If I could rank City Vineyard just on ambiance, I would give it a 4 or 4.5 review. It's located right on the water with gorgeous views of the river and Jersey. While it was a cold rainy fall night the day we were there, I could see how this place could be overrun in the summer time with its rooftop bar and prime outdoor seating.
We were there on a sad somber post-election night, so it was pretty empty. The one downside of being located by the water is that it's all the way on the West side, so it's a bit of a haul from any subway stop. Despite there being very few people in the restaurant, the service was a bit spotty and slow. We had to ask the waiter a few times for more bread and it just felt like a non-attentive crew (granted, it was the day after the election so I was probably not all there either).
The menu here is what you would expect from a place that's primarily a wine bar - standard new American fare, except there was no meat/cheese board which should be a staple at any wine restaurant. We all split the pumpkin spaetzle ($10) to start because it sounded like a fun fall thing to order and then I ended up getting the burger ($18 + $3 for cheese) because well frankly, it was the day after the horrible election and I was still eating my feelings. Plus the description of the burger sounded amazing - hanger steak, beef cheek and oxtail mix from Pat Lafrieda. How can you say no to that? The girls got a variety of other seafood dishes like the scallop, tuna steak and the tuna crudo.
The pumpkin spaetzle was as expected - brown buttery and sweet. I can't say I think spaetzle is the most amazing food concept in the world but anything pumpkin is always worth trying. Next came my burger and I was super excited given all the deliciousness made with the meat mixture. Sadly, it was just eh. The bun couldn't hold all the juices in so I was kind of left with a mess on my hands after a few bites. I had ordered cheddar cheese on mine but it wasn't sharp enough for me, so it kind of got lost in the mix of all the meat. While it had a lot of potential, the burger wasn't something that was uber memorable for me. Was it good? Sure, but was it mouth wateringly crazy good? Meh. The fries were the skinny kind and sprinkled with herbs. I didn't try anyone else's dish but Kristin's scallop dish looked pretty skimpy - it was a large dish with only 2 scallops on it (granted, the menu did say that there are only 2 scallops and it's an appetizer dish but still, they could have found a better way to present it). Amy's tuna steak looked pretty amazing as it was very rare but it had a sweet pinot noir demi-glace on it that didn't really taste like it was the right combination for it.
Overall, it's a lovely space and I can see how it would be a fun after work place to go in the summer. But in terms of it being a dinner destination in the winter, it's not one of my top tier choices given the distance from the subway and better choices closer in. Total bill: $85/pp with tax, tip and wine
Photo Credit: Yelp
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