Carpe Vino

We came for the four course French experience. I was delighted that they had a vegetarian option for me. They turned their signature dishes in to vegetarian masterpieces! The use of fresh veggies such as home grown artichokes and peas were wonderful. Each course came carefully spaced with great bread service in between. The cherry on top was dessert. My husband and I got one of each and shared. The fromage with honey and strawberries was light and yummy. The chocolate tart with berries was heaven! It was pricey, so a special occasion is a must buy OH SO worth it!

We have dined here a few times and loved the food but… We were celebrating a graduation with my family and had reserved a table a month in advance. We arrived and were seated by a pleasant hostess. Several minutes later… several, several minutes later our waiter finally came around and said we could have bread and water upon request. Well of course we want bread and water. Then we waited and waited and waited… Our Elderly parent can only eat certain foods so my step father wanted a meal from the bar menu. OMG!!! What a mistake to mention in fine dining establishment. All of us were going to order a $ 35 plus meal but my step father could only eat something from the bar menu. This establishment serves bar menu at the bar only and refused, refused, snobbishly refused to accommodate my elderly step father. They told us they could seat us at the bar… NOT! We walked out and went to the Club Car. At the Club Car the food was good and we received the ultimate amazing service and gave the waitress a 40% tip. This is Auburn not upscale San Francisco Carpe Vino…

This is considered the best overall gourmet restaurant in the Sierra Foothills and Auburn in particular. It has been on many «the best restaurant» lists and is considered one of the best small fine dining restaurants in the United States. This has brought great recognition to this historic Gold Rush town.
The menu is diverse and makes foodies drool! It also has a sense of fun which is delightful. Where else are you going to find popcorn with melted black truffle butter?
It describes itself as first and foremost a «wine shop» and here wine lovers gather. They have wines at all price points, in everyone’s budget. You can sit at the bar and sip away talking wine with a knowledgeable expert. You can also order tasty treats in the bar. Sit there long enough and you will be engaged with other «grape nuts» in wine talk.
Despite its many honors, it is a hometown restaurant which is affordable for locals. This father and son-​owned restaurant is warm and elegant, yet casual. Give it a try. Check out their menu online, especially the current Prix-​fix dinner menu which will take you traveling to great taste destinations. RESERVE AHEAD OR TAKE YOUR CHANCES IN THE BAR. It is not a large place. But that is what is delightful. Small town atmosphere with big city eats.

Very nice evening…
My friends invited myself and my lovely lady to join them for the pre-​fixe valentine’s day menu. We got there and were seated immediately. Our waitress was fun and bubbly but also very professional and skilled with the wine pairings. We went with her suggestions on 4 bottles of wine and they complimented or meal perfectly. As for the meal, it was absolutely divine. It was, as I said before a perfect evening. The staff was fun and personable and the owner was floating around table to table. He came and chatted with us about wine for about 20 minutes. And it better have been because it ended up costing $ 900 with tip.
Hey, it’s only money right?

This place might be small, but it surely is mighty when it comes to great flavors. Their chef is amazing and their soup is a must. This is the best kept secret in the Sacramento area. It’s worth the drive up to Auburn and the wine is pretty good too. You are going to buy their wine anyway, so it makes sense to join their Wine Club and save the cork fee.

What a find! I usually think of wine bars being stronger in the wine vs. food category. But Carpe Vino had BOTH an epic wine selection AND an ultra gourmet dinner and bar bite menu. Coming from the Bay Area, I didn’t have the highest expectations for a small town wine bar in Auburn, but we were totally impressed. The food was on par with fancy restaurants in the Bay, and the wine list had plenty of unique international picks. The atmosphere is lively, charming, and intimate. The staff and patrons share their small-​town friendliness with anyone who wanders in. It’s the full package.
Suggested eats: the lamb meatballs, giant mussels in white wine verbena broth, and ricotta gnocchi were all superb. The cider braised pork chop was well loved by my husband. Prices are «special occasion» status, but the quality matches up & portions are very generous.
Note to party planners: their private party room is the oldest structure in Auburn, with old brick walls, dripping with decades of melted candle wax. Super spooky and cool.
Ok I admit it, Carpe Vino had me thinking I could actually *live* in Auburn if I had a wine bar like this to chill at. Thankfully, we’ve got wine bars back home too. But we’ll be back when we’re on the road to Tahoe!

Excellent flavors, attention and wines. Highly recommended! Salad, Entrees and Dessert are delicious!

Carpo Vino’s Eric Alexander is a tremendously talented chef. His menus are seasonal and interesting and his monthly prix fixe meals, which run for a week, are always a chance to really see what he can do. This past week’s prix fixe menu «Totally Tomatoes» was wonderful. And the front of the house staff is a match for the kitchen. To top it off, the best restaurant wine pricing anywhere in NorCal! We would find the Foothills a pretty bland restaurant scene if not for Carpe Vino.

Is it a wine store or a restaurant? Wait, it’s both. The best part of Carpe Vino is the plethora of wine available at retail prices. That’s right — you are not going to pay the crazy high prices of a high-​end restaurant for any bottle you order. In fact, should you choose to bring your own bottle — they only charge a $ 5 corkage fee. That’s a great deal (especially when compared to some of the high-​end corkage fees of SFO or NYC).
As for the food — it’s great. They do meats really well. I had the pork chop and it was succulent and wonderfully moist. My wife had a mix of small plates and reported nothing but good flavors with every bite. We had a lot going on at our table with wine, food, and spirited conversation — the server didn’t miss a beat. He was spot on and always available. His knowledge of wines and his command of the menu were very apparent.
Carpe Vino is well worth a trip and even a little shopping in their wine «store.» Wait — is it a wine shop or a restaurant. .. ha!

Hidden Gem!!! Headed home from Wanderlust searched «good restaurant in Auburn» and this piece of bliss popped up! Perfectly situated and perfectly romantic awesome food, excellent service, Tyler rocked it and we will definitely put this on the «go to» list for drives to the Tahoe area! Muscles with jalapeño and a broth to die for, corn soup with coconut cream and Thai basil… olives…tapas style dips with pita I think we filled our tummies off the appetizer menu topped by orange blossom merengue with roasted plums and almonds OMG we’ll be back!!!

Let me start this out by admitting I am biased. My parents are wine club members here and our whole family has a soft spot for the restaurant. Having said that, I am also a food snob and quite picky about my favorite places. And this is definitely one of my favorite restaurants out of any city or town I have been in.
The service is always impeccable. We have loved every waiter we get and they are quick to remember a face and treat you like a friend. The owners are the same and always take time to chat with us when we come in.
The food: the food never fails to impress me. The menu changes every now and then, but everything I have ever ordered had been good. If they have a soup on the menu when you are there, order it. They do soups like no one else. I am partial to the mushroom soup.
The pâté is also incredible, as our the truffle popcorn and almonds from the bar.
I have also ordered the chicken for two which was perfect.
Every season they do a prixe fixe dinner you can sign up for. I have never had the chance of joining, but I can’t wait to try. My parents have been to several and always send me pictures to torture me and entice me home. It usually works.
Oh…and of course the wine selection is one to be rivaled. They get some of the best stuff around.
If you are in Auburn, this is a MUST TRY!

When we moved here from Beverly Hills, the last thing we expected was to find a gem of a restaurant like Carpe Vino a mile from where we live. To be honest, we’ve not taken full advantage of it, having only been here twice in two years, but it is exceptional to find a restaurant of this quality in an old gold mining town in the Foothills of the Sierras.
Our two meals have been special meals, but I am really going to start advocating for coming here more regularly. The setting is quaint, the service is good, the wine is exciting and probably unfamiliar (but happily surprising and probably a touch jaw-​dropping). The food is… remarkable.
The wine prices are good and the wine club is a lot of fun.
Highly recommended all around.

Stopped in here for drinks with friends. The restaurant is beautiful inside and has a nice feel.
We love wine and since this place specializes in wine we had high hopes. The selection is pretty well thought out. We got a couple bottles for our group… we sat in the lounge area. Our server was the bartender I believe (Janna.) One of the members of our group ordered a sparkling wine and we ordered a red.
The service in general was not overly friendly nor very prompt, but eventually Janna came back with our selections. She started to open the sparkling, removed the cage entirely, then set down the bottle to my surprise to retrieve one more flute. What I mean is, she left the bottle unattended with the cage off! While she was behind the bar getting the other glass the cork popped, hitting the ceiling. Thankfully, the bottle was pointed straight up, as this restaurant doesn’t use ice buckets table side apparently. Hopefully Janna has a day job she takes more seriously.
This is service I would expect from a hick town out in the booneys somewhere… not a suburb of Sacramento. Oh well… we enjoyed the wine and our friends, but I don’t think I will be going back. It just was not anything to write home about; nothing to drive out of the way for.

The food, staff amazing! Dinner was fabulous and the strawberry shortcake for dessert is YUM! A relaxing and enviting atmosphere.

Great intimate place for dinner or just a Saturday of wine tasting. Dinner is worth the price and make sure to secure a reservation they go fast. Join the wine club! This is my favorite place to enjoy a great dinner. They have seasonal menus so you aren’t going to have the same thing all of the time. Also, throughout the year they have a prefix menu, and those are the nights to go, they offer some exquisite cuisine that you won’t see anywhere else in town. The owners are very nice people and are very personable, they will talk to you about wine all day long and they love to give you the history on the place. Ask then where the bar pieces came from, its a very interesting story and a great piece of history that you get to sit at!

My lady and I love this place. We always stop before we head to our home in truckee.
Just found out Steve is no longer here and we are really upset. The place won’t be the same. Bring Steve back please.

I’m big on first impressions. The bartender last Sunday didn’t even acknowledge me when I walked in (right past him) nor did he offer me a menu. When I sat down, I got a very uncomfortable feeling as if this place was off limits for someone like me. I had to ask for a menu and then I asked him if they were closing soon because I wasn’t being offered anything. I had been looking forward to trying this place for a long time but the vibe here was way off! I left to go to Bootleggers where I know they have great wine and service and ended up leaving a very generous tip to the bartender there.

The food was very good, but the servings were very small for the price. Went there with 3 other people and we were laughing at how small the servings were. The biggest shock is that when you order a bottle of wine from them, they have the nerve to charge a corking fee!!! I get it when you bring your own wine, but being charged after buying it on premise?
They already mark the wine up before selling it to you, but to charge a corking fee was just an insult!
Overall, the flavor of the food was good, the staff was friendly, and the wine was good. But it just misses in my opinion with the serving sizes and corking fee.

This restaurant is off the charts!
It has few real competitors– Taste in Plymouth, Waterboy in Sacramento.
The food is amazing, creative & tasty.
The service is fantastic. And the wine is the best selection in the area. Come here for a romantic evening and/​or a night of fine dining. I’ve been here twice and I’ll be back!

If you like good food and wine… Carpe Vino is the place to dine! Great service by Cailey. She really knows her wines! They offer some excellent wines by the glass. They also have a great selection of bottles from boutique wineries. We even joined the wine club!
You must try the beet salad. Sublime! The pork chop was a little on the dry side. The grilled peach profiteroles were awesome!
Overall, it was a great experience!