Corks & More

HORRIBLE. Moldy indoors. Sit outside and enjoy the inlet but nothing else. A teensy glass of stale, watery, tepid white wine was served as a «glass» and I was charged a huge amount for it. Their selection is terrible and overpriced. The food made me sick (literally) and is overpriced. Burned french fries, overcooked meat, spoiled seafood. The waitress messed up our order AND charged us for things she shouldn’t have. She had no clue about any of the wines or the food. There is no manager or owner to talk to and they don’t return phone calls. Pathetic!!!

I like to consider myself a functioning alcoholic, though not big on the craft beer scene, and definitely not a wino. Their selection was alright, but I must say: if you enjoy pool this is the place to be!
The outside pool table, clearly warped by decades of weather and stale beer, is especially entertaining. Seemingly controlled by dwarfs with magnets, every shot is an adventure. This pool table actually defies the laws of physics. There may be a dimensional rift directly above it, which is pulling the cue ball away from anything remotely close to what you were aiming at. If you are up for a considerable challenge, play on this table.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would pool again.

One of the strangest bars I have ever been in. This «wine» bar has this automated dispensary system which pours roughly ten separate selections. No NY State wines offered nor any that could reasonable called quaffable. Ordered beer instead, poured by a bartender who barely acknowledged the customer. Music was rough and the bar bites looked the same. Never moved out of a bar so fast. Some really strange karma going on here.

The décor and atmosphere are nice… the food is awful… the wine is overpriced… go somewhere else!

Wow. What a wonderful place and a wonderful idea. Wine is dispensed from machines along the wall. You buy a card for $ 2 (refundable if u give the card back) and use it to buy and full your own glasses.
White, red, bubbly, all varieties and regions. NYS obviously, Italian, California, etc. what a great variety and selection.
Full bar as well as tapas like menu-​olives, crostini, etc.
Comfortable couches, fireplace, OMG I am in heaven!

We have been to Corks and More time and time again and always enjoy the experience. The service is great, wine and beer selection is great, food is terrific and consistent, it’s clean, music is always nice, fireplace and cozy couches are very inviting. We always leave smiling. We highly recommend it.

We had the most amazing baby shower at Corks & More. The owner, BJ, was an absolute pleasure to work with during the planning stages and during the day of the shower. He was always available to answer any questions and was so supportive with any of our requests. The menu turned out beautiful! BJ helped us put together a menu that worked with dietary restrictions and even added a few items that we knew our family would love. Overall, it was an amazing way to shower our baby with love, good food, family and friends. The atmosphere is so welcoming and opening gifts in front of the fireplace was just perfect! We highly recommend this establishment for any of your future party needs or if you have a special date night coming up! Also, it’s a great spot for happy hour with friends. Other pros — easy and plenty of parking, beautiful setting, great drink menu and pleasant staff!

We loved the concept of the wall of wine, The staff was very nice, and the location was beautiful. There, I’ve said everything positive I can. The décor at this expensive restaurant was decidedly out at elbows. The paint was chipped, the rug was ratty, overall not particularly pleasant. However, the most disappointing thing was the food. The cheese plate was stingy, The salad was a bowl of chopped lettuce covered with vinegar, and the crostinis were unimpressive. Our advice — go for the wine, and have dinner elsewhere.

A great atmosphere and yummy food and wine.
We went with a large group and pretty much got everything on the menu. Most everything is appetizer size but delicious. I tried the lamb lollipops, steak bites, and Crostinis. they were all great. They have wine dispensers and a bar. The rooms are all set up with couches and comfortable chairs and sometimes they have live music.
The only down fall is that it is kind of difficult to find the first couple of times.

As a person who clearly hasn’t developed the palate for wine yet, I was a bit skeptical if I was going to like it. Needless to say, by the end of the visit… I had a nice wine buzz going and we had made friends with the band. So, lets go back to the beginning. Upon entering you can purchase pre-​paid card to use for their wine vending machines. This is pretty genius and great for a person like me who doesn’t necessarily know what they like. There are dozens of wines to choose from and you can get either a taste, half or full glass. Each obviously costs differently. Between the 4 of us, we went through $ 100 in about 2 – 3 hours. The place has this really chill feel about it. You pick a couch and you just sink into as the drinks keep piling on. You can order food and snacks as well. We munched on an international cheese plate in addition to bread and olive oil. It helped balance the wine intake. The band played right next to us and even played Freebird for us. We were quite impressed. The service was great and the staff was knowledgeable when we had questions about the specific wines. It’s a slightly gimmicky place, but still one that is fun for a group not looking for the normal pub experience. They have an outside area that I’m sure is a blast to hang out during the warm months.

Best place in town if you’re looking for a classy place to have wine with friends or go on a date. The owner is hilarious and the staff is friendly.
pros: atmosphere, wine, staff, etc.
cons: none so far

Every time I’ve been here, this place has been oddly empty. Weeknight around dinner time? Empty. Weekend nights? Empty. Random weekend afternoons? Completely deserted. I have no idea how these guys pay the rent, since the place is actually quite large, and they have a huge outdoor deck area for seating. There’s even a decent sized outdoor bar out there, though I’ve never seen it open. This space seems like it would be an amazing nightlife locale or hangout spot, and it can clearly support a ton of people, if only anyone decided to show up.
But as for the restaurant/​bar itself? Eh. The food is passable, but ridiculously overpriced. The wine selection is fair, but oddly somewhat limited for a «wine bar.» Want a bold California Cab? There’s probably only going to be one, if that. Want a Bordeaux or Burgandy? Chances aren’t you won’t find one. Want a good example of an Oregonian Pinot? Look elsewhere. Instead of the heavy hitters and iconically representative wines, what you’ find here are mostly a random collection of a few Finger Lakes wines, a few low end South American wines, a smattering of low grade European stuff, and possibly a moderately priced Californian thrown in for a half-​hearted wow-​factor.
If you don’t know anything at all about wines, this may not be a bad place to go to get your feet wet. Otherwise, the selection is simply uninteresting. Honestly, a wasted opportunity.

I’ve tried several times now, and it’s just not getting any better. Food is blah to horrible, and although there is a large wine selection not one wine has jumped out and said, «Hey I’m fabulous.»
I want so much for it to be better here because of the rare, relaxed, inlet outside space. But everything is shabby and even kind of dirty.
Sorry guys, even tried to hold our book club here, but not at the top of my list.

Rip-​off! I was visiting family in Ithaca this week end and we decided to stop by on a Saturday afternoon. The bartender explained the process, put money on a card and pick out your wines, use your card. Oh, and there is a $ 2 deposit for the card. Ok. Off we go to sample wines. Well, I’m not an expert but I know good wine. There were few good wines and a lot of bad, overpriced wines. I was looking for a decent Chardonnay, my first choice was empty, so I chose another. Someone forgot to tell this place that white wine should be served chilled. It was awful. Not ones to complain, we decided to finish and leave. I took my card back to get my refund but was told by the same bartender that since I still had $ 1 (yes, one dollar) on the card, I could not get my money back. SERIOUSLY??? I said keep the card and the $ 1 and return the deposit. No, they can’t do that. Why, I ask. Where is that written? Certainly not on the card I still have in my hand. Certainly not on any sign I see. Well, another person comes, must be the manager, and he tells me it was a VERBAL CONTRACT!!! What??? Seriously, is this a first year law student flexing his muscle? By then, I decided it was time to concede. Some battles are not worth it, yet I hope to find out his name so when his resume hits my firms HR department, we will be prepared.
Other notes, the place smells really bad. Of course it is next to the dirt inlet and sitting on rotting wood. Mold anyone? the place was dirty. Our table had not been wiped off since the last customers used it.
I’m surprised this place has lasted. Ithaca deserves better.

This place breaks down like this:
1. AMAZING WINES: great concept, really fun and a wonderful selection. Overall, great drinks with a list of fun alternative drinks to choose from — so not just for vinos!
2. GREAT ATMOSPHERE. It can be a bit open when it’s not busy, but who doesn’t love sipping wine in front of a fireplace in big comfy stuffed chairs and couches. It feels like a good friends living room.
3. NOT so great FOOD: Beware, there are some good things, some okay things, and some failures. It’s hit or miss. I would suggest it as an after dinner place, except that the «flourless chocolate walnut torte» I had was really an eggy like fritatta with chocolate chips and walnuts sparingly sprinkled through it… not exactly the fudgy french dessert I had in mind. But the olives were yummy. The crostini tasty although soggy. The flat bread rather canned and the shrimp cocktail so-​so.
But fine friendly service. And I’ll be back, it’s just sooo relaxing!

This place has the following things going for it:
1) Excellent selection of wines ranging from the reasonably cheap to the ridiculous, all of which you can chose form a taste (1oz), half a glass, or a full glass — with prices reflecting the value of the bottle of wine. I had all of two dollars left on my wine card which afforded me a comical misting of the $ 300 bottle of wine (It was good? I think?)
2) Fancy cheese plates
3) Full service bar — for those foolish enough to go to a wine bar and want not wine.
4) The wait-​staff has magical powers, in that they are completely invisible until you need something and then they magically appear. Like silent little elves, your used wine glass is briskly carried away, condensation on the table wiped, pyramids of clean and diamond polished wine glasses stocked next to the wine machines. You remark quietly to your friend — I could really go for some homemade crostini — and suddenly a menu is in front of you. Oh shoot, the wine bottle that I want in the machine is empty. Blink. It’s been restocked! It is magic. It’s wine magic. The best kind of magic.
— If anyone is confused, the wine machines work as such.
You buy an electronic card from the host (ess) who fills it with any amount you’d like.
You go to the wall of wine machines.
You chose a wine.
You chose if you’d like a taste, half a glass or a full glass.
You pay with your card.
You realize you have had a Corks & More sized hole in your life that has now been filled.
Also, the machines will accommodate however much is on your card. So even if the wine you want to try has half a glass for $ 9 and you only have $ 5 on your card, the machine will pour you five dollars worth.
Finally, you can ‘rent’ out a card by throwing down a three dollar deposit, to be given back to you when you return the card in case you’re from out of town/​wont be back/​hate awesomeness.

Full disclosure: I haven’t had the food here.
But I don’t care.
Corks & More takes a brilliant concept – self-​serve wine stations – and puts it in the perfect atmosphere. On the water. Big comfy couches. Fireplace. Wine. The scene is never too lively, but that’s the way I like it. Chill. Relaxing. The perfect place to chat with friends or grab drinks with a large group. Don’t come here if you’re looking for a rager.
The self-​service wine thing is somewhat hard to explain, but you’ll get the hang of it after your first glass. There’s a lot of wine to choose from and prices aren’t too bad. Also, there’s a full bar and some decent beer if you’re sick of the vino.

Don’t let the horrendous website fool you… this is a really awesome place. I didn’t get around to going until recently, partly swayed by the weirdly hoaky and definitely not classy website, and partly because I just don’t go down to the places on the inlet that often, but my friend and I finally decided it was time to check it out on the off chance it was a hidden gem. And it was… we were so pleased and excited. It’s absolutely beautiful inside, with lots of nice and comfortable seating. The whole buy a card and then swipe it thing ended up being super fun, and we felt like kids in a candy store. Not being served by a human was kind of hysterical, but in a fun way, and I cannot wait to go back again. It was too hot to go outside today but they have a beautiful outdoor patio as well. There’s also a normal bar for those who don’t want wine or just want to order a glass and sit and look out at the water, as well as wait staff if you don’t want to get up. Thumbs up for our first try. Don’t bother going on the horrible website though…=)

This is such a smart addition to the Ithaca restaurant scene. Corks & More is down on the inlet where Bistro Q used to be. It’s a comfortable and classy wine lounge — lots of large comfy chairs and couches, a fireplace, a nice bar area overlooking the inlet. They serve tapas style snacks and feature those funny winestation machines, which I am a total sucker for. I think it’s actually the best part of this place — otherwise it might feel a little too adult/​stuffy — but drinking out of a vending machine is definitely a great way to remember not to take anything too seriously.
I went here after a rough day and promptly put $ 25 on my little wine card. I was there for an event that I hadn’t intended to stay at long, but I loved the vibe of this place and found myself getting cozy and ordering food and settling in for a nice evening. I tried all of their crostinis, the salmon, and the steak. The crostinis were great — the best of the bunch being the prosciutto one and the brie and mushroom one. Unfortunately both the salmon and the steak were a bit overcooked, and the salsa with the salmon featured extremely under-​ripe avocado (which made for very pretty little squares, but they were simply too hard to eat). So the food was only mostly good.
But it was fun getting up and going back again and again (and again) to the wine stations — I mostly went with ½ glasses, but also had a few tastes of wines that I wasn’t sure about. There was a nice selection in the stations, and the prices (and price ranges) were reasonable. They also have a full bar with some fun signature drinks and a heavy scotch selection. I’m hoping they open up an outdoor patio like Bistro Q used to have there — I can’t wait to have an «Island Blast» on the deck in the summertime.
Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time — but Corks & More was just what I needed after a long work week, The staff was great, the atmosphere was mature and comfortable, the food was good, and the wine came out of a vending machine! I just hope that I have as much fun here as I used to have at Bistro Q.