Vyne Bistro

This place is amazing. The customer service is superb, the owners are great AND present, the wine AND beer selection is extensive and the food is superb. What more could you possibly ask for?
I’ve been here a number of times as a customer and I have also worked here. Neither experience has changed my opinion about this place. You can tell that Olga and Cyril really care about their business and their customers. Their heart and soul are put into the establishment and I don’t expect anything less from two passionate individuals.
If you visit here. Some notable dishes are: oysters, the sliders, cheese plates, soup of the day (its made fresh and Cyril is a great chef), and the salmon cucumber bites.
As for wine, ask the owners!!! They definitely know their wines!
If you come for game night definitely participate because you win a great prize!!!
All in all this is a great establishment and I wish more folks knew about this place. I swear this is an unbiased review (due go the fact that I did work there)! Gooo!!! Check it out!!!

Adorable & intimate without being stuffy. A great place to grab a glass with your girlfriends or make the sparks happen with your amor!
I’ve been there 5+ times and it’s about time I wrote a review:
3 Great Things About Vyne:
1. Easy location & good parking. Especially after 6p there is always parking on 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th. Lots of foot traffic so this areas cute & safe.
2. Decent wine list & good menu. Whether you want a lite bite or a full menu, they have you covered. The wine menu rotates and the owner chooses a good variety (although I did minus one star since they seem to be missing a Bordeaux & other interesting French on the list) and PRO TIP… A good 40% off all full bottles on Mondays!!!
3. Attentive staff and great atmosphere. Seriously… This place is really pretty inside (plus they have a heated patio) and the chairs/​tables are comfy so it’s a good spot to stay a while. Also… The staff are great– they know good service.
Also– this place is local and incredibly important to classing up the downtown SJ vibe… So support local businesses and plan a night out at Vyne!

My Girlfriend, her parents, and I visited the Vyne Bistro on Christmas Eve for a few glasses of wine during their amazing happy hour. Beautiful modern interior makes it an incredible spot to relax with family and friend. Our waiter Zack was very quick, attentive, and helpful. The Co — owner Olga was absolutely amazing. she told us about the art, made wonderful wine recommendation, and made sure we all had an unforgettable night. She was a delight and a true hostes. Thank you Olga for making it a Christmas Eve none of us will forget. Cannot wait to visit again!

Okay my previous review was from two years ago and I got to come by again this week. This little Vyne has started to grow and take root in the community. Locals love this place and should because they get recognized.
The proprietors already know me from my other travels here and while missteps can still happen I simply had a great set of international wines which was perfect for my palate drenched in california central coast wines.
Not quiet 5 stars only because the bytes are good but the plates were… different and I mean that if you have apps elsewhere you will see a plating difference.
I will go again and try more because if anything this is the hot spot to go.

Vyne Bistro has continued my love for wine bars!
Ambiance is cute, trendy, and quiet. Perfect for date night or HH with your girls. Service was EXCELLENT– granted we were the only ones there… but they were attentive, friendly, and never left my wine glass empty!
+$ 5 HH Alcohol– they have a good selection of wines (3 reds, 3 whites, 2 sparklings); I had a glass of the Pinotage… and then 3 more glasses of it because it was delicious! They also have this HH wine cocktail that was surprisingly good– had a coconut-​y flavor to it so it tasted like I was somewhere tropical: P
+$ 1.50 HH Oysters– they were SO GOOD. The Kusshi oysters were the perfect size and taste in milkiness/​texture; I like them more than the Kumamoto oysters.
+$ 6 HH Seafood Cucumber Stacks– delicious and refreshing! Came with a generous amount of fish for the price.
+$ 12 HH Lamb rack (2)– this item was just okay, would be better if they didn’t overcook it.
+$ 12 Cheese Combo– errrrmygod, the Boschetto al Tartufo cheese was to die for! Cheesy truffle-​y goodnessss.
At the end they gave us all (5 girls) a glass of champagne to toast :) impeccable service for happy hour! These people definitely know how to keep their customers coming back.

What a disappointing meal. My friend and I made reservations Friday night and couldn’t get in until 9pm and when we walked up the place was almost dead.
We both shared the cheese combo plate. The cheeses we picked were good but literally we only had a bite or 2 each. It had to be the smallest cheese plate I have ever had. Next we had the suya beef because the written description sounded so good. The taste was awful! It tasted like leather and we both took a bite and could not eat it. I asked to return it immediately. Lastly, we tried the angus beef sliders. No flavor or sauce to add. It was the driest slider I have ever had. My friend actually joked that it didn’t taste like beef but tasted like horse. We had a nice laugh though over our meal. We ended up having to spend more money elsewhere to eat as we were still super hungry after our poor choices and did not want to pay more to them for bad food. Also they do not have any type of risotto! Huge disappointment since it is on their online menu.
The plus parts would be the server, he was super smily and friendly and the 3oz wine pours. Still pricey but they have a good selection of wines. For that 2 stars is given instead of 1.

I do not remember the servers name but he was very pleasant and on top of everything. The wine selection is good, and I recommend trying the brut rose! We ordered the beet appetizer and cheese plate which were both very good, however my boyfriend was not pleased with his steak. Overall a nice place

Very nice place with a nice selection of wines. The cheese plate was fantastic. Beautiful ambiance. Staff very helpful and accommodating.
Nice place for meet and greets!

You have to ask for the suya burger especially (heads up: It’s not on the menu). Check photos to see how good it looks.

Excellent service and a great selection of wines. I went here for my birthday and the ambiance was very relaxing on a weeknight. The meat and cheese plates are exceptionally good because you can pick exactly what you’d like, and the staff will answer any questions you have about the menu. My French boyfriend was quite pleased by the cheese selections (and that’s saying something!).
I had a pasta dish — a menu special with a name I cannot remember — that was fantastic. I also love that you can get small pours if you just want a glass with dessert. Will definitely visit again! I can’t wait to go for happy hour…

The new Wagyu beef burger is just PERFECT! Great juicy, tender, mouthwatering meet. I totally recommend it for burger lovers

Came here for lunch and the service was impeccable. The waitress was friendly and was prompt with water refills.
Very modern, dark décor. Maybe it was because it was a slow day, but there weren’t many lights on and the whole interior was overall very dim and cave-​like, despite the minimalist décor and high ceilings.
We only ordered the risottos and a cheese and meat plate for a light meal. The cheese and meat platter was beautifully presented and was a nice sampler with many varieties of cheese, meats, crackers, some grapes, and a bit of dark chocolate.
The risottos, however, were extremely disappointing. I heard so much rave reviews about the risotto here that I was baffled by how dry and hard the rice was. They certainly didn’t skimp on the shrimp, peas, cheese, and mushrooms, but dear lord, the rice was just terrible! I’ve had Chinese, Indian, and Mexican-​style rices and this was just… terrible. It was so coarse-​grained and just didn’t have that mouthfeel you’re hoping for from a succulent bite. For the price I paid, it was all I could to eat a few bites. My companion was starving though, and finished it for me.
I felt really bad about how I disliked the food, because the owner was so sweet, coming up to our table to greet us and shake our hand. I hope their other dishes are better, but I won’t be coming back.

Fantastic service, friendly people, and an eclectic selection of wines. Fun spot! Love the special events they plan every month. Great fun and something for everyone. And the live music nights are great!

I didn’t know how to bring this up to our super polite waiter who was seriously one of the nicest forms of service I received from a slightly expensive place while I had thin pockets because I can’t articulate my food thoughts well since I’m a newbie =(.
My problem with this place was the blandness and boringness. The presentation was good and the menu looked promising but the lamb I ordered was quite bland in the middle and dry, giving it a mushy consistency that got worse as I tried to chew down low flavor for too long (i usually eat bland food slower than good food, out of motivation). The outside was good, but it’s garnishes of tomato, mashed potato, and other pieces didn’t potentate well. It seemed short of amazing because I could really envision, I believe, what the chef WAS going for. But the quality of ingredients fell short.
It seems like yet another «finer dining» experience made affordable that sacrifices the quality of food, for example, Maggianos, The Table, etc.
The mushroom appetizer was also a bit bland, well, it had flavor at first, but it became pretty boring at the end because there was no new taste developing or any garnish, it was just like fast food. I really liked where it was going at first but it failed to leave the same impression.
The wine on the happy hour, well I may have made a mistake by ordering happy Hour wine, was very tasteless. It had its little bit of spicy and my friends had the fruity, but it failed to really accompany the food well, although I see how the same type of wine COULD, IF it had more taste. It was cheap quality with just enough pizazz to woo someone who doesn’t know much about food.
That same general assumption extends to all the food we tried.
The oysters were low quality and $ 1 each and NOT worth. The garnishes were great though.
The cucumber raw fish appetizer was also a good attempt, but the fish was bland and not so fresh. The cucumber was overpowering and didn’t match well with such little fish and the cream sauce didn’t Go well either.
I could see how it would work, just like every bring else, but it failed to do so. And that’s my conclusion about the place. Good attempt, AMAZING service, good vibe, and a great menu, but the recipes were really lacking in proportion and flavor as well as some quality of ingredients not matching the standard. We only paid $ 60 for the meal but it was not worth $ 60. I left unimpressed and sad because I really wanted to like this place, and more so I regret not talking to the chef about it because maybe I don’t understand.
But I know my senses and I know when stuff doesn’t go together. Maybe I shouldn’t have expected so much from $ 60 for two. But to be honest, everything should match. It shouldn’t be good service, atmosphere, vibe, menu, presentation, and location while having mediocre quality and recipe because I feel HOODWINKED.
The end. I will return one day just to try more stuff.

Great Happy Hour! They have a lot of food specials. I came with a group of friends on a Friday night and we all shared the small plates. I believe Happy Hour ends at 7pm. There was no wait, and we got seated right away.
What we ordered:
— HH Oysters ($ 1 each!)
— HH Caprese Bites (good and light, but not worth $ 5 even with HH pricing)
— HH Suya Beef (I didn’t eat this personally, but my friends all said it was too salty)
— HH Flat Bread Pizza (I wasn’t too happy with the cheese, but it was okay)
— HH Curried Chicken (this was also good according to my friends)
— HH Vegetarian Risotto (definitely my favorite! Wish the portion was bigger!)
— HH Lamb (my friend really liked this one!)
— Mussels over white wine sauce (pretty good! love the sauce!)
One thing worth mentioning is that the place is kind of hard to find since it’s not visible from the street view. It’s inside of the streets (if that makes sense) so you’ll have to do some walking. Other than that, every was good! I would definitely come back again for Happy Hour and try out their wines.

I really like this place. I came after class. It’s pricy, but hey it should be. All that deco and interior design makes you feel like you’re in a 7 star hotel. But, it’s right next to philz and subway haha. I really enjoyed the service from the server, but the hostess was too busy to smile, when there’s only 2 other people in the dining area. It’s okay. She’ll learn to be nice.
I ordered:
–the chicken skewer with collards and a dip
–4 piece mini square chicken pizza
–wine: I don’t drink alcohol

********************* 1206 **********************
I came here because 1 of my friend invited me to this wine pairing dinner. I was stoked, because living in San Jose off and on, I didn’t know about this wine bar.
Only $ 30 with a 4 courses with 2 OZ of each dish pairing, this is a STEAL. I was excited.
We settled at the bar. The onwer was chatting with us. He «seemed» cool at first. The servers didn’t know anything about the wines when I asked. Later to find out, the wines were poured by a wine rep. He was extremely knowledgeble and humble man.
Olga, the co-​owner, was very nice and sweet. She kept checking up on us to see how we were doing through out the night.
— The cucumber roll was fresh
— The chicken liver dish was nice, generous potion, odly paired with pinot noir. I asked the owner, what made him choose that pairing. He couldn’t come up with the reasone why, beside, bashing me and got all confrontational about this choice. I thought that was odd, beside he kept chewing gum the whole time. WOW.
He made me feel UNCOMFORTABLE and UNEASY. He could have answered «because I like it.» That would be fine. As a patron, I have the right to ask and you as the restaurant, can answer without fighting at your diners.
— The chicken sliders — the chicken was good and juicy. The bun was sloppily cut, look like the Hawaiian bun from the groceries store.
— The panna cotta was hard — it tasted like hard jello. I got 1 bite.
The wines paring were very good though out the night. We also ordered sparkling wines, and the Syrah and Shiraz. Our server poured us a wrong wine and apologized later.
They have live music which was really nice on a Thursday night. I bought this artist 2 glasses of wines and tipped him some cash.
Later in the night, I thought it was cool, I tried to enjoy the wine and the food with my friend. However, when I left, this artist and the owner, talked crap about me to my friend, seriously. She texted while they were bashing about Sommeliers and so on. Seriously, who does that?
So if you don’t care much about wines and just let this arogant maniac owner to CONTROL you, come here… but if you want to speak your mind like me, this is the WRONG place to come.
Onthe other hand, the owner’s GF Olga, the co-​owner, was kind, knowlegable, and understood how to serve her customers.
This is to the owner, I come here to enjoy food and wine, I don’t need your ATTITUDE, I got my own.
Do you really think gossiping about me to 1 of my closest friends, that’s going to make you feel better or that she will be on your side? Think again!
It doesnt matter how good of your food and wines are, if your attitude is like this, you will defintiely NOT getting business from me NOR my friend. There’s a lot more places in downtown San Jose, that I would rather spend my money on.
The 1 star is for Olga.

I’m so glad that San Jose (finally) has a decent wine bar in the downtown area. Why is it so hard to have a good wine bar around here? Well, at least there’s Vyne. I went with a couple of Unilocal friends (Sidney S. + Eileen H.) who also happen to be fans of good wine, so I was hoping that Vyne wouldn’t disappoint. I’m happy to report they did not. We sat outside on a nice warm evening & really enjoyed their patio seating. They also have nice ambiance indoors with a fireplace that I wouldn’t mind cozying up to during the cold months.
Our server was prompt, friendly, & helpful with their extensive menus. It can take a while to get through all of the menus. We all opted to create our own tasting flight of mixed varietals. The Laird Rosé & Emeritus Pinot (I think?) were the standouts for me. I think most of us were happy with the wine selection. They also had a nice food menu so we ordered a good variety of everything. I personally enjoyed the cheese plate, caprese, & mushroom risotto. After our flights & food we had to end on a high note with dessert. Somehow we all said yes to the chocolate fondue which was a good quantity for the three of us. The cherry on top was the server bringing us a final taste of an additional red that was on the house.
Very happy with the experience at Vyne & look forward to going again!

It bothers me when upscale places can’t get any more creative with their name than misspelling a word. If they had a catchier name, perhaps it would spread more easily down the grapeVyne. Anyways, pet peeves aside, Vyne is a decent wine bar.
[THE DRANKS]
There is a staggering variety of wine – great for true wine connoisseurs, and somewhat overwhelming for people like me who enjoy wine but aren’t be able to pick out which wines are worth trying based on the location and the year (other than from non-​wine-​related affinities for locations and years).
Some reviews recommended the RIESLING, which was tasty and very drinkable. I would even call it chuggable: good for downing a glass after a long week, or for people who usually claim to dislike wine. The crisp lightness has its downside however, as I found it to be a bit too fruity. It brought back childhood memories of Welch’s white grape juice.
We also got the GRENACHE, which was excellent: smoky and toasty without leaving a tannic aftertaste. Okay there goes the extent of my wine critic vocabulary.
[THE PLACE]
Classiness is definitely solid, but I think they are too focused on the bistro part and they don’t do much to culture a wine bar ambiance. It was pretty empty around 10 on a Friday night, which is relaxing and acceptable for a wine bar, but if there had been any fewer people it would have felt dying and/​or dead. Also, they should dim the lights more. The emptiness would be less noticeable, the classiness factor would go off the charts, and people generally look better when it’s dark. (lol nothing against my friends who might be reading this review! Just saying, for less fortunate people who have less good-​looking friends: P)
Service was courteous and attentive… yeah… like my wine vocabulary, I have a very limited bank of words to describe service.
I spent a total of ~$ 28 for 3 glasses of wine (we got bottles) and the complimentary pretzels (presented in what looked like a fancy shot glass; not gourmet pretzels but a nice snack to munch on). Prices are on the high end but the classiness is on par.
[THE VERDICT]
Conclusion: a great place to wine down (pun intended)

Excellent place in d/​t San Jose. This review is mainly for the HH experience I had with some friends.
We sat outside on a warm sunny day. It was a great day to try this new place that I always walked by and wonder. See this is next door to Philz Coffee and I’m forever a fly on the wall there.
I had their sparkling wine, the Torrentes from Argentina., their cocktail Red Vyne Rumba and some beers.
Food from the HH menu: What stood out for me was their goat cheese and olive plates mixed in with some caprese bites. I do understand why some Unilocalers made some remarks about the food portion. It is slightly on the leaner side as in small/​few. I do agree.
Service that day was excellent and fun. The owner came to say hi and followed by our very amiable male server who was on point and totally cute!:)
What I haven’t decided if I will order again was the Suya.(Taste of Africa) it’s beef seasoned with lightly toasted African spices and ground peanut, baked and served with cherry tomatoes and red onion. It just didn’t do it for me. The taste wasn’t quite there. It wasn’t bland but it wasn’t tasty either. Almost flat and boring.
I’ll definitely go back to try their Sunday brunch and check out the inside.
Not bad at all. See you soon Vyne!