Vin Rouge

Before you crucify me note: THIS REVIEW IS OF THE BREAKFAST/BRUNCH ONLY

I'm always looking for a new place to get breakfast. When I saw that this highly-acclaimed establishment did breakfast on weekends I broke my I-don't-drive-on-weekends rule to check it out.

It's an odd building, with a nice semi-fancy interior. You can definitely tell it formerly housed a fast food joint.

There were not many people there, the waiter was very attentive and helpful without being annoying. I got the chicken and mushroom crepes. While they were good, they were a bit too savory-tasting to me. The kind of food that tastes really good, but you don't want to eat a whole bunch of it at once. Between the chicken, crepes, mushrooms, and eggs it was a bit overwhelming. I'm not chef, but I felt it could use some more spices of some sort. SOMETHING to cut through those rich, almost sweet, flavors.

The "VR" (c'mon guys!) potatoes were quite crispy and good though :)

I'd like to try this place for dinner sometime. Although I usually dine alone, and this seems like an odd place to do something like that at...

Like going to a hibachi or fondue place solo...you can do it....but it's a little bizarre.

When I think of cuisine in Spokane, I think of Vin Rouge.

With so many places vying for such a title, from the iconic burger joints on Division, to the historic hotels of downtown, there's something unparallel to the simple intimacy of this restaurant and pride of the people that run it. My wholehearted admiration and Vin Rouge go together like a wink and a smile.

Of course that judgment has to do with my somewhat muddled experiences surrounding such a place.

The contemporary setting is the location of my Yelp Profile's "Last Meal On Earth" question; the Chicken with reggiano risotto, asparagus, and mushroom marsala sauce is, quite sincerely, to die for. Paired with one of their many wonderful wines, and followed by a few bites of the Chocolate Raspberry Bomb always leave me beyond full, somewhat miserable, and yet so very happy.

Yet a specific evening at VR also happens to be the precursor to one of the saddest breakups I've had to date. (Though I certainly can't fault them for it!) It remains burned in my memory, a case of recognizing that all good things must come to an end... be it a relationship where we each had to go our own way, a delicious meal, or a perfect glass of rouge vino.

Still, I look fondly upon Vin Rouge due to the simple elegance and chivalry it exudes. It is a comforting place to visit for a late candlelit meal, and an example of honest dedication to a job well done.

Okay Vin Rouge gets 5 stars for the food and service.

As I said before it is a old fast food restaurant, they did a great job with the décor, but it is still just a fast food shell, that is the only drawback I have with them. However there are very few restaurants that my wife and I have been too 5 or more times and have come away impressed each and every time and Vin Rouge is one of them.

My wife started with the squash soup which was perfect and I had the wasabi crab cakes, they were moist but not held together with a gooey binder like most places do it. The panko breading was good and the presentation was excellent.

For dinner my wife had tofu crepes, probably one of the best tofu entrees we have ever had in our life, better then Greens and Millennium in San Francisco. I had a roasted chicken breast with mushroom marsala, asparagus and risotto. The Chicken was cooked to perfection, the risotto was one of the best that I have had in any restaurant and marsala sauce was excellent.

Accompanied with our dinner we had a syrah flight and for dessert my wife had a delicious Kona Coffee sundae and I enjoyed a delicious port that was not oxidized.

There are only three restaurants in Spokane that we have dined at 5 times or more AND have had excellent meals each and every time. Mizunas, Ambrosia and now Vin Rouge is added to that list.

Highly Recommend.

My friend plays here Thursday and Saturday nights, so I love to go out to support him and I don't mind going to a place like Vin Rouge!

Though it is a bit pricey (for my taste- am i cheap? ...), Vin Rouge has great food (I got this delicious experimental gnocchi appetizer- it was sooooo good!) and fun drinks.

The ambience is nice- you can sit at the bar or in a booth, and the service is friendly and prompt.

This is happy hour on the South Hill. Fantastic deals on martinis and glasses of wine. Frites, fall salad, crab cakes, and bruschetta are all delicious. The service is very good. The restrooms always clean.

It is in an old fast food restaurant, despite this I think they have done a good job with the decor. But some people are still put off by the old fast food restaurant architecture.

Husband and I are new to the area and wanted a quiet date night. We searched Yelp for some direction and viola! We found Vin Rouge. Intially, we almost drove right past it because it's off of a busy street and judging by the chic online menu, we thought it had to be off some quaint little side street. Not so. Apparently, it used to be an old drive thru fast food joint.

Anyhoo- With traffic and location aside- This place was AMAZING! The design both inside and out is relaxing and very romantic. There is a fountain outside and beds of flowers everywhere. The old fast food building just contributes to the irresistible charm of this place. The service was the best I've seen in Spokane so far and the food was delicious! I loved their caesar salad and it came with a "parmesan cookie" which was fabulous. I had the BLT-A with a glass of white wine and both were very yummy. We went during "Social Hour" aka Happy Hour and for two people, both ordered sandwiches, a glass of wine a piece and split a salad came out to be $25.94.

All in all, this has become a new fav and we'll be back!

Summer finally arrived, so we met friends on Vin Rouge's patio for Happy Hour, and this review is limited to that experience. Although we frequently go there when the weather warms up, it is not one of our usual places, since it is a wine bar, and most of us drink beer. That said, they have a great Happy Hour or small plate menu for very reasonable prices. The beer selection is limited, but not horrible (of course, I can always find a beer to drink). They have a few micro-brews, and of course, quite a selection of wines.

The outside patio area is cozy, but one drawback is noise from the adjacent busy street (and while we were there, a gardener with a weed-wacker). However, it is usually very pleasant, relaxing and enjoyable on a warm summer evening.

The service was friendly, but slow. They only had one waitress, a greeter, and the bartender (who also waited tables on the patio). So the service was rather slow, and they really didn't have the time to visit or chat with the customers.

The food is above average, and the small plates are very reasonably priced. They have quite an assortment to choose from, and everyone was happy with what they ordered. This is the main reason we go back - the food is a step above the average happy hour menu. I highly recommend it if you are a wine connoisseur!!

Hit this place for a weekday lunch a couple of weeks ago with my sis and cousin when we tried to eat at Ginger on a Monday not knowing they close that day. My cuz had heard some good things about this Vin Rouge place, so we gave it a shot. As another reviewer mentioned it's definitely a converted fast food place, but they've done a lot of work and I'd imagine the evening atmosphere is nice. We sat down, and inspection of the menu showed good, if not very innovative flavor profiles, I remember thinking it looked like someone knew what they were doing* and we were probably in for a fairly decent meal. Our server was good, and made himself available without being overly attentive, which I prefer.

Everyone started with salads then had sandwiches. The summery salads my cuz and I ordered were the highlight, but it was honestly just a pretty decent seasonal salad, nothing mind-blowing. I had a caprese type sandwich (don't remember menu name), and I know my sis had a french dip type sandwich, don't remember what my cuz had. I do remember that all of us thought the sandwiches were pretty blah and we all agreed they could have used some seasoning.

Overall our lunch impression was fairly lackluster. As we were there on a Monday, I'd guess the head chef wasn't in the kitchen and that may be an explanation for our less than stellar experience. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll go out of my way (I live on Greenbluff) to find out if the experience is better Wed-Sun.

*With the exception of one menu item. If memory serves, the name was something to the tune of "Graham Marsala". I couldn't tell from the description if this was a deliberate play on garam masala or not--I'm a little afraid it wasn't deliberate, but maybe I'm wrong.

Vin rouge really is a great place. They obviously have pride in what they do. They have a wide selection of "foodie" dishes. They also have some really good happy hour specials and "pub" food during the happy hour. Service is good, everything I've had there has been great. You can trust that you won't feel like you wasted your money.

It doesn't quite deserve 5 stars because of limited offerings for happy hour, environment not being all that special (former fast food place), and just a bit of inconsistency with their breakfast. I've gone many times for breakfast and it can be hit and almost miss. It's still always been acceptable, even when they almost miss. Really a great little place overall.

The food was so good! If only I could have seen it. Really though it is a great restaurant. It just is really dark. We had a huge group so it made it difficult looking down the table. Would be a great romantic spot for two. Really good wine list and knowledgeable/friendly wait staff. Will be back.