Spill the Wine

1101 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 339-3388
http://www.spillthewinerestaurant.com/

Category: Wine Bar, American Casual

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 4
Service: 6
Ambience: 8

Recommendation: Poor! We’d recommend going here for the wine; but if you’re hungry for a good meal, this isn’t the place for you. Skip this place and head to Toast instead.

Spill the Wine is a casual wine bar on a busy stretch of Washington Avenue. The décor evokes memories of the many loft style building that have come to adorn the Minneapolis downtown area – the bar is a large open space with exposed brick walls, tall dark ceilings, exposed ductwork and minimal, but modern artwork. Most of the space is dedicated to dining but there is some bar space and lounge seating is available at a space next door to the restaurant. There is also a wine store next adjacent to the restaurant.

The menu is casual American with many appetizers, salads, and pizzas but there are also come expensive meat and seafood entrees on the menu. We were excited about the happy hour which runs from 4 to 7pm and includes $5 appetizers (we found out that there are only 3 choices at this price), $3 beers, and $15 bottles of wine (you can select from 4 varietals). The happy hour food menu doesn’t change much and includes the Calamari, Bruschetta, and Pita bread with Yogurt. We soon found out that $5 appetizers at this place equates to uninteresting food – although the calamari wasn’t bad, the yogurt had a lumpy texture and lacked any distinct flavor (we can guarantee that given $5, most people would do better constructing their own yogurt dip than this restaurant did). The $15 bottle of wine wasn’t bad for the price. For entrees we had the Potato Gnocchi (with roasted chicken and gorgonzola cream) where the gnocchi was tough and the chicken tasted artificial, and the Ravioli (spinach and mozzarella with a tomato basil sauce), a cut above the gnocchi, with a tangy flavorful tomato sauce but overstuffed pieces of pasta. Frankly, I’ve had better pasta with more balanced, interesting flavors and delicate presentation at chain restaurants! We were so disappointed in the entrees that we decided to forgo dessert and spend our money elsewhere.

The wine list is immense with 15-20 options for wines by the glass in both red and white wine. They also have a three-glass wine flight that changes frequently. If you’re looking for a place to socialize with friends and chat over a glass of wine, this is definitely a good option – but we can’t recommend the food offerings, even if they were to cut their lofty prices in half.

$$$. Full price appetizers and salads are $9-$14, entrees range from $13-$26. Valet parking is available in the back for $6 – there is plenty of street parking on 11th Ave.