The Grape at Las Olas

Its closed because of the Riverside Hotel expansion. Try Naked Grape in Wilton Manors as an alternate.

I hesitate to use the one-​star rating, but in this case, after two horrible experiences at the Grape on Las Olas and having sent a letter to both the manager and the address listed on their website (with no reply to either complaint), I feel like I have no choice. I will be brief in my comments, as I have spent enough time living the experiences, and then relating them to the ownership in unanswered letters.
Experience #1 — I brought a group of 8 friends to the Grape several months ago for appetizers and wine before dinner at another restaurant on Las Olas. Although the server behind the bar was friendly enough, the manager was incredibly rude. We were the only people in the place at 7 pm on a Saturday and, without introducing himself, or thanking us for coming, he started yelling at us the we needed to «get out of the way» because «no one will be able to get through here!» We were looking at bottles arranged on the wall and deciding which bottles that we had enjoyed and would like to buy! At one point, he hurridly (and rudely) brushed past us and literally knocked one of us off-​balance. He never even apologized. At that point, as a group, we decided to pay up, leave our half finished glasses and go somewhere less hostile. On the way out, the server said that the manager was «having a bad day.» I believe his name was John, but am not sure of that.
Experience #2 — A few months later, I decided to give the place another shot on a Sunday Morning and brought another group (6 total) for breakfast. They had a breakfast menu and advertized that they were serving breakfast. From the moment we walked in, the waiter acted like we were an inconvenience. Maybe he didn’t agree with the decision to serve breakfast. Maybe he was trying to set up for lunch. Maybe he too, was «having a bad day.» Whatever the case, as we sat down, I let him know that we would all be having coffee. He actually SNEERED at me and shot back, «We’re a wine bar not a coffee house. I don’t have coffee made. It will be a while.» …ummmmmmm, O. K… Then why do you have a breakfast menu? Needless to say, we got up and walked down the street to the Riverside hotel, again, in search of a less hostile environment.
Although there are a few very nice girls behind the bar who are helpful and pleasant, the attitudes of the manager, the owner and the «I don’t do breakfast» server have effectively turned off me and two different groups of my friends. This is a case of «once burned, twice shy, Don’t expect a third try.»

This place is a great place to go for wine tastings with your friends… the hosts are always prepared to tell you about the wines and make suggestions. Very nice atmoshphere, backround music, seating al fresco is also available.
Very quaint.

I know NY is getting saturated with wine bars but I kinda wish there were one of these up here. Even though they have 120 wines in their repertoire, with exception to a few that were out of stock, they had a wine list that was exceedingly easy to navigate. But we all know you’re always best off getting a recommendation if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Right? Right. Our server was extremely helpful. Upon asking, she shared with me her favorites on the list by type, which were generally spot on with my personal tastes. The food was good though at times overly salted (ie., the Olive tapanade) but the service was excellent. The space was nice and the general area seemed to have more than a few tasty places to dine though some of the crowds appeared a bit older and dare I say snottier in a trashy kind of way. Yes, I’m a city snob who should just stay put. Oh well, sue me. In any case, if you find yourself in this neck of the woods and looking for a good glass of red I’d suggest the Zolo Malbec and a certain Temperanillo (I’ve forgotten the name but there aren’t many on the list). Or you can taste a few and have a flight. Either way, I think The Grape is a safe bet. If you go, our server is a 22-​yr old softball player from Texas. And no, she’s not a friend of mine.
Oh and when you come out of the place and want to make a few more stops I’d take a right and NOT a left out the door (see my review of Off the Hookah).

Looking for a place to have a few drinks and some snacks, walking down Las Olas we were a bit overcome by all the restaurants that seemed a little too much like fine dining for what we were looking for. And then we saw The Grape — a beautiful open space with a live saxophonist. Sign me up!
Our waitress was extremely friendly, amazingly well versed and knowledgeable, helped of course by their amazing menu that helps dissect the 120 wines that you can choose from to have by flights, glasses or bottles (an amazing attraction for wine-​os!). Everything was reasonably priced we thought — for a group of 9 people, we were very well attended to.
The food was just alright and perhaps the only reason I’m giving The Grape 4 stars — my caesar salad was inundated in dressing and way too garlicky — I couldn’t even finish it!
The atmosphere was perfect — the live saxophonist made for great music. I’ll definitely be back when I’m in the area again — they’ve also got locations all around the south… bring one to NYC!