Vino Dolce

Love love love the food and the owners and the staff. Excellent MARGARITAS! And the monthly wine tastings, bar none. My husband and I are always well greeted and treated. Renée makes every day a fun day. Best Italian food and atmosphere!!!

Some of the worst food I’ve ever tasted. Or not tasted because nothing had any flavor. And the service was horrible. Will never go back or recommend to anyone. Stay away.

I was turned off with the Unilocal reviews for so long until I found a five star review that spoke a lot about the shop. I was pleasantly surprised on the quality and swiftness of service here. The wine was not the best but the Jazz playing in the interesting décor of the place will surely turn a date hot. I can’t speak for authenticity of the food as I have never even been to Italy. But it tasted amazing. Coconut shrimp with a sweet and sour raspberry sauce was amazing. Flat iron pork salad with habanero sauce was the most interesting salad ever.
But pricey for the food, but I am always up for supporting local thriving businesses. Definitely a place to check out if you’re open minded and not hung up on authenticity of a specific cuisine.

If you want itian food try olive garden or a tv dinner before you go to. this restaurant

I truly enjoyed my experience and my entrée taste of Italy was awesome. I also enjoyed the friendly service and quaint atmosphere.

I had the homemade pasta vodka with chicken. Very good! However the best was the Love Cake –Awesome!

Growing up in Kingston and still having family there, I am horrified that a local business owner could be this stupid and insensitive. Shame on the owner and this establishment. I am reprinting a very recent review of this place that was published on another site. It’s also on another very popular social media site. This is not made up.
Reviewed September 27, 2014 NEW
Tonight while dinning at Vino Dolce, we overheard a waitress talking to another table, saying she had to go, she had a table in the back with a bunch of «JEWS» I said, did she really did say that? Then, that not out of my mouth, she made the statement again! I ask another waitress who that was and found out she is also a the owner! OMG! I was floored! Here we are, celebrating the Jewish New Year, spending our money in a place that doesn’t appreciate Jewish People! I know that I and several of my Jewish friends had our 1^st and only visit to this establishment. Again, she was not whispering this, she was boisterous and I am still burning mad. I know I should have made a comment to someone about this, but seeing she is owner, nothing would not have been down. Best way to handle this in thru reviews of the restaurant.

I am reposting this comment from Trip Advisor regarding this restaurant.
«Tonight while dinning at Vino Dolce, we overheard a waitress talking to another table, saying she had to go, she had a table in the back with a bunch of „JEWS“ I said, did she really did say that? Then, that not out of my mouth, she made the statement again! I ask another waitress who that was and found out she is also a the owner! OMG! I was floored! Here we are, celebrating the Jewish New Year, spending our money in a place that doesn’t appreciate Jewish People! I know that I and several of my Jewish friends had our 1^st and only visit to this establishment. Again, she was not whispering this, she was boisterous and I am still burning mad. I know I should have made a comment to someone about this, but seeing she is owner, nothing would not have been down. Best way to handle this in thru reviews of the restaurant.»

I created a Unilocal account just to post my experience at Vino Dolce to hopefully save others from wasting their money and time like I did.
I went to Vino Dolce with 2 of my girlfriends on a Friday nights after hearing the RAVING reviews around town about this «cute little quaint place with AMAZING food.»
Boy was I in for a treat.
The waitstaff, who is also the owners wife (from what we gathered), couldn’t be bothered by patrons that weren’t her «norms». We were seating quickly, which was about the only positive aspect of the entire trip.
After being seated, we were presented with the specials and we ordered a bottle of wine with our food orders. We also asked for waters, which we didn’t receive until after the appetizers even arrived.
We waited almost an hour and a half for our food. While the wait for the food, we waited almost 20 minutes with empty glasses to be acknowledge so we could order more wine. The waitstaff was too busy chumming it up with «the usuals» to be bothered by my table. After asking for another bottle of wine, it took another 15 minutes to bring it to the table. Talk about frustration.
We finally received our food and were so unhappy we were forced to admit why most of it was uneaten. After we explained to our waitress/​owner that the food was entirely too BLAND we also voiced our concern about the terrible service. She chuckled at us and said, «Ive never had complaints about our food… and well, you can go anywhere and get GOOD service and terrible food, at least here you can get BAD service and great food.»
After that ridiculous remark we asked for our check and left with boiling blood and a dent in our wallets. I wish I would have stayed home and saved myself the time, money, and frustration.

I was pretty disappointed in my experience at Vino Dolce. I was looking forward to the hand cut pasta, however it was mediocre at best. The sauce was very bland, I could have made better Bolognese sauce at home. The Gorgonzola/​walnut crostini was pretty good, as was the eggplant Parmesan. My friend ordered the polenta, which was also very bland. I was pretty turned off by all of the extra charges… if you requested more bread, that was an extra charge. The polenta came in three choices: meatball, sausage, or mushroom. My friend chose the mushroom, and we were surprised to see an additional charge on the check for them. My other friend requested mozzarella only on her eggplant instead of the five different cheeses normally used, another extra charge. As we were wrapping up our meal, we couldn’t help but overhear our server presenting the chef’s specials to the other patrons. We were never told of the specials, and were disappointed that we had missed out. All in all, the prices were way to high to justify the mediocre food, I definitely won’t be back.

When I saw that they only have 2.5 stars I was appalled. I’ve been here twice with my fiancée and we have only good memories of this place. The food is amazing, the owner/​waitress/​cook/​hostess is not only kind and inviting, but funny as hell. Always willing to tell a story or just shoot the breeze with you. The food is not that expensive, but expensive enough to not make it a weekly thing. Which is great, because if you went there weekly it would become“just another place.” I say, if you are ever in Hanover Township stop in and try them out.

Just got a Unilocal account, and I was shocked — CRUSHED even — when I saw the review score (and lack of reviews) for the best Italian restaurant in the Wyoming Valley: Vino Dolce.
Then it occurred to me. People who love Vino Dolce … those who enjoy real, authentic, homemade Italian food as well as the company of the restaurant owners who cook the food and tend their bar … they’re probably not interested in what Unilocal has to say. It’s their own little secret.
I’ve eaten here six times at least, and I’m telling you each time I am impressed anew by the hugely enjoyable effort this place puts into making first class, family style Italian food. Look at this menu: crustini gorgonzola, eggplant rotelli, stuffed tomatoes, and marinated artichokes with lump crab. Pasta di Cucina, Pasta Aglio e olio, and tapenade. Pasta di Cucina dishes can be ordered with a dozen clams over the top with red or white sauce for a few dollars more; or you can go with the Clams Fra Diavlo, as spicy as you like it.
The pasta is rolled by hand. The raviolis are closed by fork. The food is enjoyed by all.
Look at the Web site, man! The place cleans up on local awards every year. I’m telling you: If you have a special occasion, reason to celebrate, or you are an Italian food purist whose eyebrows are raising as you read this, then you owe it to yourself to try Vino Dolce. Then consider yourself among those who are in on the Valley’s best little secret.

Ordered the chicken marsala. What restaurant breads their chicken marsala? It was horrible. It tasted like it was breaded cooked (burnt) and refrigerated then reheated. The chicken was tough, and the breading (which the dish shouldn’t have) was moist and falling off. Had to ask for water when I was sitting without a beverage. Service was poor, food was even worse. Never again!

We attempted to eat here for Valentines Day, but their plumbing cracked and we werent able to enter (attempt #1)
(Attempt #2) We decided to come here on one of our date nights since we had a gift certificate. The inside décor is very nice and it sets a romantic/​intimate atmosphere. I ordered Shrimp Scampi and my husband ordered his usual Surf and Turf type meal with steack and shrimp/​lobster meat.
The restaurant only holds about 30 people, and this night it was not filled to capacity. There were about 4 other tables there with us. 5 tables total.
Anyway, we waited almost 1.5 hours for our food. After we were sitting for 45 minutes, the owner (who is also the waitstaff) realized that the table next to us ordered, ate, paid, and was leaving before we were even served. She offered us free drinks but never admitted that she forgot our order. So we sat another half hour with a free drink and then the food came out.
I cant say it was bad food, it was decent. It definitely wasn’t what I expected for the price. There really was not much seasoning/​spices/​flavor going on with anything on the plate. Bland is a good word to use. Overpriced for what you are getting.
She did take a good discount of the bill for us because of the wait. We ended up just paying cash for the meal and saving the gift card.
We arent in a hurry to get back there, but we will go again just to use the card. :)

Visited this spot about a year ago and left unimpressed. The wine selection wasn’t too bad, but the food was bland and incredibly over-​priced. I had the chicken piccata for $ 20 and it was almost flavorless. Chicken piccata is probably my favorite Italian meal, so it was quite disappointing — and it was my birthday, so I was hoping to have an authentic, delicious, anti-​olive garden Italian meal and I’ve since had to look elsewhere.