Cork Wine Bar
1720 14th Street NW
(between N R St & N Riggs Pl)
Washington, DC 20009 (202) 265-2675
- Nearest Transit:
U St/African-Amer Civil |War Memorial/Cardozo (Green, Yellow)
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Best Nights: Tue
- Happy Hour: No
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
28 Reviews for Cork Wine Bar
Just went here for the first time on Friday evening with some girlfriends and we had such a great time. We all crowded in as soon as the place opened, along with many other stalkers. Sat at the bar for over 2 hours eating & drinking and never felt rushed to leave, as the place filled up with nighttime revelers. We all had various glasses of wine, which were all delicious - wine menu fabulous in its very detailed descriptions. And the food was phenomenal!!!!! We had two orders (!) of these incredible sauteed mushrooms. There must've been a ton of butter in these things and my vegan & lactose intolerant friend gladly threw caution to the wind and ate up. We also had yummy garlic fries and sauteed kale with Parmesan. Very cool vibe inside, exposed brick, gorgeous bar, high ceilings...great n'hood place!
Apparently wine bars are the new "mussel place" in DC. They are popping up everywhere! Of the many wine bars I've heard of, this is the only one I've been to; and without comparison I'd say its good. I've been there several times and each time I've been I was wowed. Plenty of great wine has been drank by me at this bar, and a bit of their excellent food also. The wines I've had are so incredulously numerous that I really can't recall too many, but they offer a lot of rare and hard to fine varietals which is why I love going there. From the menu, I've had; the Rosemary Chicken Liver Bruschetta, the Caramelized Sunchokes, the Potato & Leek Gratin, the Pan Roasted Organic Chicken Breast, the Sautéed Wild Mushrooms. All of which are extremely delectable, but the Chicken Liver Bruschetta is NOT to be missed; the bruschetta is really a must try. In addition to the good food and the good wine the servers and bartenders are extremely attentive and they are knowledgeable about the menu and the wine list. I also appreciate the decor that's modern and contemporary yet still has some warmth to it.
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Oh, Cork. I was so excited to try you out - it was a Friday night at around 10:30 and seemed the perfect time to check out what has been billed as one of DC's swanky new wine bars. Alas, it was not to be. When we entered, we were asked if we wanted dinner. No, we said, just wine -- seeing as how Cork is a wine bar and all. We were told that tables don't open up for mere drinkers until 11:30, so we'd have to find a seat at the bar.
The bar is too small. There were no seats. And it was loud, very loud. Meanwhile, half of the tables in the "wine bar" (restaurant?) sat empty. One of the hostesses must have noticed how forlorn we looked and asked what she could do. We explained that we just wanted to drink some wine, but that there was no room at the bar and they wouldn't let us sit at one of the empty tables. She stared back blankly, then suggested that they could bring out another bar stool. We failed to grasp the value of this gesture, since there was barely room at the bar for one more person, sandwiched between two larger parties. We declined, and they let us walk out.
I was hoping for a pleasant night in a wine bar, but Cork seems to be trying to be too many things at once. What kind of wine bar doesn't let you sit down and drink a bottle of wine? I guess it fancies itself a restaurant -- the kind that only seats dinner guests at close to midnight. So maybe it thinks it's a restaurant in Manhattan, rather than a wine bar on 14th Street in DC.
In any event, I'm leaving DC soon, so I doubt I'll be back to try it again. That was my effort. I was firmly rebuffed. I left wishing that the host staff would have put a cork in it.
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LOVE IT!!!! we got right in and had our own private nook for some time. the waitress was sweet and helpful, and the owners even came by to say hi and offer me a FREE glass of wine :) Wow.... The food is great, tasty, buttery, mouthwatering. I love the tapas style plates that allow me to try several things on one trip. The brioche is to DIE for as was the amazing goat cheese cheesecake. The flights were awesome. What a great place and just one block away from me. My new favorite.
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ABFAB!
I went here with a friend the first time, and with a date the second. In both instances Cork was perfect!
The layout of the restaurant is fabulous. Our service was wonderful. The first time, our waiter was not very familiar with one of the wines, but was more than happy to go and ask!
Food was fabulous and totally worth it!
Both times I was there, we sat for more than 2 hours and never felt rushed -- which amazed me. I would go back in a heart beat!
I will disclaim this review by saying I was fairly distracted the entire time I was at Cork by a couple seated across the bar from us fully engrossed in a serious public make-out session. The only available spot for us to park happened to offer theater style seating - front row- to what appeared to be a first date that went VERY well, so I may not have been able to take in the entire scene...
That being said, I really liked what I saw. It was cozy and charming, very comfortable for a low key friday night drinks w/ friends...we got there around 11:30 and there were seats available at the bar inside (wish we could have gotten a table outside...sigh) as the seating inside appeared to be for those dining only. The wine list was interesting, although I was dissapoitned with the selection by the glass given it is a wine bar. They had a wide selection of european wines, but none from the US (we have deliciuos wines from the west coast, where were they?!) and none from south american or Aussie/New Zeland, which was a bummer.
The menu looked interesting and I'm sure I'll be back to give the food a try. All in all it was a great place to share some laughs and a good glass of wine with friends...and if you're lucky, (like we were) you can get some very helpful hints on how to exchange as much spit as possible, with your lover, in public.
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I and a friend arrived at Cork at 5:20pm on a Friday night, wanting to grab a quick snack and a glass of wine before we had to meet our husbands elsewhere at 6:30pm. An aloof "hostess" (who didn't seem to know much about hospitality) told us we couldn't sit at a table - tables were reserved for "people who will be DINING with us." (I should point out that every single table was completely empty). Okay, fine, so we'll sit at the bar then - except the bar is tiny (maybe 10 seats total), and every seat there was taken. So we left.
The place is a wine bar. And it only serves small plates. But you're not allowed to sit at a table to have some wine and a small plate. Maybe I'm not understanding the concept...?
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I liked the feel of this place a lot, and as we were being seated (outside, which was fine and not too loud) I realized that the table next to us (the one with six different bottles open) was occupied by the wife and husband owners, who chatted with us- very nice people.
Nice selections, if not obscure. We had a delicious white from the Piedmont and with it cheeses, wild mushrooms, and calamari (which came with a garlicy, herbed cream dip which was just OK). For dessert the grapefruit financier was less than thrilling, and unfortunately one of the pieces of cake still had parchment paper stuck to the bottom.
This being said, the service was superb (when I was forced to order a more expensive armagnac digestif because they were out of my choice, the server brought a portion that was nearly double a normal serving) and I can't wait to go back and try out the ambience inside. A very welcome addition to the area.
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Dining at Cork is a bizarre experience, to say the least. Drinking there is nothing short of irritating. And the pours were NOT generous.
First off, as a pure "wine bar", you might as well forget about it. Proof and Veritas are infinitely better; the bar area at Cork is right in the middle of a small and busy dining room, and it's very difficult to just go in and have a drink. For table seating you must order food, so, as a wine bar, Cork really misses. My GF and I went on a weekday night, plenty of seating and were denied service, since we didn't plan to eat.
As a wine-themed restaurant, Cork misses by miles. It is highly strange to have a small plates menu with suggested wine pairings and then not serve tasting portions and bring the food out in "whatever" order. My date and I ordered bruschetta, potatoes, chicken and lamb. She ordered the wine paired with the chicken (a rose, if you can believe it [it was good though]), and I got the red paired with the lamb. Guess which dish came first? the lamb!
Well, this seems odd. You are supposed to drink wine in increasing order of heaviness, so we blew our palates out with the uber red that paired with the lamb.
Now, this might be OK if the food was great; it's not. It's decidedly average. The lamb was not made to order, but clearly braised and covered in heavy sauce (claimed to be pomegranate). The chicken was very well prepared, but pretty bland. The potatoes were good, though a bit undercooked (amazing since they were the last to be served and took forever to come out). The bruschetta was decent.
Now, to the most egregious aspect of our evening: the pours. My date and I had two glasses of wine each. We were informed of the wine "flights" (no menu for the flights...weird), but chose to get single servings. They came out and I thought we had been given a tasting portion. It was by no means a 4 oz. pour. For the price (between 8-12 bucks a glass on average), this is incredibly steep, especially when both Veritas and Proof provide a full 4oz pour for similar prices. We noticed a couple next to us getting wine flights, and their pours were almost the same as ours!!?!?!
So, in short, Cork is amazingly overpriced, very crowded, and has mediocre food. Expect it to be voted Best Wine Bar in DC!
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Is it possible that Cork has outgrown its hype, allowing it to blossom into a refreshing establishment that can maintain the desired balance of bustling sanity, reasonable madness, energetic friendliness?
Maybe not quite. But it's getting there. I came to Cork on a recent Saturday fully and patiently expecting to wait a long while for a place to stand, and maybe if I was lucky and the stars were aligned in my favor, a table at which to sit.
Well! As soon as our party of three was complete, we would be seated! While waiting for the straggler, two of us snagged seats at the intimate bar, where we immediately made friends with Barry (who, by the by, I am convinced was *actually* Ira Glass under cover. Glasses, and all. He gave us a narrative, "This American Life"-style rundown of the menu, obvi, that was quite useful. Thanks, Barry cough Ira). The bartender was literally at our service, friendly and helpful.
As for the table service, our waitress was adorable and friendly. I loved that we could order as we liked, allowing us to properly evaluate our hunger/desire to eat more delicious appetizery-dishes. Calamari was some of the best I have ever had. I would further recommend the roma tomato bruschetta, the lamb, and the cookie platter for dessert.
As for the wine, Cork's alleged main purpose for being: order a flight, thereby expanding your quality wine knowledge without blowing your entire stimulus check in one evening. (A flight is three 2 oz. servings of wine that goes well together).
Hurrah for Cork, I cannot wait to return.
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Good wine, experimental dishes. The Staff is really friendly, the service was exceptional and made the difference.
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Great service, good wine, and fun atmosphere. I'm so glad to have this wine bar close to my home because wine bars in DC are such a gem. Unlike NY, where wine bars are a dime a dozen, there's only a few in DC where one can really go to enjoy themselves at a wine bar. On a warm Friday evening, there's nothing better than to sit outside with friends, enjoying a bottle of rose chatting about weekend plans. I would definitely suggest coming before 6pm if you don't want to wait a long time. Better yet, make a reservation and save yourself the hassle of waiting.
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I liked the atmosphere at Cork, especially the outdoor seating, and didn't feel too crushed even when the place was crowded. (The last possibly because there's only so much space to stand, so many additional people -- who could easily see the inside situation through the huge front windows -- didn't try to cram in once the seating and standing areas were filled.) I wasn't impressed at all with the wine selection, though, and only one of those I tried was at all even marginally notable. Judging by taste alone, I really thought the wines were overpriced for their quality. I'd eaten before going so I didn't eat at Cork; maybe that would have made a difference for my rating since most reviewers seem bullish on the food and much of what I saw did look and smell good.
I may end up at Cork again sometime, but it'll only be because someone else in my group specifically wants to go, not on my own suggestion.
I went to Cork for the first time on a late Sunday evening. That said, I was incredibly surprised with how crowded it was, knowing that most DCers like to eat early.
The space is awesome, I love the three separate dining rooms, and the bar has a great extension that accomodates a 4/5 person group, which I think is pretty cool. They do need a second door at the front 'cause it gets a bit drafty with everyone coming in.
The wine list kind of pissed me off, the prices were great, but the list itself was just not very intuitive, I found the way it was presented to be a bit pretentious.
The servers are totally flaky, and when I say flaky I mean I think they all enjoy the wine a little too much. Not to mention, they weren't very good at recommending the wines, and could barely list the specials.
Otherwise it was the usual small plates, not enough food for being a bit overpriced, very DC. The dishes were all pretty good, the lamb was very well cooked, the portions for mussels and fries were incredibly small considering what you can get at neighboring restaurants, and I totally disagree with the other reviewer, the home made ketchup was really good with that touch of cumin. The goat cheese cake was delicious as was the hot chocolate.
I think this place is best to go for apps/snacks or dessert and wine. The bottles are all really well priced. It is a wine bar, so food really should come second at a place like this.
Overall a cute new addition to 14th st. as food in DC goes it's average, nothing extraordinary, but not offensive either.
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Cork was nothing fantastic. But, not horrible. I went w/ my Pops - it was a good place to catch up.
The staff was friendly and very helpful with the menu and drinks. Everything on the Specials menu was excellent, but the items from the main menu weren't anything that were memorable. If on the menu definitely try the Rabbit!!! Great selection of wines and options of flights. Reservations are only taken between 5:30 and 6:30. If going for dinner, go with friends for a casual night out not expecting much from this neighborhood venue. However, it seemed to be a great place for a happy hour or a relaxing place to grab a drink.
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3.50 stars. After a couple of drinks at Tryst and Lauriol Plaza, we made the trek over to Cork. I was impressed with two of their small plates: the succulent, rich pate and the tender dunk confit with mushroom polenta. We ordered a couple of bottles of wine including a nice Albarino. Our waitress was attentive, and thankfully, unlike some other Yelpers, we had no surprises with our bill. Although I had no problems with the wine, the small plates, or the service, I thought it was a bit crowded and it was extraordinarily overpriced.
I don't know. Thus far, I just don't get the hype about Cork. And I wanted to be as swept up as everyone else, but after two visits I'd give the food a B, and the service a C.
The way I'd describe my experiences with the service at Cork would be more toward friendly, but flaky than aggressively bad. The servers who have handled my tables in two visits (both very good looking!) started strong, showing an appropriate level attentiveness and seemingly displaying knowledge of the menu. But in both visits service issues cropped up as the nights went on.
During my first meal at Cork, our server offered opinions about the cheese selections and helped us create a nice plate of five cheeses. We chose one of the options he gushed about and four others we identified as interesting. When the plate arrived, it was clear our blue cheese was not there. We asked our waiter to ID the cheeses; he could not. We pointed out the lack of blue cheese so he went back to the kitchen for it.
After that, he seemed to hide from us. We were seated up in the mezzanine, a very intimate nook that I wouldn't recommend to the claustrophobic. Given the proximity to the other tables, we were hard to miss and yet he studiously avoided eye contact in spite of our efforts to reach him with "excuse me"s and raised hands.
The rest of our food ranged from fine to very good. I really enjoyed the braised lamb and the oil cured roma tomatoes on grilled bread with chevre. The French fries arrived and all I could think upon seeing all of the garlic was Gordon Biersch. Although the three of us like the fries, we all hated the housemade ketchup. Part of it is, I'm sure, our being accustomed to Heinz, but I have had other housemade ketchups and they didn't end on such a sour flavor note as this one did.
Without asking if we wanted dessert, the server brought the check. We did want dessert and asked for the apple walnut crostada which was fine, nothing tremendous.
The second visit didn't start off at all auspiciously. We tried and failed to signal the [very busy] barman for about ten minutes. When we did manage to order, he was out of two of our three wine selections. It was loud and crowded in there so we almost left, but decided to have one drink and then our table was ready.
I'd had a late lunch so I mostly picked at my friends' dishes and drank wine. One of my friends, on the other hand ordered a boatload of food including a five cheese plate, calamari (he ate every last bite), the tomatoes and grilled bread to share and the duck confit. Our other friend had mussels which he ate without comment (I think he liked them). The duck confit never did arrive so we pointed that out and asked for it to be removed from the bill. He said "of course" but did not in fact do so. Because my friend noticed this AFTER we paid the bill, we debated whether or not to mention it. Our server saw us hesitating and, to his credit, addressed the situation.
I certainly don't hate Cork. It has lots of potential in my opinion, but I'm less likely to seek it out between the crowds, how loud it is in the main bar area and the fact that neither the food nor the service blew me away.
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I've been to Cork twice, not including the times I went in and decided it was too crowded to bother waiting. Here's my take: It's cool and new and has been packed since Day 1 and they're a bit overwhelmed. But I suspect that in a few months, it may calm down enough to be a nice neighborhood spot Sun-Wed.
My first experience at Cork was lackluster, but the second time we had a really great server (tall Asian guy-- I think his name is David) and that made all the difference. Also, it was a night when they weren't freaked out and super busy. We ordered wine at the bar and within 10 minutes got a table.
I have to say I love the crazy garlicky fries and the homemade ketchup which tastes a bit like tomato chutney. I also love the calamari and rock shrimp. We ordered the duck sausage which consisted of five ridiculously thinly-sliced coins of sausage. And we had a couple of cheeses. And also the trout with the onion-fennel compote (tasty).
ALL OF THE DISHES ARE INCREDIBLY SMALL. I say this as someone who goes to New York fairly often and drops $100+ on a tasting menu of tablespoon-sized portions. So I am not opposed to the tiny plate. However, when we're talking about a $5 side of fries, it should be enough for two people. We shouldn't have to order extra (which we did)-- it's fried potato, not truffles or foie gras, people!
Will I go back to Cork? Yes, I'm a whore for trendy places that overcharge me for root vegetables. And I love old world wines. And it's in my neighborhood. But I probably won't go on a Friday or Saturday.
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Cork was pretty good. The place does not have a large bar, which wasn't a problem upon our arrival, but became an obvious one as the evening wore on. Cork offers flights and the staff are more than happy to recommend wines based on your preferences, without the pretentious attitude found in many wine bars. The ambiance was wonderful...exposed brick walls with modern lighting and the noise didn't get too loud.
We shared a cheese plate and a charcuterie platter, although the small plate menu was fairly extensive. The cheeses and the meats were a perfect complement to the wines we were drinking.
Overall, Cork was good and I'll probably visit it again. They do need a more visible sign outdoors and charging $5 for sparkling water that they "make in-house" seems a little excessive. But definitely head over there--it's a welcome new thing in a town filled with so many same ole same olds.
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Update: I'm raising my rating to four stars based on two more visits to Cork. In particular, I want to praise the calamari and mussels plates. Wonderful stuff. Also, our waiter seemed well informed about both the wine and the food and brought the dishes in the order they should appear (or at least, that was my impression--see review below). Looks like Cork has worked out the service kinks that I felt militated against a fours-star rating on the first go around.
Nota bene: there are a few outdoor tables now that the weather has ripened into spring.
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Cork has a lot of potential, though it seems clear to me they are still working out the kinks. I'm also not sure the wait staff has fully adapted to the menu, but again, that will probably change in the future.
Ambiance needs work. The interior design is nice, but the lighting is too dark. Part of food appreciation includes presentation. The restaurant was too dark to get a good look at what we were eating.
Wine: All wine is old world, so don't go looking for big zingy California reds. I thought the list was more e than extensive and it had some lesser known wines that I was pleased to try out. Prices are not prohibitively expensive. Unfortunately, part of what you pay for in a glass of European wine, in addition to the regular restaurant mark-up, is a hefty shipping cost. So, a $30 bottle would probably cost closer to $10-15 if you were to buy it in country. I always find this slightly depressing.
Menu is divided into small hot and cold plates. The plates are small, so for two people you need to order a total of four (at least). Cost per plate runs between $7-15.
Food: My friend and I split four plates. The "cold" were: 1) a smoked trout plate, which included sauteed fennel and some arugula; and, 2) chicken liver pate with grilled bread.
The "hot" were: 1) grilled flat iron steak, which included sauteed Brussels sprouts; and 2) sauteed mushrooms.
The hot plates were both excellent. The mushrooms were a real stand-out. The pate was also great, but you don't get enough grilled bread to finish off the ramekin's worth of pate.
The trout was lackluster. One problem was that by cooking the fennel, most of the anise flavor was cooked out of it. A much better use of fennel would be to serve it sliced paper-thin, lightly dressed with a mild vinaigrette, and topped with shavings of an aged pecorino. Or, if they insist on cooking the fennel, they should add the slightest touch of sugar at the end of the saute to highlight whatever anise flavor lingers.
The biggest problem was that our food was served in what I consider to be reverse order. Instead of beginning with the more delicately flavored cold plate of smoked trout, the first thing to hit our table was the robust steak. We'd basically finished the steak when the mushrooms arrived. By this time we'd run out of bread and had to ask twice for some more. Finally the trout arrived. Actually we didn't order the pate until after finishing the first three plates and realizing we were still hungry.
My three star rating is relative to what Cork strives to be. I do recommend the restaurant since the food is pretty good; and I myself plan on returning. If progress is made, I'll raise my rating to four stars.
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I went here with a group for dinner on Saturday. Apparently they were rude to my friends before I arrived (which went away when the owner realized he knew one of my friends). Other than that everyone was good. Our server was reasonably competent with a decent personality and I usually had water.
The wine was really good. We picked some nice bottles. We also ordered just about everything on the menu. For the most part, everything was delicious. Cheese plate, good. I thought the romaine hearts were predictable and over-dressed, but others raved. The trout was good, what little there was. Sunchokes were a good highlight. I wish they hadn't done the mussels (why does everyone feel a need to have mussels when they can't do them properly?) and was a little annoyed that the server recommended them, despite my warnings of high standards. I heard all the meat was really good. French fries are a must (nothing that special, but hell, they're there and the homemade ketchup doesn't have high fructose corn syrup).
Chocolate torte and apple-walnut crostada delicious.
This is a good place for a group of 5-6. There were 7 of us, we got a taste of every (including 4 bottles of wine) and it was only $50 each at the end of the day. I'll be going back.
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I got there a few minutes before my friend and the hostess told me she would not be able to seat me without the full party. I asked nicely to be seated because I wanted to order right away and she was able to seat me. However, she sat me in the back area away from the front, energetic wine bar, and the lively restaurant atmosphere. I wasnt happy about it, but ddn't think too much of it until my friend who lives in DC showed up and commented right away on the dark, poor seating. She said last time she was there she had problems with the hostess and seating also. We asked to be moved to the front, they said there were no two person tables in the front. They also said the middle section was reserved (FYI -reservations only bewteen 530-630). But when we left we saw groups of two people seated in the front area and were a little miffed.
Besides that, the food was great and the waitress was really helpful in picking out glasses of wine to complement our meal and narrowing down our preferences on wine selection. We had the three cheese sampler came with bread with fruit in it which was a tasty pairing,;the eggplant dish which I assumed would be grilled patties, but it was chopped up eggplant salsa which I did not like; the prosciutto panini was excellent and we should have ordered two; the sunchokes were also good;and the tialpia was okay although the portions were just four small pieces. The bread was really good and different varieties came with each appetizer and the basket was bottomless.
I would recommend the restaraunt overall but going in a group with a reservation is ideal.
To call Cork merely a "wine bar" is maybe not giving enough praise to a talented chef in the back. The review I read in the WSJ got me psyched for the wine, but all I can think about now is the delicious food. It is cozy (crampt?), unique, quirky and even if the wines are sometimes hit or miss the food is actually superb and certainly not to be underestimated.
Wines don't go over the top. I was slightly bummed about the wine list and my un-knowledgeable server, but chalk that up to teething issues (Cork just opened and appears very jammed) and I think it still deserves between 3.5 and 4 stars.
The wine list is all old world, and truthfully it can be confusing, even to someone who knows a little about wine. I am always eager to explore and the new grape varietals were a pleasure, in addition to some really interesting and complex wines that remain on the glass list. I must admit that after trying about eight glasses some of the wine on the list by the glass was indeed mediocre, but that's the way it goes.
Food: Delicious. Amazing? I didn't try the whole menu, but we ate a lot. Caesar salad. Mussels. Olives. Steak. Duck. Kale. Roma tomato bruchetta. They were out of calamari, but I wanted to try it. Had more food that I can't remember, but they are very fond food memories indeed. Whoever is the chef is at this place is a talent and the food here is recommended even if you don't like wine. You must try Cork if only for the food. GO!
If there is any minor complaint it is that I was disappointed slightly by the wine and the servers' knowledge of the wine. I was set up bigtime by the WSJ review of this place, whose wine writers I really respect. Maybe they are just so experienced with wine it was very fun for them to find new, different and crazy varietals. But to me some of the wines indeed weren't that great, and the help also wasn't too knowledgeable, unlike the WSJ experience. I enjoy wine, drink and buy it often, and was very disappointed in my waiter's knowledge of basic French wine questions (got confused with regions in Burgundy). Descriptions of wines (and cheese for that matter) I was unfamiliar with were ridiculously vague and unhelpful, but my waitress was so nice I didn't want to ask for another (I can't tell you how many times I heard "it's full bodied....slightly more than medium bodied...it's not full body..."). My impression was go here for a fun, but not blow-you-away, wine experience. Go for delicious food, a great atmosphere, interesting grape varietals, fun people, an energetic spirit and the chance to try something new with friends.
Finally, I can't stop talking about the food: YOU MUST TRY THE CHEESE. If you like blue the French on the separate cheese menu is nearly perfect. You can select 3, 5 or 7 types of cheese from the cheese list...and the menu is a delight to pick from. A pepper-laden goats cheese from Michigan (very interesting). A pungent cow's milk cheese from California. You will be a happy person if you only eat cheese and the raisin bread, possibly washed down with a glass of their cote de bonne pinot.
I've been twice for drinks and once for dinner. Good times had by all.
Food: Good, not stellar. Nice variety. Everything is small plates, which annoys me with its transparent intention of jacking up the bill.
Wine: Priced very well and obviously it has a large selection. The list itself was really irritating. Its this flip book deal that is confusing. Wines are grouped in such a way that a non-oenophile like myself has a hard time finding what he wants.
Service: Food service was kinda bad. Not professional, didn't really know what they were doing. But it's new, so give 'em time. The owners seem to be there a lot though, so that's a good sign. Bartenders were good.
It's a great space for a drink and a social meal. I'm very pleased it opened. Unfortunately its getting written up all over the place (Wall Street Journal) so I'm sure it will be filling up with horrible people soon.
I thought Cork was great. Went around 6:30 on a Sat., called ahead to put our name in, and were seated right away. The room is a little small, but I know they have an upstairs as well, which I never really saw. Good selection of cheeses, small plates, and wine. Service was excellent. I've been here and to Proof, and I'd say Cork is just as good, although the menu might not be quite as expansive, but it is a little cheaper (I love the Champagne sommelier at Proof, though). Only complaint is that it gets pretty loud once the bar gets full. And there was nothing tempting on the dessert menu-but you can just walk down the street to ACKC for that! All in all, I'd go back.
All I could say is make a reservation. We really lucked out and got a table for 2 on Sat. night but others were turned away after us. They had a nice selection of wine. I thought our server made some great suggestions. We only tried the cheese so I can't say how the food was but it looked really nice. This place had a really nice vibe. I was surprised at how diverse the crowd was. It was lots of family and everyone is lots of age groups.
Everyone in the hood has been eagerly awaiting the opening of Cork since the sign went up ages ago. I so wanted this place to be great, but sadly I do not believe this to be the case. I went last night for the first time and the collective opinion of my group was ehhh.
Cons:
-No reservations, long wait (about an hour for a table)
-Overpriced, mediocre food.
-Why are "small plates" and excuse to charge more $$ for less food? I can dig it if the food is truly great, but this was not one of those times. If my 3 oz steak on roasted brussels spouts is going to be $14, it better not be chewy meat or salty veggies.
-Server was not that familiar with wine list.
-No CA wines by the glass
Pros
-Lovely space
-Nice atmosphere
-Walking distance
Overall, I would stop in for a glass of wine but that is about it.
i enjoyed trying out new wines tonight at Cork. it was busy and though a friend had placed us on a waiting list when we arrived, we waited for awhile. i believe our purchase of wine from the bar sped our arrival to a table - ; )
the food is ok, everything seems to come with bread, maybe to sop up the wine? We enjoyed designing a cheese plate (the almonds that come with it are delicious -cumin and cinnamon?-yum. I do not recommend the eggplant. the fries were so so. on the other hand, do get the tomatoes, which come on bruschetta with dots of basil and goat cheese.
for me, the fun and highlight was the wine, all of which we selected by the glass. I considered the flight option and intended to find out the pricing for this, but forgot (too much wine!) Yet i enjoyed my Spanish grenache-tempranillo, as well as a French red, the grape i cannot remember. As i enjoy Argentine and Spanish wines, it was nice to get the chance to step into a new region for a change.
Our server was ok, though she disappeared towards the end of the meal.
I think Cork should hand out the dessert menu with all their other menus. It would have been nice to pair something sweet with the cheese or something.
i would certainly go back to Cork. the barstaff is nice. If you enjoy wine, i believe you will find much to enjoy about this place.
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