Relm

Just tried this place a few days ago and have been back twice. Get wines from all over and I found some not normally available in the area. Located right in the Village. Both managers came over to introduce themselves. The food is great and they have a great Happy Hour. The wine flights vary week from week. Sam is Awesome. Thank you.

Stopped in for the village fair $ 5 special today and absolutely love this place! The wine is great and the service is awesome! They were very accommodating to my gluten allergy when it came to ordering food! Will definitely comeback!

It’s nice when the bartenders know what they’re selling. These guys have a lot of wine knowledge. The food menu isn’t huge but very good. The balsamic & bread thing is awesome. Super relaxed vibe and nice people.

SO cute!
The food isn’t super affordable, which was expected at a wine bar, but the staff were all so nice and friendly! They took great care of us, and we split a bottle of wine and an awesome cheese and meat board for about 35 $. Not bad :)

I recently had a small birthday celebration here and everything was more than PERFECT!!! Samantha and David were so very helpful in making everything work within budget. They had great ideas and I can’t even tell you how many people told me how awesome everything was. The staff was so accommodating and «invisible». Everytime I turned around there was more beer or wine or glasses were picked up .and I never even saw them! They moved furniture around to make it «our spot», we were able to bring in our bakery baked cupcakes, and the food was plentiful and awesome. Sam consistently answered email questions and always followed up. Pure class and comfort and ALL of my friends will be coming back again and again! Thank you RELM! Everything and everyone was just AMAZING!!!

Relm is my favorite bar in Carlsbad, with kind staff, great food and drinks. For my birthday, we celebrated in the party room. Management served us items not on the menu, helped us decorate, and served the birthday cakes while singing. If you want a social place to relax and listen to live music, go visit on the weekends.

This used to be one of the best places in Carlsbad to get great wine and food. The artichoke dip, Havarti Mac, and flatbreads were amazing
No more.
Now they serve food «made elsewhere». The artichoke dip looks and tastes like the frozen kind you buy and microwave from Trader Joe’s. They don’t serve flatbreads anymore. The Mac is mediocre.
The wine is still good. But without the food, you’d do better buying a great bottle of wine and drinking it at the beach.

My husband and I have been to RELM several times, sometimes with friends, sometimes just the two of us. We used to love buying flatbread pizza, a delicious salad, and, until now, a sensibly priced glass of wine.
I’m not sure what happened, but we were there this past Friday night and we were so surprised to find that the prices have doubled and the menu was so limited. I concur with other reviewers on Unilocal that RELM has become ridiculously overpriced for what you get! If I want to pay that price for a glass of wine I could go to the Sheridan hotel in Carlsbad and enjoy a nice outdoor fire and a view.
But wait. It gets better. Just as we were about to leave, the band on Friday night started to set up. However, they were so annoying as they «warmed up». It felt like 10 minutes of bass and guitar tuning, then microphone testing: «test», «testing», «Check… Check… Test… Testing…», while we were trying to enjoy a conversation and our overly priced meal. My husband commented that most professional musicians know enough to put on headphones to do tuning and sound check rather than exposing the audience to that annoyance. We left before the music started. We always try give local bands a listen so as to be supportive but these guys were «unsupportable.»
I gave RELM two stars because the waiter and waitress were accommodating and friendly. But unfortunately, we won’t be dining at RELM again.

I was at Relm for the first time for a Tuscan inspired wine tasking and travelogue hosted by a local travel planner, Tamara Golden.
Lovely evening at a lovely venue! I’ve been meaning to stop by Relm for some time, and I’m glad I finally got a chance.
We tried a variety of wines from the Tuscan region (both made in Italy and locally) which were paired with cheeses and meats. The manager Dave went out of his way to make the wine and food tasting delightful and accessible.
Can’t wait to go back!
Perfect for a girls night or if family is in town.

Excellent butterscotch pudding. Good wine options.

Recently worked with Relm on a private event and I must say their professionalism and attention to detail was fabulous. Rene, David & Jessica are all wonderful and we were so pleased with not only the set up, caterer choice and wine and beer selection, but with their commitment to making it perfect.
The wine and beer selections are great and the space is cozy and fun with high top tables, couches and cozy chairs. It was the perfect venue for us and I will definitely be back! Thanks again to the wonderful staff.

We have spent my past for birthdays at Relm, and it’s, tradition in my group of friends. Every other year they would have received five stars, but things have changed a little bit lately. I always loved Relm because you can get hot appetizers to munch on since I’m usually hungry when we drink wine. However, they have moved more towards a more extensive and expensive wine selection. They are also going through a transition with their kitchen and don’t have a lot of the food options that they had in the past. However our server told us about the issues and said that they are going to make changes on the menu. I think we’ll probably start finding other wine options in the village.

The manager contacted me and said he would send me a gift certificate and never did… also wanted to know if my husband had written a review (?) That was 2 months ago. Still no gift certificate. Bad business. Never going back. Paon down the street has a beautiful wine bar and much better service. I will stick with that place instead.

Relm has never been a disappointment the past couple of times I’ve been.
I came here on a Saturday night around 6; it was already pretty packed. They had live music already playing however, the only seats available were in the way, way back. Bummer. We put in our order at the bar– that’s the only thing I wish was different at this place, that we could get a server to our table, but, it won’t prevent me from coming back. The cheese plate and prosciutto appetizer do not disappoint! The wine flights are always my go to. Service was okay.
Overall, I recommend if you’re looking to catch up with some old pals and having some mellow fun :)

The place seems chill, has friendly servers, and doubles as a music venue, so I was initially in love with the place, and why it gets three stars, but the hummus is gross. Pale and chunky it tastes like Jack in the Box taco filling. And our cheese plate order was either forgotten or unforgivably too late, so we cancelled it. And this is nitpicking, but I didn’t like that they poured my bottled beer into a glass. I kinda like my glasses bottle-​shaped.

R.E.L.M. — Relax. Enjoy. Laugh More.
I guess they weren’t in the realm in adding an A in their business name to spell R.E.A.L.M. to say Relax, Enjoy, AND Laugh More. But HEY! It’s probably because they had a couple bottles of wine and zero shits were given!
Unilocal really needs to update their technology, so you’re able to give ½ stars because this place is 4 ½ stars, but since the atmosphere was amazing I just decided to round up!
The wine and food are fabulous, and if you bring a few people with you, try to coordinate together to drink the same wine, so you can order a bottle because 3 of us ended up having 2 glasses a piece on a $ 33 bottle of wine instead of ordering a $ 11 glass of wine. If you’re a thrifty shopper or couponer, think of it as Buy 3 Get 3 Free or BOGO.
We ordered the Brie and Hot Artichoke Dip. Artichoke Dip was amazing! It was ooey gooey melt in your mouth goodness and the homemade bread and crackers were the perfect vehicle to deliver the flavor! The Strawberry Brie was pretty good, just personally the Brie was a bit tangier than I’ve had it, but the strawberries and strawberry sauce counteracted the tang! Just wish it was slathered with it because don’t be fooled! Although the cheese is the main act, the understudy and supporting role was THAT strawberry sauce!
The only thing that was odd and weird was when it came to ordering. While they come to the table to deliver the food and wine, you have to GO up to the bar and order there on the tablet. There is a person there to take your order, but when it comes to paying they bring the tablet to you, tell you your total, and swipe your card. Ummm ok?! They said it has to do with their alcohol license and can’t go to the person’s table and take their order. Either CA Law is really stupid, which lets be honest there’s A LOT of stupid laws, or they got a half-​assed license and need to go back to get the rest because the Italian restaurant next door serves the wine and food to you!
P. S. You have a bottle of wine you want to bring, bring it! There is a corking fee, but wouldn’t you rather be in a wine bar, listening to live music, and someone else making you delicious bites instead of being at home staring at all your dirty dishes in the sink?! Thought so!

We come to Relm every so often since its in the neighborhood. We usually order the Cheese Plate and its VERY good. I also like the mac and cheese. The wine selection is generally good overall. I take one star away because the few times we came when they had live music, it was way too loud considering its usually just one guy playing an acoustic guitar. Concert loud. Loud to the point where we had to sit in the very back and still couldn’t have a conversation. Minus another star because there is no table service and for being told how much to tip at what is essentially a counter with no table service.
We’ve completely stopped coming in on Wednesdays due to the Farmer’s Market. The place is overrun by wine-​drinking mothers, strollers everywhere, and they allow their children to run free while they have a glass of sanity at the wine bar. Its a strange sight to see in a location that would otherwise be a calm, casual, low-​key, relaxed wine bistro.

The cheese plates and wine are to die for. The beer selection isn’t anything stellar but they got good staple options to choose from. Their food is fresh, flavorful and you can tell crafted with skill and care. Love the location and mostly ambiance of this place. Great for date night, happy hour etc. Can’t wait to take my man here when he comes home from deployment!

I did like that they had a musician playing the guitar and singing while I was there, but I was very disappointed with the service. Beer and wine selection was fair.

Fantastic. Bello lugar, arte y música en vivo. Excelentes vinos, al igual que la atención…un lugar para volver!

Here for an event and out of the four wine choices, I preferred the Viognier, this was bottled back in 2011 in Oregon. I’m not into red wines but I do give them a try. This Viognier was very light and crisp to my little palette. The tartness was balanced and it contains hints of white peach and apricot. Of the pairings I decided to keep it in the tart family with the red cherry hazelnut chocolate and the dried cranberries. This was my favorite one of the night.
My second choice was the Sparkling Malbec! Who doesn’t love a little pink bubbly in their life?! The finishing of the Malbec was very dry and I could see why the chocolate covered strawberries paired well with it.
The Syrah and Portalupi was not my favorite but I could be biased since they are a part of the red family.
What’s great about Relm is that they provide exclusive wines that are not sold in large retail stores but in small boutiques! The wines are carefully picked from wines that did not produce a lot of cases. It’s like finding a needle in the haystack! The environment is very casual yet sophisticated, tonight they have live music filling the entire venue. Next time I come here I’ll try the bistro side to accompany wine :] they have all their wine choices displayed on the wall if you’d like to view them.

RELM has removed the one bad vibe, so I’ve returned, and it’s time for a re-​re-​review
I still enjoy the wines, and yes, chances are you haven’t heard of many of them. The learning process is fun and has expanded my horizons. RELM made my recent trip to Paso Robles far more enlightening when I got to visit Niner and Minassian-​Young, makers of some of my favorite wines that RELM serves. Both wineries were happy to learn how I became a fan and consequently made my tastings there even more… tasty.
Food is very good. The crackaroni’n’cheese with prosciutto remains a filling favorite. The goat cheese /​prosciutto /​mint roll is still an amazing snacking favorite. Salads are good, and this is coming from someone who usually doesn’t eat such a thing.
RELM also remains a fun place to catch up with the neighborhood people, and the staff, particularly long-​time server Lauren and cook Aaron, are always friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable in their craft.
I wish they were open during the day on Saturdays and open on Sundays in general.