Kensington Vine

His place as far as we know in the neighborhood will not reopen and the building is up for sale. I ‘d take your wine business down the street.

Hello,
Doe’s anyone know when and if this place is open anymore? Went by numerous times over the last few weeks and it is always closed. They have a nice selection of wines.
Thank You in advance.

I am very familiar with the area and know many people in Kensington but haven’t heard much about Kensington Vine, but I decided to give it a try with my mother and baby niece who were visiting. Once we walked in the door we were informed that my baby niece (9 months) was unable to enter the Vine because the baby was under the age of 21 (mind you this isn’t JUST a bar they also have food). I’ve never had this happen before but I understood and started to make my way out… halfway through the door the man (whom I believe was the owner) made an rude and unnecessary comment «yea.well, talk to the state of California about it». I obviously won’t be going back after that sour remark. And it’s not like I was pissed about the situation either so the comment was completely uncalled for.

The wine is good. The food is pretty good. The service can be a bit aloof. Not that they aren’t friendly people, but that is just the vibe the manager can give off sometimes. Not always. The Italian Grinder is a fantastic panini but you can’t really go wrong with any of the food. They play great music, but of course that comes down to personal music preferences. It is a pretty nice place with a good selection of wine.

Cute, neighborhood wine bar with great happy hour. Daily happy hour with $ 5 glasses and apps that are good sized portions and tasty. The owner is friendly and well versed in wine. The patio is great late afternoon and they allow dogs!
There’s also a small parking lot– which is great in this neighborhood. There’s only a few spots available but if you get there early, I’ve never had a problem finding parking in either the lot of on the street directly next to the building. It’s a great neighborhood spot and I’d recommend stopping by for their happy hour!

LOVE this place! Great wines, great wine steward, good food and great people. We go often!

I am upgrading my original 4 star review from last year to 5 stars because Kensington Vine has become one of our top three favorite places, and we visit several times a month. When you walk in and are greeted by name, you feel so at home. The food is very good and Lance and the staff are easy to know and not pretentious whatsoever about their wine knowledge. Cheers!

Too funny! I read the reviews and noticed that people seem to either love it or hate it, but decided to try anyway. When we got there at 4:30, all the tables had «reserved» signs on them. The owner grudgingly said we could sit at a table until 5:30. He was not happy about it. He mumbled answers to our questions about the wines and the food. And sure enough, come 5:30 they just started to clear our table without saying anything — including plates with food on them. We got the hint. And the whole time, we could see the owner treating what I assume are his regulars with spectacular care. When we went up to pay (because we didn’t have a table anymore) I tried to make small talk with the owner to bring it back around. I asked about the daily specials and I swear he rolled his eyes at me! Sorry to bother you dude. Won’t be back.

I love this place. Cheese plate is good. Staff friendly and knowledgeable. My boyfriend lives in Kensington, and this is our «go-​to» for wine gifts on the fly before birthday parties or dinners. On my first date with the BF he picked up a bottle of red called «The Other», which I saw as a challenge. Guess who got laid that night?

This was our first time at Kensington Vine and my friend and I were not impressed at all. It’s Friday night, happy hour and there is no server? The person who appeared to be the owner was running around taking care of tables, but in a very unorganized and discombobulated manner. I’m not sure if this is the norm, but it just didn’t make sense for someone who clearly can’t do the job to try. The wine was good but the pours were inconsistent, and the food was not that good. I wanted to like this place but I don’t think I’ll be back.

Not sure what everyone else sees in this wine bar. The layout of the bar is very awkward. You could choose between small cramped tables/​booths too close to each other or the outside tables that face an unsightly parking lot. The host of the wine bar was very well versed and spoke fluent in wine talk. But the wine was under poured in smudgy glasses.

This was one of the many wine bars we tried while on vacation visiting family in San Diego! Enjoyed many boutique wines, and owner Lance was very friendly and knowledgable about the wines. Nice atmosphere and good parking outside the bar which is rare in this area.

Kensington Vine is a small wine bar with a wonderful ambiance and friendly patrons. I have been here several times and really enjoy sitting at the bar. The wines are excellent and the servers have good knowledge of their products.
I have had a couple of food items off of the menu and they were all good. The pizzas are freshly made with a nice thin crust and tasty toppings. The cheese boards have a nice selection of cheese and olives with nice bread.
I love the ambiance and wish that it was not such a drive for me.

Great local place we’ve been to several times now. They have decent wines on their restaurant list & in their retail store. A good happy hour is offered every night plus different daily deals every weeknight (Monday-​happy hour all night, $ 2 Tuesday, bottle night Wed, $ 3 Thursday…)
Surprised to hear others say the food is only okay– I have pretty high standards and their pizzas are unique and taste amazing… The paninis are also awesome. Food is also made with fresh, local ingredients. If we aren’t already considered regulars – we will be soon.

3.5 stars
Very nice wine lounge in Kensington with a good selection of wines and a tasty appetizers menu. The atmosphere of this place could be more lively and fun, but otherwise a nice option if you’re in the Kensington area. Check out their daily specials.

I am a fan of this place.
I agree with other readers, a bit pricey but i like the location, the service and
the ambiance is pretty cool.
The owner was there last weekend and he was a very nice man.
A nice meat and cheese board, great place to chat with friends at the
bar and get to know locals.

Great wine bar in my neighborhood. A bit pricey, good ambiance, cozy and small place. There is a patio outside and the cheese boards are great.
The service here is always friendly and I see a lot of locals there on a Friday
night.

I came here with my fiancé during Wine Week and left a happy customer. We did the wine tasting, which was $ 12 to sample five wines. We also ordered the large cheese plate and Margarita pizza to split.
Wine: very tasty selection and our server did a good job explaining the different wines to us. Two were second label wines and three were first label wines. Decent sized pours for a tasting too.
Cheese plate: very delicious. Good selection of cheese and also fresh cherry tomatoes, figs, grapes, almonds, and thinly sliced Italian bread. Very filling!
Margarita pizza: pretty standard pizza. Not mind blowing fantastic but not bad either. Satisfying and very ripe basil and tomato on it.
We also got 10% our purchases of the bottled wine to take home that evening as part of Wine Week.
I heard the happy hour is good, so I’ll be back to check that out.

Decent wine bar in the Kensington area. Clean, everything is organized. Of course I took advantage of their happy hour, 3−6pm, $ 5 appetizers menu and $ 5 wine glasses.
Stuff on the $ 5 appetizer menu include an olive plate, cheese plate, tapenade crostini, bruschetta di-​vine and a panini. And happy hour occurs daily. They also have other specials going on different days besides the happy hour. Just ask for the specials for the day. I also took a picture of the daily specials menu.
I went with the Four Vines Chardonnay Naked, 2008. Pretty cool, slightly refreshing, somewhat aromatic. Good size pour for $ 5.
Décor was ok. Music was just ok. Place was slightly warm. No fans, not sure if the AC was on. But there is outside seating as well if it gets too hot. Plenty of wine bottles for sale. The restrooms were clean. Although the décor was good, it just seemed not at all right as soon as I walked in. Wasn’t greeted, just a look of slight awkwardness between myself and the bartender. But that went away after a few sips of my chard. Still, could have been better for a wine bar, especially if it is one of the few in this area.

I was here on a Monday night to meet up with my cousin and her two girlfriends for some chatting away for the out-​of-​towners in for the holidays. It was my first time at Kensington Vine and I liked it.
We got there at 8:45 and all the indoor tables were occupied, all three tables each seats four. We hung out at the bar for a little bit until a group left and the server chick cleared the table for us. Unfortunately, she also told us they close between 9:00 and 10:00 on Mondays. Oh well, we’ll maximize our one hour time there.
For Monday night, their happy hour specials run all night, very cool and I was happy with their $ 5 dollar wine selections. I had two glasses of Pinot Grigio. It was light and crisp, just what I wanted for this particular evening.
My cousin had the bruschetta and it looked good, but I didn’t try it. They also shared a slice of the chocolate on chocolate cake for a birthday in the group, I didn’t try it but they said it was super super sweet.
I wandered to the wine for sale area and they probably had forty bottles to choose from. The prices were very reasonable where I noticed one bottle of champagne sold in a box cost only $ 7.99. If I lived in the Kensington neighborhood, I might find myself hanging out here with friends now and then. If you’re not a wine drinker, they also have a small selection of bottled beer stored in the dessert display case
After all tables were still gabbing away at 10:45, the server basically announced to all of us that as much as she loved having us there, we’ve gots to go! It sorta reminds me of a friend that loves to say «You don’t have to go home, but you’ve got to get the %&*# outta here!!» when it’s time to kick his friends out of his house for the night. LOL!