Urban Grill and Wine Bar McKinney — Restaurant in McKinney

We were introduced to this place by a couple that are regulars here. We were set to eat dinner, but was unsure where to go, so we made a last minute "reservation" by calling the restaurant. We spoke to the hostess and she confirmed that they would have a table for 5:30 PM available. I stuck around on the phone for a minute to see if she was going to ask for our name, but it was just silent. I just said ok, we will see you in 30 minutes and hung up. When we arrived at the restaurant, were informed by the same hostess that she had JUST given away our table and that we can be sat at the bar. Usually not an issue, but we were looking for a patio and I thought that we had a confirmed reservation. I asked to speak to a manager. The manager approached us and immediately started to blame us for not providing a name. My husband and I were taken back a bit because I stuck around on the phone waiting for that very question, but it was never asked. We were on speaker phone, so he knew I was just sitting there waiting for her to begin asking contact information. Being new to this restaurant and since it was so close to the time we were going to be there, I just thought that was why she didn't ask. The manager, Liz, basically stated that she was sure we had made reservations in the past and we would have needed to provide a name. We explained that we were surprised that we were not asked as well. We did inquire on if they did or did not have caller ID. She said they did, but did not take any of the blame until I indicated that we were leaving and wouldn't return. She tried to convince us that "this is a learning experience for all involved". We are sorry, Liz, but I am pretty informed on how to make a reservation, but was not asked the appropriate questions. She requested to know why we felt this way and that mistakes happen, to provide them with the opportunity to correct their mistake with the reservation. The reservation was a past issue, it was her management skills (or the lack of) that made us exit. She then said...ok...see you later and walked away. I didn't want to add fuel to the fire, but um...no you won't. This is the old Seinfeld episode... you can make the reservation, you just can't keep the reservation. What a joke! The bartender did comp our drinks, but we made sure it was made whole in her tip. This review absolutely has no reflection on the bartender as she was very professional, helpful and friendly. Perhaps she has been placed in the wrong position as she is a much better reflection of the business than the current "manager". We will not be back to this place. Competition is steep in the DFW area because we have many great restaurants. What will set you apart is customer service and Liz failed miserably to represent this...

UPDATE: 3/27/21 We were there twice this weekend. Continues to do well. Lamb chops were decadent! A must try. Friend had pork chop and greatly enjoyed.

3/20/21 My friend and I enjoyed our experience overall. For only being open a week and a half, the establishment is going to be very promising. Had reservations for 7:15 on Saturday evening. Place was packed but we were given option of high-top table in bar area or a table in dining, so they were prepared for our arrival. We opted for the high-top for the vibe and to keep an eye on college basketball. Service was a little slow and discombobulated. Looks as if there were two bartenders and servers supporting tables in bar area so we don't think they were completely in tune with each other, thus our wait to be greeted, place orders, and receive food/drinks was longer than standard. They were out of ingredients for our first choice of cocktails so we settled on second choice. Believe the bartender/server was situationally aware of our initial slow service as he was extra friendly and chatted with us for an extra minute or two about the opening when he took our order. Completely understood and appreciated. Our chicken lettuce wraps were delightful... delicious but not too filling. Our small plates for the appetizer came when we were about a fourth of the way through eating it. We were uninformed of fish of day or specials prior to placing our order so we inquired upon placing our order, and I changed my decision in the moment without much time to think. The meals were very appealing to the eye when delivered. When asked if we needed anything else, we did ask for a glass of wine to go with dinner but were informed by the server or expediter that she doesn't take orders and that someone would be by soon. The chicken was perfect. Full of flavor. The halibut FOD was tasty and had great potential but in our opinion may have been sitting for a while waiting to be served as it was slightly warm and getting dry. The dirty rice that came with was very delicious and a good pairing, along with the crispy asparagus and the sauce was a pleasant surprise. By the time we had an opportunity to order wine, we were close to finishing our meals, so opted to not. The extra wait for our dessert was worthwhile as it was chocolate decadence. Overall pleasant experience with room for improvements. I live on the square so would expect to return. Hoping to have another exceptional go-to option in the neighborhood to bring and meet up with family and friends! Keep up...

We came here for our birthdays with high hopes of a nice late afternoon meal. We were greeted by the person that would also be our server, she was friendly and noted that we were celebrating a birthday. Upon hearing we were celebrating for both she smiled and said we could both get a free dessert. Which we did NOT know they did that. Once she found out we were planning to just get a small plate and a salad to start, then probably split an entrée her entire attitude shifted. She barely spoke to us after that, however was very friendly and chatty with her other two tables. We figured she had already decided there wouldn't be much of a tip for her. (She would have been tipped quite well.) So this pretty much set the tone of our meal and basically killed the birthday dinner vibe.

The food: The lettuce wraps with chicken were really good. That peanut sauce amazing! We had a bit leftover, I asked for a box she said she would box it. When I told her I just wanted the peanut sauce this employee did not know which one was the peanut sauce! When I told her which one it was she made some comment about not knowing because she just works there and doesn't eat spicy food.

The Burrata salad, not that impressive really. The strawberry just didn't make sense. Cheese, pesto, tomatoes and a strawberry?? No where near enough tomatoes.

We split the carbonara. I honestly thought in a pricy restaurant the chef would split the dish in the kitchen, but no they just brought us a empty bowl to divide it ourselves. It's like this place sort of wants to be fancy, be also does not want to be fancy. Pick one. There is an option to add meat to the carbonara, which we did NOT ask to do. Italian Carbonara does not have meat other than pancetta in it and we like it that way. She added chicken to it without asking and charged us the upcharge for it. I wanted to say something, but at this point my husband really was just done with this situation and felt it just wasn't worth making a unpleasant situation worse.

We did stay for the dessert and the server actually found it within herself to chuckle and tell my husband the correct way to say pots de creme. I had what they called bread pudding. I'll just call it fruit cakes cousin and wrap up this review.

Between the food being lack luster at best, a horrible rumbling sound coming from above (we thought there were 50 Harleys outside), until the sound just keep coming back. And the "just polite enough to not be rude" server, I can not imagine we will...