Vinalia

Huzzah!
Closed for good!

If you are trying to find a place to sponsor your corporate party, Vinalia was pretty much the worst choice.
Our party was from 6:30 — 10:30.
We have two shifts so the 4am people would be able to arrive at 6:30 and the people whose shifts end at 8:45 could enjoy the party as well… or so we thought.
We were told we would have a private room for our party and a guest list would be needed to get in. Pretty much anyone could walk into the area that was assigned to us.
The one nice thing is that we had our own bar in this area, the downside was that the bar staff was incredibly rude and uninviting. They even took my drink ticket and only ½ refilled my glass of wine. I suppose, shame on me for not asking them to give me a full serving.
We were told their would be food for the entire function. The food ran out at about 7:30 so the late arrivals were offered what had been sitting out on the table left over. A few of the party planners of the evening also mentioned that the food offered did not resemble what had been requesting when reserving the bar.
The music was trendy but without any bass and entirely turned down too low. Perhaps there werent any speakers in the «private» area?
The hours of operation state they close at 2am. I tried to order a drink from the bar at 11pm and without giving us a last call told us the bar had closed. While we tried to quickly finish our drinks they shut the music off, turned on the cleaning lights and loudly moved the dishes around obviously trying to make us leave. Who I believe was the manager on duty even went as far as just standing about 10 feet away from us and staring at us to let us know we werent welcome anymore.
I must say, for the amount of money our company gave to use this venue for 4 hours, they certainly werent eager to help us enjoy the evening. I definitely would never try to go to the place on my own dollar. Even when I tried to spend money to get a drink I was turned away.
P. S. Why does this place have 2 addresses? The entrance lists 101 arch st and their website as well as this one lists 34 summer st? Confusing!

Stopped here after work last night with a couple coworkers. It was my first time there. It’s kind of interesting, up on the second floor of an office building. The décor is very modern and clean.
We kept to a high-​top at the bar, which had a few groups of other downtown workers celebrating the end of the week, but was otherwise not very busy. All but one high-​top was occupied, and it only had one chair, so we stood.
We split a bottle of Rioja. They were out of the bottle we wanted to order, so they gave us the upgrade at the lower price. Very cool.
A few people that I worked with in my restaurant days work there no, so that was nice. I can see going back there again on that account alone.
Overall, it was pleasant. Holding out more stars for after I try the food.

I work around the corner from Vinalia and pass it every day, yet I’ve only been here twice.
The first time was last year for a Boston Event Guide event and the second time was last night for an event I planned (I was given a free Wine & Dine party for 20 of my friends in thanks for planning my work holiday party at their sister facility, Felt).
The staff is extremely pleasant and helpful. The appetizers (which were free) were quite tasty — the nacho chips were different, yet none of us could place what it was that was different about them! I loooved the Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Mmm.
Part of the event was that we each got a short membership to their VIP list, which gave us access to their discounted wine list — which had $ 40 bottles of wine and $ 100+ bottles of wine… Too pricey for me!
I stuck with the Tasting, which was 3 glasses of wine for $ 16. I assumed they would be lil taster glasses, but they were each basically full glasses! Needless to say, I drank them quickly so they wouldn’t get warm and I was quite tipsy (to say the least).
The wines I tasted were a Pouilly Fuisse (Château Vitallis from France) — my friend (who also did the tasting) and I had never heard of this, but decided to try it. It was a heavier white with an oaky taste. Quite good! I then went with my 2 favorites: a Riesling (Château Ste. Michelle from Washington) and a Gerwutztraminer they don’t have listed on their site. That was my favorite.
One big issue was the noise. It wasn’t very crowded and there was no music, yet it was SO hard to hear each other. Everyone was yelling to be heard and after, I felt like I couldn’t hear as well. Maybe some sound-​absorbers are needed?
Another issue was paying. When I first got there, the waitress said someone had to give a CC for a tab. I gave mine and just told everyone «please give me cash.» A friend asked, before everyone showed up, if people could just pay in cash or start their own tabs and the waitress said no, because with 25 people (we didn’t have that many), it’s too crazy. However, the majority of my friends got their drinks at the bar, because they didn’t have cash! Not a big deal, but the waitress probably lost out on some tips and it was sort of inconvenient for my friends to keep getting up and walking away. No big, but it would have been nice to do separate tabs.
Overall, everyone had a great time, but I don’t know that I’d go back. It wasn’t horrible, I just wasn’t wowed…

I was here for a lunch meeting and aside from the fact that the hostesses were not pleasant– well actually, nothing about the place was pleasant except for our server who turned out to be an acquaintance. She was quick, polite, attentive and professional. Other than that, the meal was horrific. For such a business-​lunch destination, they really should be offering at least «solidly okay» food.
I ordered the Turkey BLT with «cucumber mayo.» It was served on two thin slices of white bread. The top slice was mushy. The bottom slice was soggy. And full of butter. The turkey was not fresh, nor was it seasoned. I frequently get fresher lettuce and tomato slices at my local deli. The «cucumber mayo» consisted of mayo with chunks of cucumber in it. Wow. Very innovative. The «homemade chips» were waffle-​cut potatoes, which were, you guessed it, also soggy (and greasy). It’s not as if there was a problem running the food, either, since it was very hot when it arrived. Totally a kitchen issue. Basically, the food wouldn’t have passed in the worst of retirement community dining halls.
Underseasoned, overpriced, and generally unacceptable– especially for a $ 12 sandwich. I can’t speak for the bar or the dinner menu, but judging by the fact that they were not embarrassed to serve this sandwich, I’d never go back here. Should’ve hit the kebab cart on by 28 State St (nothing special, but at least it’s reliable).

So I came back here for an SBS Happy Hour. And so for this event, Vinalia managed to gain an extra star. This is primarily for the bartender I had. He was super sweet and great in taking care of my drinks. Now, if only they would hire more men that can actually do their jobs like the gentleman that served me, that would be fantastic! Maybe the management here has listened and are making changes to their hiring practices. Maybe…
This time around, I wasn’t waiting for more than a few minutes to get a drink. They were also super great with taking our drink coupons through BYFAD as well as taking my Drink Card.

I am only giving this place 3 stars because they seat my guests and I right away all the time. The food is average and the drinks are just okay… I just don’t know what this place needs to get it RIGHT. OH… wait…I KNOW… they need a new menu and better chef/​cooks. They need to find something to light up the spices in their entrees and dishes. Great place but it just lacks something.

So here’s the deal. I have a bunch of Indian friends who were super-​psyched about this Hindi DJ that was playing a show at Vinalia. I thought that sounded like a good time so I looked up Vinalia and the website didn’t say anything about ever hosting shows. But I checked, and sure enough, there was this DJ playing there, and it was a $ 15 cover charge, but no charge if you got there before 10. *Sweet*, I thought, *we’ll go in and have a drink and get in to the show for free.*
We had dinner in Chinatown at a Phở Pasteur. In the mean time, the deal at Vinalia kept getting better. We heard from the show organizer that it was going to be an open bar from 10 – 11. We got to Vinalia at quarter to 10 only to find they weren’t open yet. So we waited. Ten o’clock came, and they put out a sign saying $ 25 cover. We said the show had been advertised as $ 15 if you got there by ten. The guy said that was fine, but then, when they let people in 15 minutes later, they charged us $ 20, then said it was because there was an open bar from 10 – 11.
«Great,» I said, «At least we can have a few drinks on the house before the show comes on.» By this time I had noticed the Christiana Vodka advertisements everywhere, and had surmised that the only free drinks would probably involve that particular brand of spirits. «Whatever’s free.» I said. My friends and I stood patiently at the bar, waiting to be noticed by the bartender. He studiously ignored us, even though we were the first ones in and the only people standing at the bar.
Eventually, someone came around and handed us a coat check ticket, and said we got one free Christiana drink. Then, of course, everyone looked at me to tell them the strongest possible drink one could make with vodka, and naturally I said extra dry martini straight up. So that’s what we all got.
Mine was swimming in crushed ice. The guy couldn’t make a martini to save his life. Still pissed about the bait-​and-​switch on the cover charge and the open bar, that was the last straw. Fortunately there was in fact vodka in the drink, which did wonders for my mood.
The promised Indian DJ either hadn’t shown up or just felt like playing really really shitty music (I don’t want to grace it with the term rap). Eleven o’clock came and we were all still waiting for the shitty music to turn off and the Hindi music to turn on. Finally it did, and it was fun. Unfortunately the acoustics of that place suck. Still, it was pretty damn cool. The drinks were wicked overpriced, but the only drinks I bough I had made by another bartender, who can in fact make a martini. $ 12 a piece for Chiroc martinis, not the worst prices ever. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to leave a tip considering that we’d been charged $ 5 extra for the open bar that didn’t exist.
I don’t know about the food, but then I don’t think that fine dining and clubbing mix. I certainly wouldn’t eat in a room where two random people were dry-​humping the night before. That’s right, dry humping. For about half an hour. For all I know, they’re still doing it.
The one star I’m giving them is that, with the company I had and the music (when it finally changed to Hindi techno), I had a really good time. I spent more money in an hour and a half than I generally do in a week. It’s the cheating, sleazeball feel of the place that prevents me from ever going there again.

Don’t waste your time.
Overpriced. Appetizers are seriously lacking. (who offers loaded nachos with no salsa option?) Waiters and waitresses don’t seem to care that you exist, until they want to get paid or be tipped.
It’s kind of a cruel joke. You go all the way up that escalator, see some dim lighting beckoning from a door off to the side. It’s that coveted ‘work escape’ route that you always wish you had in your own building. And then you get in there and it’s all wrong. Layers and layers of suck.
With no salsa.

I’ll be generous and give the a 3 star rating for their generous food portion sizes.
It in no way seemed like a wine bar, nor a lounge. There was a bar and some wine, but 1+1 here doesn’t = 2. Don’t think I’d try it out as a watering hole.
The restaurant is on the 2^nd floor above Men’s Warehouse in Downtown Crossing — if you’re shopping, it’s a great location, otherwise, you’d never look there.
You walk in through a nice glass door and there’s a host stand and a bar — pretty nice, the restaurant is spacious enough and has 2 (maybe more?) private sections that you could reserve for large parties.
Sound quality is terrible — there was a large party in one of the rooms and it made our dinner conversations turn into screaming matches. So much for a nice dinner turned scream-​fest.
Service for us was fine — a lot of other reviewers had terrible service — so this is only my 1 data point, maybe I got lucky. Friendly, split our salads for us, and got our order right. I didn’t go to the bar, so don’t know how bartender service is — I’d trust the other reviews for bar ratings.
The Bibb salad with bacon dressing was quite delicious — but then again I love bacon! The mixed greens were also good and had a nice balsamic «creamy» dressing.
The clam chowder tasted like I was eating a creamy clam flavored salt lick. They could stand to cut the salt a tad…
The Italian parmagians were good — had the veal and chicken — HUGE portions. Normal flavor — enjoyable normal food.
Grilled chicken with mashed potatoes was ok. Pan seared chicken with linguini was ok as long as you didn’t eat the cream-​filled pesto linguini — the chicken and ham was good.
The LAVA CAKE — MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Oozing chocolate with vanilla bean ice cream. Ok, now that’s a way to end the meal.
If I’m wandering about Downtown Crossing at meal time — I’d consider going back, but don’t really think this is worth a special trip.

All those bitchy, snotty, blond girls that I grew up with in high school, you know, that always dated the hottest guys, and are straight out of Mean Girls? Yeah, they work here.
I came here to meet a friend, and it wasn’t too crowded. I sat and waited for 10 minutes before the bar girl came over to take my order, which was pretty simple: vodka on the rocks with a lemon twist. She disappears for another 10 minutes, and helps all the other customers (READ: COCKS). Finally, I stare her down until she is forced to make eye-​contact with me, and she gives this little condescending laugh and says that she forgot about me because I was as quiet as a mouse. FU! I finally get my drink, am charged ten dollars, and I get away from the bar to avoid her.
I had a great time with my friend, but this bar is pretentious and does not offer very good customer service. Even the millionaire playboy wannabes sitting beside me were appalled by her behavior towards me.

Do not! I repeat — DO NOT come here. Vinalia is the worse excuse for a bar, restaurant, lounge, whatever you want to call it. I could do better!
The only reason why this place is even getting any stars is because the people that I was with made the 1 penny that I paid for 2 tickets worth it. I will never by tickets to this venue again. The free drinks were awful, surfer on acid, at least when you managed to figure out where the free drinks were coming from. The free food was again awful when you managed to figure out where their waitstaff was coming from. We basically had to follow the trail of food just to get a bite since once a tray came out the food disappeared. Eventually others thought that it was so awful too that the food finally made it’s way to the front, where most people refused to touch it.
As for the staffing issues, what kind of idiot runs this place? You have bartenders that bump into each other and giggle. They take forever to shake the damn drink and half the time they don’t know what they are doing. Do these dimwits not understand that the more people you serve the more money you make? It shouldn’t take me over half an hour to get my drink!
Alphabetize the credit cards, retards! Then you won’t spend another 15 minutes just flipping through them. Take more than one drink order at a time and remember them! Seriously, they need to attend some sort of bartender boot-​camp. For that night they should have had at least four strong bartenders in the front bar and three in the back. If you are waiting for someone to sign their credit card slip, take a drink order from someone else at the same time instead of just staring at the bill. Memorize drink prices so that you waste less time going from the person to the computer back to the person.
The crowd that night was also pretty bad. I even had one old guy complain to me because I took his spot at the bar. Look grandpa, you snooze you lose.
This place really irritates me since I love the décor, just don’t love the fact that the people working here lack a brain.
Restrooms: Again! Come on people! Two stalls in the ladies room? In most places of that size there are at least four stalls and the line still goes out the door. Can you imagine how long this line was?

Wow, I don’t know how this place is any other night… but I have my suspicions that it sucks just as badly as the event last night did.
Gripes:
1. When you advertise «Cocktail reception and complimentary hors d’oeuvres until 7:30pm» — I expect more than battery acid advertised as a «martini» that you have to take like a shot and immediately afterwards wished you hadn’t… and seafood or hot wings for hors d’oeuvres. Hello, I can’t eat seafood… other people also have this allergy… why are you only serving stuffed mushrooms with crab, bacon wrapped scallops, and some kind of muscle thing — which PS from those eating them I hear it was kinda funky… and hot wings… do I look like I want wing sauce all over my fingers while I“m trying to mingle? NO, I don’t… so needless to say I’m glad I ate some crackers on the T before coming to this.
2. If you’re a cash only bar (by the «dance floor») — maybe you should advertise that somewhere. I may not have had cash, would I have gotten my drink free if I made a stink about it? Lucky for you I did, unlucky for me because the drink blew.
3. Know how to make drinks if you’re going to be a bartender. Not only was it watered down, but it didn’t have all the liquors it was supposed to have. Seriously… I can understand you not knowing what a «Long Beach Iced Tea» is — because everywhere I go in Boston they look at me like I’m crazy… maybe it has a different name here… but once I TELL YOU how to make it, it’s not that hard to remember! Long Beach Iced Tea = Long Island Iced Tea, but take away the coke and add cranberry juice.
4. If you’re almost as old as my dad, do you think I want your flaccid penis rubbing up against me? Without question, NO.
5. Women’s bathroom. Seriously? Two stalls, and then one gets all clogged.
Pros of the night:
1. Got to meet some fun fellow Unilocalers
2. Stupid bartenders didn’t charge me for a majority of my drinks, so I only got charged $ 8 + tip. HAH, thats what you get for making crappy drinks and not having enough brain cells to remember my last name for two seconds.
3. Men’s Restroom. After the first time around in the Women’s bathroom, and seeing the ever growing line of women waiting to use the one stall that remained after the first one flooded, my friend and I gave up and just started using the stall in the Men’s restroom. It was much faster, not clogged, and served for highly entertaining bathroom banter.

One star because you can’t give zero. A second star because the folks I was with made this place bearable.
Drinks are expensive. Sometimes you get a glass glass, sometimes it’s metal, and sometimes it’s plastic. It was like a game show, you never know what your «prize» is going to be. I didn’t have much of a problem getting drinks, but then again, I stopped drinking on the early side when maybe it wasn’t quite so crowded.
There were definitely some interesting folks here. Some creepy. Some funny. It was kind of like the zoo, only we were apparently in the petting zoo section when I think I would have rather been in the section with the cages and some personal space.
Bathroom with only 2 stalls, one of which was no longer usable halfway through the evening. Not good.
We were there for an event, and there was a happy hour with free drinks and appetizers. There were 2 rooms, and I was in the room away from the kitchen. The appetizers only ever made it over to our side because the folks I was hanging with walked over there and grabbed some. I hear they weren’t very good, so I didn’t miss much. I did see the girl with the free drinks once, and got the last drink she had because one of my new friends practically tackled her for it.
But, we danced for hours while waiting for the prizes to be announced. This night is a testament to the fact that Unilocalers can have fun together under any conditions.
Need proof?
Yeah, that’s how we roll…

Empirically, Vinalia is just another jigsaw piece in in the downtown Boston donkey show. Hopelessly understaffed with waifs who can barely lift a Guiness and who can’t be bothered to know their own drink menu, getting a drink at the bar is an excruciating test of human patience. The crowd is a classic mix of dragon ladies, wasted debutantes, Bro-​ston finance douchebags, and older men reliving the hustle (actually, that guy was pretty sweet, props). The music.. . The most lackadaisical, neo-​crap, bar mitzvah mix I’ve had the displeasure to writhe to in a while.
Vinalia, this just isn’t going to work out — it’s not me, it’s you.

The only reason this place gets one star is because 0-​stars is not an option.
An escalator to the entrance? Really? If you want to be in a mini-​mall so bad, why not spring the extra cash to run your business at the Pru or Cabridgeside?
The food: awful. It was dry, mostly tasteless, and what you could taste was unpleasant, to be nice. Here’s a word to the wise: if a mussel smells and tastes fishy, throw it out. Do NOT use bacon to try and cover it up. That is just disrespectful. –To the bacon.
And for gin’s sake, what is with the metal AND crystal stemware? Either they were financially hurting so bad that they failed to completely replace the old glasses or this place has a severe identity crisis. I’m going with the latter.
Furthering this theory: «Vinalia» means «festival of wines.» Really? Then why was Ligaya’s Rose Champagne lookin’ like Ocean Spray?
Holy moly, this place needs help.

My review is only about the bar. Yeah, the mix was weird, but I think that might have been the fault of an independently contracted DJ. I didn’t personally try the food (because I kept hearing that it was nasty and watched people eating icky things and never found the food to try it anyway).
I did, however, experience mind-​blowing bar service and continuously sampled appallingly awful drinks. There were 4 – 5 «bartenders» behind the main bar the whole time and a bar back walked through from time to time. The bar was not slammed. Everyone was being polite. This was not a bar where people are elbowing other people out of the way and shouting their orders. There were moments when not one of these ladies were making drinks or taking orders – long, long moments. What were they doing? Looking at things, waiting in line to use the one credit card machine, accidentally selecting the wrong picture on the touch screen and then taking their time so as not to make the same mistake again.
One person was closing out her tab and the «bartender» picks up a stack of cards that she begins the slow shuffle through the cards. «What color is it?» «Can you spell your name again?» OMG!
I decided to not let them hold my card, I had to say not start a tab twice (maybe things would move faster if you didn’t require repetition of everything). When she gives me my card and the receipt to sign, there are people who have been waiting maybe 20 or so minutes for a drink, does she take a drink order? NO! She stands there and watches me sign. She looks away while another «bartender» picks up the receipt and then turns back to ask me, TWICE, where the receipt is.
I didn’t trust them to mix more than 2 ingredients together. Everything else tasted like that nasty mess kids make in high school when they want to drink alcohol, but they don’t like the taste and they can’t afford the good stuff.

Woo hoo! I had a great night here. It was the people ( Unilocalers), not the place though.
They try to be classy, but gave me a plastic cup for my watered down goose and soda. I paid $ 10 + tip for that shit. Martini glasses seemed to be plenty available.
Lowlight of the night for me:
Act 2, Scene 3
Colin walks out of the bathroom and sees pizza by the hostess table. Leans over, and asks douche politely instead of taking.
Colin: «Cool, Pizza! Is that fair game?»
Douche: «No, I bought that for the girls that are working».
Colin: (Makes face), Douche continues hitting on uninterested girl
Colin: (to girl sitting down) «Hey sugah, how about a piece of pizza»
Girl: «Sure! (brings whole pizza over)»
Douche: «Hey! Don’t give him pizza! That one has chicken. If you’re going to give him one, give him the other one.»
Colin: (internal monologue) «Fuckin’ douche»
Colin walks away hungry.
Vinalia: Get your douche on

I’d like to talk to Human Resources to find out who thought it’d be a great idea to put a bar like Vinalia in the reception area of an office building. Was the architect an Ally McBeal fan or something?
So… I have 24 years of awkward under my belt, but that did not prepare me at all for Flirt Fest ’08. People paid $ 20 to go to this gross meat market? A couple words to the workers and those that frequent Vinalia:
DON’T touch my Andean bamboo flute unless invited.
YELLING wig doesn’t make you cool, a$$hat. I’m glad you’re observant. Your mom would be proud. I’ll tell her tonight.
STOP drinking if you think an Asian girl, who you’ve seen change from long hair to short hair to blond hair and back to short hair, is magical and have no idea that she’s wearing a wig (s).
DO play prom music to distract sober patrons from the general d-​baggery at this joint.
INTRODUCING yourself would be a good idea before you start grinding up against a group of people that clearly know each other. And WTF are you doing taking pictures of strangers?
DO krump if you’re over 40 and wearing a cocktail dress.
DON’T hold a Boston’s best flirt contest when the hottest guy there doesn’t win.
Also. like Alli mentioned. if you haven’t been previously drinking (have a cup), you can’t get water. AWESOME! Let’s just push the alcohol. I’m pro vicious cycles. I mean that’s the only way people would come back right? Have them drink themselves to oblivion so they forget that they actually hated the place. and end up coming back.
I know I know. this is an event review. but methinks a lot of these people frequent this bar. Just a thought.

So. We meet again.
My second trip to Vinalia and my second ONE STAR experience.
I wish I could negative star places. Negative star them so bad that Jeremy and Russ at HQ in San Francisco would have to get on a jet, fly their hot asses to Boston and slap a big frickin’ «YOU BEEN UnilocalED» sticker right on the manager’s forehead. Slap that Unilocal shit so hard that their mama will feel it.
Rant:
*Hosting a party? STAFF YOUR BAR! Taking 20 minutes+ to get a drink is inexcusable. And you’re losing money on your OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive cocktails.
*Offering drinks? How about uniform glasses and not a mixture of plastic cups, actual glasses, and leftover promotional pieces. Also, try to make something that doesn’t taste awful or watered down. I don’t think Ligaya enjoyed spending $ 16 on a champagne that made her gag. I’ll stick with bottled beer, thanks.
*Offering food? How about something edible and not something that looks so disgusting it made me throw up in my mouth a little.
*Showing off your venue? The escalator ride into an office building isn’t that hip or welcoming to people who are looking for a good nightlife scene.
*Welcoming lots of people? How about a few less douchenozzles and a few more bathroom stalls.
Russ and Jeremy, please send help. And by help, I mean a bulldozer.

This place is loud any time of night. The bar area is always crowded so it makes sitting down for dinner a bit noisy. Regardless of the sound volume, I went here with my uncle and had a great time. Definitely buy a gift certificate on
since this is one of the few places in Boston listed on that site.
I ordered a pizza which was delicious. I actually somehow got my uncle to eat dessert which is quite the feat (it makes me doubt our blood relationship). He also ordered a dessert wine that I got a little history lesson about and he seemed quite happy to be drinking.
All in all, it was a delicious meal. Our waiter was super friendly which added to the feel of the restaurant. I thought the volume of the restaurant would prohibit conversation but it didn’t at all.
I highly recommend this place for after-​work drinks and for a nice meal. And don’t forget, first visit
. And also don’t forget to tip on the pre-​gift certificate bill amount. Or something.