Jolly Grape — Restaurant in Roanoke

This is going to be long, forgive me. And I'm struggling with choosing the number of stars for this review. I just want to be honest about our experience as returning patrons. We've been to Jolly Grape several times over the last few years and have had a wonderful time. If last night (8/22/25) had been our first visit, unfortunately I wouldn't care to go back for the wine tasting. And that has nothing to do with the wine or the establishment itself.

The atmosphere and the vibes of this place have always been fun. I love the decor and the wine selection is fantastic! Unfortunately last night the service was not impressive.

We arrived to join our party, who was already there a little after 8pm. Our party had their first pour. When the server came to pour their second pour our party notified the server that we'd need two glasses and our first pour. Initially we sat for 25 minutes before our first glass was served. If that had been it, I'd write it off as a busy evening and wouldn't be writing this review. Places get busy especially on a weekend night, we get it!

This pattern continued, though. We'd sit for at least 20-25 minutes before service would return for the next pour, which would include the rest of our table getting the wine ahead and then the server would go back to the bar and it'd be another few minutes before they'd return with our pour since we were one wine behind the party.

At some point because of the lapse in time we got two wines behind our party. When our server came to close the party out, after 10pm, we were asked by the server if we'd like to "continue the rest of the tasting." My partner and I looked at each other awkwardly because yes, we did want to finish the tasting. Part of me wanted to go home because we had been there two hours already without finishing it, but if we were going to be expected to pay, we wanted to enjoy what was offered.

So we were brought the last two wines. By the time we finished it was closing time for the establishment. My partner went to the bar to pay for the tastings and a bottle of wine where he proceeded to stand for several more minutes. He said the server made eye contact with him several times as they were chatting with other patrons at the bar. At one point a bar patron pulled out their phone to show the server something and the server apparently continued their conversation with this patron as my partner was waiting to pay so we could go home.

The server also left an open bottle from the tastings on our table. We were asked if it was ours on the way out. By that point I felt awkward and left in a poor mood. Which is really disappointing because I like the Jolly Grape a lot. Maybe I'll go back eventually but last night was not that great. At times it was difficult to enjoy the night with friends. And at one point I felt like it was my fault that we were so behind at the end because we arrived after our party had.

As a patron you can probably take this review with a grain of salt as this place has many great reviews. I know it deserves them too! I just wanted to share our experience. I'm giving an overall 4 star review because of our past...

I just want to preface that our direct service and food/wine was fantastic. But one particular staff member left a bad taste in our mouth.

We had been looking forward to visiting for a while, especially since my mom is in town. Initially, we had a great experience—Tracy was fantastic and made us feel welcome. However, things took a turn when a young staff member approached us about an hour before closing.

Despite having just purchased food , a tasting for each person in our party, and ended up buying several bottles of wine, she insisted we box our food to go she insisted on clearing our table while we were still enjoying our tasting. When we declined, she seemed frustrated and left in a huff. About 20 minutes before closing, we overheard her loudly expressing her eagerness to leave emphasizing the time they close which felt directed at us. This was not only unprofessional but also made us uncomfortable. Another staff member even hushed her and ultimately had to send her back of house, indicating that her behavior was inappropriate.

We had confirmed their closing time as 8:00 PM earlier in the night so we had planned our visit accordingly. Up until that point, we were having a wonderful time, but this interaction left us feeling unwelcome. While we appreciated Tracy’s efforts, this experience has made us hesitant...

I was honestly not expecting to find such a gem. My Sister and I were looking for a last min place to buy wine to celebrate her and my husband's birthday with. I had just moved to Roanoke. We were both tired from the move. We both felt like we walked into a mini vacation at The Jolly Grape. We were offerred free wine tasting to determine which one we wanted. The wine was so good. The ambiance, customer service, knowledge of wines, price for the bottles all was incredible. The hospitality was the absolute best. I can't wait to bring my husband here. This will definitely be my go to spot for wine and/or just a...