Bin 36: User Reviews

I'm a BIG Bin 36 fan and often take out of town wine lovers here to have a flight or two at their bar. Their cheese plates never disappoint and I always get great service at the bar. I recently attended their 'All American Wines' tasting and was a bit put off by Brian Duncan, their wine director.

I have attended numerous wine tastings and while I understand individual's knowledge varies, I generally find that most people representing their wine/wine selections have no issues catering to the novice or to the more experienced person. Admittedly my previous wine tastings were when I was part of a couple and my boyfriend at the time really knew his stuff and it made for great conversations with representatives. I have a pretty good knowledge base and can easily talk wine with people who have varying knowledge and I enjoy learning more as well. I attended this recent wine tasting with a girlfriend and I found Brian's attitude towards us a bit off-putting.

Granted, he was speaking with some old friends who obviously knew wine (or perhaps just the buzz words) but I felt as if our (very few) comments or questions were a distraction to him. It was disappointing since wine education is part of the tasting process and he really seemed to talk down to us and not in a more conversational or educational manner. There were 3 other representatives there that night and we had a great time trying their wines and discussing them briefly. I just thought that the rep of the establishment (the WINE DIRECTOR who has received accolades and a James Beard nomination) would have been a bit more welcoming.

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Service was slow, but friendly and helpful. Bread & Butter - 1 piece of bread per person is stingy. Soup of the day was Apple Parsnip - outstanding and complex. Winter Venison Stew - $14 is too expensive, tiny serving, overcooked and a little too sour with some kind of wine reduction. Scallop & Beef Cheek entree - Scallops incredible, perfectly cooked, perfect texture. Beef Cheek was overbraised, lost all texture. Lobster & Butter Monkfish entree - Cooked well, but forgettable. French Cheese flight - Perfect. The blue cheese has a long, musky finish. Came with Cabernet Sauvignon gelee. Seems foofoo, but actually worked well with the cheeses and bread. Like very upscale toast+butter+jam. Spanish Red wine flight - Tempranillo/Merlot blend was good. White wine flight - can't remember the name but it was the one with Gewurztraminer. The Gewurz was outstanding, fruity, a little honey, went well with the cheeses.

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I love wine and I love food. I came here from out of town and my wife and I had to see a show so we were in a bit of a rush. Our server - I think his name was Joshua or Josh was incredible! We couldn't believe that such a young kid could speak so passionately and eliquently about wine. His pairings were spot on with the amazing food. We left feeling treated s VIP's. We will definitely be back for more! Try the venison stew - It's great!!

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service was terrible. I had to ask for a menu. Plates were presented and then taken away as soon as the last morsel hit your lips. Did they want us to leave? It certainly wasn't packed for a Friday night. We had waiters passing by that we would ask for things, never really pinning down our actual waiter.
For the price, the food was just mediocre, too salty, too this/that, too little. We left hungry with a bill that was over the top.

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The server we had was one of the worst ever, which made for a poor experience. It took him 20 minutes to bring water and never checked to see if we wanted more drinks. I cannot comment on the food because he never asked us if we wanted any, even when we tried to flag him down and he ignored us. Another table just got up and left because of the service (or lack thereof).

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A few weeks ago I had a wonderful meal at Bin 36 as part of the American Cheese Society conference 'dine around' evening. It was a wonderful experience. I had a sparkling wine flight at the cheese bar which was lovely, and then the special prix fixe cheese meal menu.

The squash flower was perfect, light and delicious. The pork was excellent and the wines went quite well with all the courses. It was a pleasure to chat with the cheese makers from Beehive and Brian, thewine director, was kind with his care and suggestions.

My compliments to Chef Caputo.

I had also had a meal a few nights before at A Mano and loved the open kitchen. I had the gnocchi which was very unusual and a treat. Matthew turned me onto a great red sweet sparkling that matched the dessert perfectly.

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I took my girlfriend here last week and I was very pleased with the way things went. The hostess was very friendly and immediately seated us at a great table by the window. We were both really impressed by the service, and by the amount of choices they offer. Our server was helpful with suggestions and that made for a great evening of experimenting with new wines and cheeses. For dinner I had the lamb, which couldn't have been better. My girlfriend was happy with the Alaskan halibut. And for dessert...the chocolate tasting for two is killer! Overall, it was a great experience and I definitely recommend it.

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Went on a Thursday night, it was great. Lots of great food and wine choices here and the staff is very helpful with making choices. Some of our faves were the Cheeses, (try the Fat City Flight), Mussels and for entrees the Blue Marlin and the Hanger Steak, The food is really good, not too fussy and the portions seemed very fair for the price. It looks like a great place to bring a group of friends for an informal wine and cheese party, perhaps that will be our next visit 'cause we will definitely be back!

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I use to be a big fan of this restaurant. I have eaten here over 10 times and I was so disappointed with my meal and service last night. Our server took our order begrudgingly. We had to ask him if there were any specials. He never came back to check on us when we received our food. I had the bass and I agree with the previous reveiwer, the portion was tiny and so soaked in citrus juice it was pretty much inedible. Our other entree was the chicken breast and all you could taste was bacon. Very disappointing. The wine is great and I like the cheese selection, but that is about it. They seem to have lost the focus on good food. Which is fine, but then don't offer it. Turn Bin 36 into a wine/cheese bar.

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I've walked by this place so many times and it always piqued my interest. All of our red wine selections were truly stellar. The cheese appetizer although a little pricey, was also worth while. After 45 minute wait, we were seated at our table for dinner. I expected the already great experience to be continued. We all ordered the bass for $25. Were we all disappointed. The fish was a very small and poor cut 50% dark fish meat, 50% light meat. For $25 a pop, I'd expect at least a decent cut of fish.

That said, the service was good, and the wine selections are wonderful. My recommendation: Stop by for a drink before dinner. Don't waste the big bucks on a very disappointing dinner.

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