MMMMMMMMmm
Turn Ons:
Best Oysters
Great Cocktails
Great Food
Great Staff
Good Atmosphere
Huge Bar
Parking Lot near East Ave
Turn Offs:
Oyster Special only available at the Bar
Only 1 Oyster Option
Missing the Seafood Platter
Strange Bar -vs- Seating Areas
Summary:
This review will focus on 2 Vine's Oyster special, as we are taking the week to go to an Oyster Special every day and compare them. But we are also touching on other items, as well.
2 Vine sits just off of East Ave, on Winthrop St. It essentially shares a parking lot with Hearts Grocery. With parking at a prime in the East & Alexander area, a nice restaurant with its own parking lot is a real find. Combine that with the class and quality of 2 Vine, and you've got a real winner.
Walking into 2 Vine, you're greeted with a HUGE rectangular bar. It feels upscale, and you'll fit right in with a suit and tie. Don't worry, you don't have to dress to the 9's if you don't want to. But you can do that if you're looking to impress. The $1 oyster special is every weekday from 5:30-7:00. That's good, so you can go any day. And, the day you go; it won't be swamped with everyone else trying to get there for the oyster special because they can go any day, too. You do have to go to the bar for the oysters, so that's a bummer if you wanted a table. Especially, if you have a large party. With how large their bar is, it is apparent that they're trying to drive traffic there. Really. That bar looks empty with 20 occupants. So, go ahead and put your oyster order in with your drink order. Hang at the bar a bit. You can always grab it and take it to your table, or just stay at the bar.
Here, you can see our oysters on a nice tray, on ice, with both cocktail and mignonette sauce. Their Tuscan Calamari is very good. It isn't breaded, and it does have quite a bite, but it is very good. My favorite un-breaded calamari, easily. And among my favorite calamari. The cocktails are delicious, as well. $10 a piece isn't bad. They have a few craft beers, too. If you want the oyster special, you get what you get. There is only one type of oyster available for the special. It sounded like we could get other oysters if we were willing to pay full price for them, but that isn't in the menu, so I don't know what was going on there.
I'm not a big fan of cocktail sauce on oysters so I can't help you there. But it certainly looked and tasted like it was house-made. I'd place their mignonette sauce just a hair below Lento's. Still good, but not really special. But their oysters were by far my favorite. Just so so good. So flavorful without tasting like the bottom of the ocean, and they had the right texture. There weren't pieces of shell breaking off. The presentation was immaculate. We couldn't get enough!
A few people ordered their burger, and it was a huge hit. I got to try some and it melts in your mouth. I didn't even need cheese on mine! Certainly one of the best burgers in town. You wouldn't expect that coming from a place so well-known for seafood, but there you have it!
If you want good seafood, come here. There is a great selection and it is done very very well.
We do wish they'd bring back the seafood platter. We loved that! Which brings me to the discussion about their availability on Grubhub. Yes, you can order 2 Vine on Grubhub. So, let's start with "YAY!" You can't beat getting this kind of food being delivered to your house. However, we think that 2 Vine REALLY isn't meant to be eaten delivered. They have an amazing staff in the kitchen and great servers. This food is meant to be consumed asap, in their dining room. So, you're going to lose some of the quality when it is packed, driven, and delivered. That being said, I can't imagine any better delivery! We also have noticed a little tweaking to their menu. We suspect that was done in order to create a menu that is more delivery friendly. We were worried that would cheapen the food and the brand. But we have to say; 2 Vine is still so delicious. The food hasn't suffered. We can argue over the brand being cheapened as a result of being able to order it on Grubhub, but until I see glaring evidence to the contrary, I'm going to guess that the owners know what they're doing.
The atmosphere at 2 Vine is kind of the opposite from most places. Well, with respect to one item. I actually felt like we had more elbow room at the bar. When we moved to a table, everyone was stacked on top of each other and brushing against people's back to scoot by. Generally, not being a fan of, well, people... I found it to impact our ability to remain in a relaxed state. Constantly turing around to check someone passing behind me, or feeling bad for bumping people when I had to pass by. I actually felt more comfortable at the bar, where we could sit at the bar, stand behind our chair, or even walk up and down the bar to talk to friends. They're really trying to sell the bar area. I say "Take them up on it".
I think when we go back, we'll just stay at the bar. Of course, that doesn't really work for groups larger than 4, so there is that issue. But if you're on a date and your date isn't lame, just go to the bar. You'll get right in, get to take advantage of the oyster special, and probably be more comfortable. There's always the chance that you meet someone new, too.
All-in-all, 2 vine is our favorite oyster special in Rochester and its hard to beat their food. Even if you're not a big seafood fan, they have something for you that will make your mouth water. We nit-picked a few minor items, but it's hard to go wrong with 2 Vine.
Turn Ons:
Best Oysters
Great Cocktails
Great Food
Great Staff
Good Atmosphere
Huge Bar
Parking Lot near East Ave
Turn Offs:
Oyster Special only available at the Bar
Only 1 Oyster Option
Missing the Seafood Platter
Strange Bar -vs- Seating Areas
Summary:
This review will focus on 2 Vine's Oyster special, as we are taking the week to go to an Oyster Special every day and compare them. But we are also touching on other items, as well.
2 Vine sits just off of East Ave, on Winthrop St. It essentially shares a parking lot with Hearts Grocery. With parking at a prime in the East & Alexander area, a nice restaurant with its own parking lot is a real find. Combine that with the class and quality of 2 Vine, and you've got a real winner.
Walking into 2 Vine, you're greeted with a HUGE rectangular bar. It feels upscale, and you'll fit right in with a suit and tie. Don't worry, you don't have to dress to the 9's if you don't want to. But you can do that if you're looking to impress. The $1 oyster special is every weekday from 5:30-7:00. That's good, so you can go any day. And, the day you go; it won't be swamped with everyone else trying to get there for the oyster special because they can go any day, too. You do have to go to the bar for the oysters, so that's a bummer if you wanted a table. Especially, if you have a large party. With how large their bar is, it is apparent that they're trying to drive traffic there. Really. That bar looks empty with 20 occupants. So, go ahead and put your oyster order in with your drink order. Hang at the bar a bit. You can always grab it and take it to your table, or just stay at the bar.
I'm not a big fan of cocktail sauce on oysters so I can't help you there. But it certainly looked and tasted like it was house-made. I'd place their mignonette sauce just a hair below Lento's. Still good, but not really special. But their oysters were by far my favorite. Just so so good. So flavorful without tasting like the bottom of the ocean, and they had the right texture. There weren't pieces of shell breaking off. The presentation was immaculate. We couldn't get enough!
A few people ordered their burger, and it was a huge hit. I got to try some and it melts in your mouth. I didn't even need cheese on mine! Certainly one of the best burgers in town. You wouldn't expect that coming from a place so well-known for seafood, but there you have it!
If you want good seafood, come here. There is a great selection and it is done very very well.
We do wish they'd bring back the seafood platter. We loved that! Which brings me to the discussion about their availability on Grubhub. Yes, you can order 2 Vine on Grubhub. So, let's start with "YAY!" You can't beat getting this kind of food being delivered to your house. However, we think that 2 Vine REALLY isn't meant to be eaten delivered. They have an amazing staff in the kitchen and great servers. This food is meant to be consumed asap, in their dining room. So, you're going to lose some of the quality when it is packed, driven, and delivered. That being said, I can't imagine any better delivery! We also have noticed a little tweaking to their menu. We suspect that was done in order to create a menu that is more delivery friendly. We were worried that would cheapen the food and the brand. But we have to say; 2 Vine is still so delicious. The food hasn't suffered. We can argue over the brand being cheapened as a result of being able to order it on Grubhub, but until I see glaring evidence to the contrary, I'm going to guess that the owners know what they're doing.
The atmosphere at 2 Vine is kind of the opposite from most places. Well, with respect to one item. I actually felt like we had more elbow room at the bar. When we moved to a table, everyone was stacked on top of each other and brushing against people's back to scoot by. Generally, not being a fan of, well, people... I found it to impact our ability to remain in a relaxed state. Constantly turing around to check someone passing behind me, or feeling bad for bumping people when I had to pass by. I actually felt more comfortable at the bar, where we could sit at the bar, stand behind our chair, or even walk up and down the bar to talk to friends. They're really trying to sell the bar area. I say "Take them up on it".
I think when we go back, we'll just stay at the bar. Of course, that doesn't really work for groups larger than 4, so there is that issue. But if you're on a date and your date isn't lame, just go to the bar. You'll get right in, get to take advantage of the oyster special, and probably be more comfortable. There's always the chance that you meet someone new, too.
All-in-all, 2 vine is our favorite oyster special in Rochester and its hard to beat their food. Even if you're not a big seafood fan, they have something for you that will make your mouth water. We nit-picked a few minor items, but it's hard to go wrong with 2 Vine.
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