't being picked up by the vacuum.

Would I go back, probably likely. I'd have a chat upfront to adjust the timing and ensure extra care goes into the Sea Bass. It personally irks me how it turned out because the flavors were there. It had the potential to take my #1 slot for Sea Bass, which currently goes to...

I really like this place and I have been coming here for the past 5 years, but I feel really feel like they are going downhill and will be out of business soon. I started going here in 2019 and absolutely love the vibe, the food, the service, and the atmosphere. I used to have a go-to waiter named Kevin who was absolutely awesome. About a year or so ago, my friend and I came in and Kevin told us that they were stopping their Sunday brunch and that it wasn't profitable anymore so they stopped it. We were disappointed but we understood. Then, a lot of other changes started to take place. They used to have live music most nights, then they started to have music every so often. That place used to be packed on Fridays and Saturday nights, and now it's a hit or miss. Certain menu items wouldn't be available off their menu for like three or four weeks in a row. I finally asked if they just don't serve it, why is it on the menu? They told me to come in on certain days for certain items and they were still out of stock. They eventually changed their menu around. Came here for New Year's Eve 2024 and it was popping, just like it used to be years ago. They usually were open till 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, but I came in here this past weekend at 11:00 PM and the gentleman who was the bartender said that they were closed.....that he could make us a shot or two, but that was it. I asked when they started to close early and he rudely said, "Weeks ago." He's been working there for like 7-8 months and he is one of the slowest bartenders I've ever encountered......Every time I come in you have to wait a really long time for drinks dealing with him......I saw a former waiter who was just there on NYE working at another restaurant like 3 weeks later and they said they left because new management didn't know what they were doing and unfortunately it seems like some of the changes they implemented aren't working. Also, whoever is doing their email marketing needs to make sure they are giving those on their email list enough time to make their events. I got an email that they were having an event for golfers a few weeks back. Whoever sent the email literally sent it 2 hours before the event, and there was no email sent days or weeks in advance for the event. I hope they're able to get it together, this used to be a really great spot.

Edit: The original review I posted above was from March 2024. I went in there a few weeks ago and noticed they had live music again- which was awesome. IT wasn't as busy as it used to be years ago for a Saturday night, but myself and my guest still had a great time. I noticed they had signage stating that they were bringing back brunch- wonderful! And that they changed their hours on Friday and Saturday nights back to closing at 1 AM instead of 11. They also removed the items they never had in stock off of the menu and seemed to add some new menu items.

They also started sending out marketing emails in advance of their events again. I noticed they are now on DoorDash which is awesome, but they don't deliver to my area. Hopefully they can work on that with DoorDash, as Rocco's Taco's (right across the street delivers to me in Horizon West/Winter Garden.)

Overall, VERY happy they listened to their longtime customers feedback :-) I hope these changes bring back the clientele who helped make them successful in the past and to...