St. Vincent Wine — Restaurant in Washington

Man, this place was such a disappointment. Vegetarians and vegans beware!

I was excited about the supposedly heated patio, but then found that a) no heaters were on, even though we were freezing, and b) the "garden" area was entirely enclosed in a plastic tent, defeating the purpose in terms of fresh air and/or Covid safety.

As a vegetarian, I was horrified to be told only after I'd started eating the crispy potatoes that they were fried in the same oil as meat! I knew to ask about this for the french fries, but these looked like they might be broiled or sautéed so I didn't suspect. :((( They did take it off my tab, to their credit, but I was pretty mortified, having not eaten anything non-vegetarian in decades, because I love animals. : ( We were told that they have two friers but make no effort to keep meat and vegetables separate, so everything fried is not vegetarian. :(

And there were so few veg options! Vegans, don't even bother, because most of these few options were some form of cheese, often fried. I ended up just being able to eat the dates: 6 tiny grape-sized dates for a total of $19 with tax and tip.

You don't get a normal menu and waiter, you have to scan a QR code and place an order on your phone, which is awkward when you're sitting down and trying to start a conversation with your table. Then our server who brought out the food was really rude and dismissive, and acted like any small request was a giant hassle. He repeatedly walked away from us and disappeared while we were trying to ask him a question.

Between the unlit heaters, the very non-veg-friendly menu, and the rude staff, we felt unwelcome and left as soon as we could. I'm sorry I can't...

I've visited this place before and had a wonderful time. The 1st time I came, the person in the wine shop was incredibly knowledgeable about the wine. Asked us several questions to get us a bottle she knew we'd enjoy. We did enjoy it and actually ordered all three wines she recommended at the table and bought three to go. Last night however, I returned and did not have the same experience at all. Our hope was to go there, enjoy, buy a few bottles and go home. The person last night in the wine shop, didn't ask questions and just recommended a bottle. She actually didn't seem all that interested in us at all. Almost, as if we were a bother to her. We were the ONLY ones in the wine shop at the time. While I don't mind paying $40 for a bottle I enjoy, we paid that amount and couldn't even finish one glass of that wine. And because they don't have a glass first option, we were stuck with the wine. So we quickly ate our food and just left wine on the table. Can't say if I would return again. Last night really soured my like for this place. What I will say is the staff make the difference and there are varying levels of engagement and knowledge. To their credit, the host is lovely and we had another person who sat us. It was her first day and she was delightful as well, actually went out of her way to try to find us a spot that wasn't under the sound system. It was just our wine shop experience that was just unfortunate. So if you get someone good in the wine shop, I imagine your experience will be nice. It's just a shame that it's...

I recently stumbled upon St. Vincent, a black-owned restaurant, through Instagram and decided to give it a try for brunch. The location can be a bit tricky to find, as the building’s dark color blends in, but once you step inside, the atmosphere will blow you away. Our host was fantastic, especially after we mentioned it was our first time there. She made us feel welcome and guided us through the options.

The restaurant offers the choice to dine upstairs or outside, where you can enjoy live jazz music. Given the beautiful sunny day, we opted for the outdoor seating, which was charming with both high-top tables and regular seating available.

One unique feature is that you order your food via a QR code, and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly our food arrived—it felt like it was there in the blink of an eye, which was great because I was starving.

The menu was diverse, with a lot of items I hadn’t seen at other brunch spots. I decided to go with the chicken and waffles, but unfortunately, it didn’t meet my expectations. The chicken lacked seasoning, and the waffle was a bit too crunchy for my taste. On the upside, we also ordered the pastry basket, which was a hit. The banana bread, biscuit with jam, and sweet butter were all delicious, and the cinnamon donuts with chocolate icing were a perfect sweet treat.

Overall, while I wasn’t impressed with the chicken and waffles, the aesthetics, live music, and excellent customer service might just tempt me to return. On a scale of one to ten, I’d rate this...