Wine Maniacs Wine Bar & Bistro

Came w a girlfriend tonight while the joys were out. Service was fun and knowledgable. Wine was abundant and yummy. Food was delicious. Definitely coming back!

Good food, nice atmosphere, great wine pairings. They gave us advice on what wines went with what we were eating. Even let us try samples of wines first.

Prepare yourself for a long list of choices. Great selections of all plates. This is not the food that grandma made Incredible place to get a good glass of wine. Good prices too Ya’ll come

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience.
Our server was fantastic and was eager to find a wine I enjoyed. Trying the all the different wines was wonderful, however hard to keep track of price vs wines I liked. (If you’re on a budget… be mindful when tasting.) Our server was super friendly and there when you needed her.
The cheese platter was nice, It was awesome trying different cheese I wouldn’t normally think of getting or know where to start looking for them. My friend loved her pub burger. I was disappointed in the risotto. I had really high hopes for the risotto since they have a special risotto every night but the flavors fell flat. I couldn’t finish it. The server asked if there was anything wrong with it, or if I wanted anything different, but I didn’t want to send it back. I was there to visit a friend and didn’t have the time to send something back.

December 23, 2014
11:45 AM
Never. Coming. Back.
I’ve frequented Wine Maniacs many times and let me say, my first experience was a good one. I enjoyed great service, an above average portobello sandwich, and a life changing chocolate cake. Probably my favorite aspect of this restaurant was that, because it was so empty, it was never difficult to get a table. Through every visit I have experienced a different menu, which was disappointing since their original menu was so promising. During my last visit, I didn’t even recognize this once average-​at-​best restaurant.
As usual, upon arrival we were the only people there. You’d think as their frequent, and sometimes only customers, we would have received great service. Well, that’s where you are wrong. Our waiter, let’s call him «Jeff», was the most rude, condescending waiter I have ever had. He is 95% of the reason I will never come back to Wine Maniacs, I’ll touch on the other 5% later.
When «Jeff» first seated us, he seemed okay; but, he completely lost interest in us once he realized we wouldn’t be having wine with out lunch. I guess not wanting to get wine wasted before noon is a cardinal sin at Wine Maniacs. I ordered my usual Mediterranean Plate (which has been my go to since they removed my portobello sandwich), while my mom and sister both ordered sandwiches. My mom asked «Jeff» what sides came with her sandwich, to which he replied «Cole Slaw or…», and then walked away. Guess we don’t need to know the other option, Jeff. After Jeff placed our order he disappeared for twenty minutes. In his absence we realized, Jeff never gave us our silverware, since he was nowhere to be seen my mom had to take place settings from a nearby, unoccupied table. We assumed that Jeff just wasn’t that great of a waiter. Au contraire.
While hungry and patiently awaiting our sub-​par meal, another table was seated next to us. We overheard that one of the women at this table was ordering a glass of wine. Jeff was overjoyed, and spent a good ten minutes describing the wine list and menu to this table. Jeff mentioned that their sandwiches would come with a side of either cole slaw or pasta salad. Ah-​ha! Pasta salad was the other option, would have been nice to know, Jeff.
We finally received our meal, and started to eat while Jeff described to our wine-​ordering counterparts that «Kimchi is korean sauerkraut». Clever Jeff, clever. After a few bites of our meal, Jeff remembered that he had another table. He came over with a check in hand and had the the nerve to ask us «Are you guys planning on staying long? Like are you in a hurry? I’ll leave the check here for you in case you’re done.» Confused? So were we.
We finished the rest of our stale sandwiches in a cloud of confusion. After a few minutes of Jeff helping the other table figure out what pesto is, we realized that by giving us our check early, he would never have to come back. However, the worst part was after suffering through this terrible service, the only thing I was looking forward to was the chocolate cake of my dreams. I raced through the the dessert menu in search of the flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Gone. Gone like my every desire to return to this forsaken establishment.
Nice work Jeff, thanks to you and the loss of my precious cake, I will never return to Wine Maniacs. If you’re not planning on ordering wine with your meal, prepare to be ignored.

Love the atmosphere! A bit expensive for the area, but the food is good and menu varied. Our server did a nice job of recommending wines for us to try and talking about the seasonal menu options. We enjoyed our evening and will return.

Nice ambiance, good food, a bit over priced for where and what it is… terrible location! With all the great destinations in town with equally good atmosphere and food, it’s a tough call to choose going here…
Good in a pinch for something close if you need to meet somewhere easy.

If you follow my Unilocal reviews, you know that I like my wine and my food-​y food. Wine Maniacs indulges me on both fronts — and from such an unlikely locale. What a little gem in the heart of Lake Country. I love to stop in to break up my constant and very boring drives between Milwaukee and Madison. The wine and food menu is always changing, so it never gets old. They really know their wine, but make it approachable. Sometimes I ask a lot of questions. And sometimes I just ask them to bring me something fun. I almost never walk out without a few bottles for home.

After a long day of travel from the west coast my friends took me to dinner at Wine Maniacs. The server was pleasant but the woman who came over to explain the wines was obnoxious. The food was ok. Bistro type food, not really dinner. I would not go back. We did not feel welcome or comfortable. Way to aggressive when talking wine. This place should be called Wine Snobs instead of Wine Maniacs.

Poor service, over priced, rude manners, poor quality food…

I am planning a wedding for this year and was recommended by my reception venue to check out Wine Maniacs catering. I was excited to contact them because their menu looked very unique and delicious. I emailed from their website and also called to speak to them directly and received no call back after leaving my contact info with the person who answered. I called again and the person who answered the phone was rude saying «Oh is this Tracy. Our kitchen is working on it.» I have no idea what that means since I have never talked to anyone. What on earth could they be working on. I have scheduled anything. I inquired about pricing and other things included with catering (you know the typical things asked when trying to find a wedding caterer). The person was short with me on the phone and just kept repeating «our kitchen is working on it». I was literally attempting to call to set up a tasting since I live out of state and would be in town. This conversation took place on December 13^th and I still have not heard anything of what their kitchen was working on though I was told I would be contacted with what they came up with (it’s January 11^th). Needless to say, they are no longer on my list of potential caterers since their communication is terrible. Even if they had cheap prices and great food I’m pretty sure no bride would want to deal with that lack of communication.

Friendly staff, nice ambience, reasonable price and food worth the return. We were surprised, however, that a restaurant that focuses on wines served both reds and whites in the same type of glass (neither of which were appropriate for the wine being served. Further, when we switched from Pino Grigio to an Italian red, the 2^nd wine was poured into the glass used for the white.

Love this place! So unique for the area. Wine selection is outstanding, and the small plate selection allows diners to try several items instead of one big meal.

It’s been a long week. You know how you have those weeks at work where you are so busy you end up eating either nothing at all, fast food or whatever you find throughout your crazy day? That’s been my whole week. I had fortune cookies for lunch yesterday.
So tonight, after having eaten very poorly if at all for most of the week, I was at the hunger stage where anything, literally anything edible would taste like manna from heaven. But I knew there was one thing I couldn’t stomach: fast food.
So I started looking over the menu of Wine Maniacs. Dang! Every entrée sounds amazing! I’m starving! So I called in an order for Indian spiced beef short ribs with mint yogurt, and an order of bowtie pasta with chicken and andouille. I sat at the bar and waited for my order, I had a glass of wine, I chatted with other O-​Town residents, it was lovely. I couldn’t wait to get this food.
When I got home I realized that the portions are like, crazy small and don’t really come with anything, like, a vegetable? Whatever I’m starving, get these short ribs in my belly!
I tried both dishes. And I really feel like if somebody I trusted would tell me «Go eat at Wine Maniacs and order anything but the short ribs and bowtie pasta» I’d be like, «ok good because those were bad and I wasn’t sure if I just ordered the wrong thing.»
The short ribs were dry; they had barely any yogurt, and whoever made the rice didn’t actually use a real Basmati, they just saffron’d the bejezus out of a standard long-​grain. So I figured the bowtie pasta had to be better. And it wasn’t. It might’ve been worse.
I don’t know what to say. I want this to be a great food spot in Oconomowoc, but based on tonight I can’t recommend it to anyone for more than wine. Maybe not even that unless you’re OK with paying $ 13 for a glass.

Expensive? Yes, buts it’s a higher end wine bistro, right? My husband and I knew Deb the owner since we frequented their liquor store on the opisite end of town. The owners, Jeff and Deb really know their wine. If you love to cook and pair wines — go to these guys, they’re experts! We followed them to the new bistro and have frequented it since it opened. We even had our wedding rehearsal dinner here August 2012. It was amazing. Our guests are still raving about our wedding and REHEARSAL DINNER. 5 stars!

My wife and I drove by Wine Maniacs on route to dinner, we decided to stop in and ended up having desert. I’ll break this down to pros and cons.
Pros:
* The menu is trendy, elegant and you want a bit of everything (It changes seasonally)
* You can feel comfortable eating it in a three-​piece suit or a hoodie and jeans.
* There is a very nice wine selection that you don’t typically get in the area.
* The deserts are made in house and the Meyer’s Lemon Cheesecake is one of the richest and most wonderful things I have placed into my mouth.
* They have a house made lemoncello that is sweet, thick and basically sunshine in a glass.
* They offer wine paring meals, so if you’re new to what wines you like, signing up for one of these would be a great place to start.
* Jeff, one of the owners and the «Wine Guy» is one of the most engaging personalities I have had the pleasure of meeting.
Cons:
* Our server was not as knowledgeable and was starting to make things up. (I hate BS, if it’s a new menu, tell me you’re not sure and then find out!) If you are waiting tables somewhere where the menu consists of two sides of a piece of paper, learn it.
* The wine prices are a little on the steep side, and while I generally check list prices on my smartphone, this time the owners banter and easy manner made me want to bring a bottle home. It was a wine that I was unfamiliar with, and so I ended up paying a little over 4 times what the bottle was actually worth. No one suggested we leave with a bottle, and there was not pressure to buy, so I don’t blame them, only myself.
Overall, my wife and I both like the place a lot, and we’ll go back and try some of the small plates (probably with friends). But we won’t take home another bottle of wine. Costco has a wonderful selection of wines at prices that let me drink a $ 30 bottle of wine for $ 30.
The only thing preventing the 5^th star for me was the training of the waitstaff and higher than average wine costs.
EDIT: After writing the restaurant and getting no response all, I am left with a little irritation. Their website states that they have «phenomenal prices» and I have to disagree. I recommend that you check their wine prices against
before you head in. Again, no complaints on the food, but if you promote your restaurant as having low wine prices, they probably should not be 25% over industry average.

Their menu was changing and was different from what was listed online, they change the menu for each season.
Wine was good, affordable and they provided guidance on what you might like.
The food definitely caters to an adult palette.

Great food! Love the small plates, for trying and sharing with guests at the table. Wine pairing is excellent, and honestly how can you go wrong with Lamb Lollipops…
Nice Staff! The soup is always amazing … a great place for foodie or wine nut!

I am disappointed to see only one review for this phenomenal find in Lake Country. I cannot take the credit for happening upon this place, but I’m happy to know its whereabouts now. I would also like to add another star, but my past experiences have not been blessed by any of the bounty prepared in WM’s kitchen. I promise to come and taste the flavors, Jim. I think that will be date night with the hubby. However, if the food is anywhere near as good as the liquids, I will make an effort to eat there as often as possible. Never mind the commute. It is well worth it, even for a Milwaukee resident like myself. I’ll traverse the miles. Each time you sit down with Jeff, the «Head Wine Guy,» you become a student again. I think that is why the word «head» is in Jeff’s title. Instead of feeling like you’re sitting in the classroom of your old high school, waiting for the bell to ring, you’re transported to the international school of wine and you’re in no hurry to leave. I traveled to Germany with a Riesling; one part of France with a gin; off to another region with a tawny port; local with a wine from California. All over the map. I came away from this last visit with an appreciation for dessert and sweet wines. In the past, I never desired them either to accompany my meal or to end it. Jeff educated me. I could not just give up on these wines. I had tried only a couple in the past, and decided to sever my ties. I was reintroduced to them with an understanding of where their flavors and perfumes came from. Maybe the bios are what made them taste that much better. I always want to experience wine in this fashion. Also, Jeff promised that with the Citadelle gin, my husband would never go back to Beefeaters. Not only does Jeff know his wines, he knows people. My husband was stunned by the smooth taste promised by Jeff, and he has divorced Beefeaters. It will be a mere fallback, sitting in the back of the liquor cabinet. Wine [Maniacs] has moved to the front of the cabinet, because they will be one of the first places we go to stock it. If you were wise, you’d do the same. The variety (and the resident experts) at Wine Maniacs do not disappoint any palette.