Bay Grape — Restaurant in Oakland

Walking in, the place is very appealing. That's all that positive that I have. We sat at the bar.

I wanted to like this place when my friend invited me out for wine. However, I do not.

They have 2 types of service options, if you decided to enjoy wine in their establishment. You can either order a $20 wine flight (Which comes with 3 glasses) or buy a bottle and they will uncork for you to enjoy there. They had about 1 to 2 options for 4 wine type of choices located on a card. We went with the flight.

I had questions because I am a Cab and Malbec girl and in their Reds area, nothing adds even close to it. When the male employee spoke to me, he had a bit of sarcasm coming off. I didn't understand why because my questions were valid. He was short with his answers as if he did not want to talk to me.

After this, he poured our drinks. I questioned the amount because it was very very very little bit. When I spoke with that same guy, he stated "What you expect..a whole glass of wine at $20 for 3?" I told him that I expected a little more love half a glass. He was like "It says on the card that it is 2.5 oz". I looked at the card because I knew that was nowhere on there. So I informed him that the size was not in the card and that is something that they should put because what we received was not worth $20 and that we could have purchased a bottle.

That's how they get people. That flight is a total rip off!!

Also, he put the drinks all on front of us, but did not tell us which was which, who's was for who nor personally give it to us. There were no little signs to inform us of what we were drinking. We had to ask him because he had walked off. He came over and was confused as you which was which as well. We received no water and we weren't even asked.

Both employees were consumed with another person who was there (Business) and wine tasting and talking that we just weren't that relevant to ensure that our needs were fully met.

Wine tasting: All 3 of the wines I had was disgusting. The one of the Reds that I had, stated it was bold. It was not. I had a Bubble (Orange) and it was horrible. Like all of them were cheap wines with no real packed flavor.

The female employee or owner (I'm unsure) asked ONLY my friend what she thought of the wine. She never bothered to ask me which was really unprofessional.

Neither of them ever introduced themselves or gave their names although we indicated that this was our 1st visit. Not very personable.

This was a total waste of money and time for an experience. Wet had to go and find another place to get an enjoyable...

I LOVE the Bay Grape folks! Their perseverance during the pandemic is remarkable and their sidewalk shopping has turned into a totally fun and efficient way to purchase wine: "I need something fun and easy that's chilled and ready to go for less than $25?" "We've got three awesome options for you!" Gift yourself a wine club membership for three different, interesting, accessible bottles each month and an excuse to swing by the shop. Less than $100!! Stevie and Josiah and their whole team are doing right by their Oakland neighborhood, by winemakers, by women and BIPOC communities, and themselves. I so appreciate their transparency when talking about the challenges of running a small business during a pandemic while still holding to their principles of equity, inclusion, fair wages and environmental impact. They are doing the hard, important work and I am happy to support them! Keep it up --...

Bay Grape has a great atmosphere, beautiful bar/seating area, and unique selection. The team is knowledgeable and very willing to talk about wine, teach, and help folks select wines. I love coming for a glass or tasting, in addition to picking up a bottle at the shop. I recently gathered friends for a private blind tasting class at the Oakland location, too, and am so grateful to Josiah for facilitating a friendly, approachable class. We had wine enthusiasts and total beginners, all of whom learned a ton and discovered new wines to explore. I recommend Bay Grape to everyone, hope that other friends will consider classes here, and hope to bring my team from work for a similar experience. Such a fantastic place for the...