the Wine Vault in Vermilion, OH — Restaurant in Vermilion

"Lord of the Flies"

June 24th, 5PM. Walked in, sat at the bar. Me and a dining companion. Ordered two pedestrian glasses of wine. I began with the tuna tartare, my cohort began with the lobster bisque. Food came out in a reasonable amount of time. Spent the next five minutes chasing a number of flies away from the food. VERY enjoyable. Josh, the bartender, explained that the pesky insects had arrived on the premises that very day. Lucky us!

Time for the main course. I ordered the steak tacos, minus the sour cream. My cohort ordered the scallops and gnocchi. Around 45 minutes later, the food finally arrived. Of course, the tacos were not missing the sour cream. Having spent way too much of my life at The Vault already, I cut my losses and gave up. Not being able to enjoy my dinner DID give me time to chase the flies away from the scallops and gnocchi, so I guess it wasn't a total waste of time...?

To recap:

An eclectic, little wine list containing such gems as Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and Folie a Deux Zinfandel. Zzzzzzzzzz. $18 for four ounces of tuna. $8 for lobster bisque that was thin and almost completely void of lobster. $18 for TWO scallops, and 25 or so gnocchi. This "restaurant" allegedly has around 70 seats, and - with this level of competency from the kitchen along with overall bang for your buck - people were being turned away!!!

As the famous restaurant critic P.T. Barnum may have once said, "There's a sucker born every minute". Last night, there were about 70...

Put simply, this restaurant served me the best meal I've had in as long as I can remember. Having just finished eating there, I quite literally cannot call to mind a meal I've ever had that was better. The steak and lobster in the surf and turf were both so beautifully tender and well-seasoned that I'm forced to wonder what every OTHER restaurant is doing wrong. The lobster bisque balances the simplicity and comfort inherent in such a dish with a level of rich complexity that completely blindsided me in the best possible way. And all this is said without even mentioning the beer selection- i was just served the first IPA that I've ever actually enjoyed. This isn't for lack of trying, I just haven't been able to get into IPA's until being served one recommended by the owner of this restaurant (off of their summer menu). I am genuinely walking away from this meal with a new found respect for something I've never fully been able to understand, and a new found appreciation for a few dishes I've loved since childhood. The least surprising thing about the entire meal was learning that the place has been in business for 11 years. I would've expected nothing less.

Sincerely, thank you for this meal. If there is a loving god he will ensure that i...

We went to the wine vault for our 45th anniversary with 2 other couples. The service was fine as far as we knew. Once our bill came which was over a 100 dollars just for me and my wife the owner and his wife who was our waitress stated we were rude and made her feel uncomfortable. The other couples with us said what were they talking about. We had no idea there was a problem throughout the whole evening until they brought us our bill. We were very embarrassed. We have traveled all over Europe,Central America and Egypt and have never been treated in this manner. Once again the other couples in our group didn’t understand what the problem was. I would also like to add that my son manages a restaurant and I am very aware and respectful of what it takes to deal with the public. I have never written a bad review for any place i have been but I felt the treatment we received at the Wine Vault was unacceptable and warranted a negative review. I would not recommend the wine vault in Vermilion, Ohio For anyone who wants a pleasant...