By Karen Welch — Senior Content Producer
Uncork'd Wine Bar & Grill has the feel of a place you can pop into for a glass of wine and a nosh, or perhaps a more fanciful dinner.
Just a night or two into its launch, Uncork'd had traffic but seemed more of secret find when my husband, Kevin, and I arrived. That gave extra time for many members of the staff — the bar managers, a chef, servers — to give us personal attention and inquire about how else they could enhance our experience.
At the end of the evening, the partners running the restaurant, Mike Baird and Lindsay Black, said they've encouraged the staff to interact and get to know the customers. But even before that I sensed the crew was so pleased, or proud, of the place that they were eager to talk with us and other customers any time.
Uncork'd sits at 2511 S. Georgia St. When I wrote about its construction in October, some commenters were skeptical that the wine bar would feel like a separate business from the Pizza Hut that had and continues to occupy the business. But the remodel works.
The decor at the new place relies on sleek, modern lines and lighting. But it's not a black tablecloth sort of establishment.
And that's good because it leaves room for the menu to run the gamut, giving diners options at many price points. Appetizers range from $5 for grazing bites like olives or nuts to $13 for a charcuterie and cheese board . Salads run $7 to $14, and sandwiches run $10 or less.
Dinner entrees vary widely in price. Fish and chips, for example, will cost you $14, and you'll pay $40 for the bone-in ribeye. With chicken, salmon, pork chops and other steaks filling in the mid-range.
We started with a cheese board, selecting Crescenza Stracchino, Garlic & Herb Boursin and Gruyere from the short list of choices. The board came with grapes and three types of crackers.
For dinner, we decided to order a salmon salad and the boneless ribeye ($29), and trade bites through the meal.
The salmon was delicious and the steak was seasoned simply with salt and pepper that made a nice crust while keeping the meat extremely tender. Mashed red potatoes and roasted cauliflower accompanied the steak.
I realize I haven't even talked about the wine yet. The beverage menu is divided into sections.
Wines on Tap and Wines by the Glass can actually be bought both by the glass and the bottle.
The rest of the bottles are listed, as usual: reds, whites, roses, sparkling.
We had bottle of Il Bastardo Sangiovese, a wine with which we're familiar and enjoy. The label says they're sort of leftovers of grapes destined for Chianti. ($20).
The restaurant also has some cocktail choices. Two that are signatures are the Cork'd Cocktail, a blend of whisky, sweet and sour, club soda and Cherry Pie Pinot Noir, and the Cork'd Cupcake, a combination of vodka, soda, Cupcake Moscato d' Asti, and fresh strawberries.
They're colorful, fun tastes.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Karen Welch is a senior content producer for Panhandle PBS. She can be contacted at Karen.Welch@actx.edu, at @KWelch806 on Twitter and on Facebook. Subscribe to the Panhandle PBS BizHere podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud to hear more business news and interviews.
