Santa Cruz Wine Bar

I really like this place. Nice wine selection a healthy menu selection. And I have always had great service. I recommend going there if you have an extra 30 minutes before a flight.

A reasonable place to get a glass of wine and a nibble before a flight. Local, respectable, though of course overpriced wine and a small selection of salad, flatbreads, sandwiches, and snacks. A glass of red and bistro salad are my go-​to here. Service can be slow at the tables, so sit at the bar if you can!

After a cancelled flight and a few hours to kill I was lucky enough to come in here. Most airports seem to have a wine bar these days, but I think this one is a little better than the usual Vino Volo (or whatever that place is called).
They have wine in several different sizes, so you can choose accordingly based on your time frame.
I went with the servers recommendation of a jammy red. (Sorry I forgot the name — bad Unilocaler!) And since I had a decent wait I went with the 9 oz pour. I wasn’t hungry at all, but the food looked good and I will give it a try next time I’m delayed in SJC. (Which could be sooner than I think since other passengers told me there are a lot of delays at this airport!)

Bring your own food. I ordered the Turkey and Brie sandwich. It was clearly a packaged item that had been warmed. Previous reviewers have remarked on the paper plates and plastic forks, which is still the case. The good news? You can get more than wine, and it is one of the nicer places to sit/​wait. Have a beverage, but stop at Subway before you get here

I’ve been sitting here for 25 minutes, completely ignored by both the wait staff, despite there being 2 of them. It’s not even very busy.
Someone who came in after me has been handed a menu, got her wine, and her food already. They have yet to speak to me…
Just saw another review from today saying the same thing.

The bartender must have felt very generous because she poured me a HUGE glass of red wine for only $ 8, it was amazing.

I would give Zero stars to this place if I can! From the outside, this place looks great. However both food and drinks are horrible! I sat down to order a salad and wanted to pick a wine that goes with it. The waiter was too eager to just take an order for the wine even after I told him I wanted to pair my food and wine. I ordered their Caprese salad and white wine (Cabernet Sauvignon). I was taken aback when the food and drinks were served. The salad was served in paper plate and consisted of wilted lettuce, couple of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese pieces and just a drizzle of pesto and vinegar. No sign of cucumbers at all. Wine was warm and watery– tasteless. When I asked my waiter, he said this is all he had got and the only thing he could do is give me 10% off! After all that debacle and discount I ended up paying $ 24 (with $ 2 tips) for crappy food. I will never go back here again.

This place is horrible. Their food choices are a ripoff. Their «Hummas Plate» has less than a table spoon of Hummas! Their wines are old and sour… Their prices are too high…

Paper plates, plastic forks and knives… at least the wine was in a glass. Airport & wine bar don’t need to be oxymorons.

I know, I know… I’m reviewing an airport wine bar but I was pleasantly surprised so needed to give it a shout out. My colleague and I got the brie & fruit plate with some wine. While not extensive, they had a decent selection of wine so you’re bound to find something you can sip on.
The brie & fruit were served on paper plates with plastic forks and knives but what do you expect? It’s an airport. I liked that the bread was toasted and seemingly fresh. Our server Kristen was friendly and attentive.
Found my new spot at San Jose airport while I wait for delayed flights.

If you are looking for local wines … this place has it (4.5 stars) … but I can’t help but wonder the mark up (but is at airport — 3 stars for price). The food looked ok hence the 3 stars again. After looking at a few plates I decided to just stick to a glass of wine. HOWEVER, they did offer a healthy option hummus plate … but it did look thrown together. Despite this I was going to order something with a bit more protein, however the smoked salmon dip was out. The chicken panini a customer ordered did not look so appetizing and the the same with the salads. What a disaapointment! I think this place could do with more small plates or fun tapas to go with wine. I did order a 9 oz. chardonnay but had to go somewhere else for food. If you sit at the small 2 person table near entrance to left there is a place to charge your phone but no other viable outlets. I wish I could give another star because servers were polite kinds and did offer excellent suggestions but the food thing when you are drinking wine is important if you want to enjoy another glass. If you have already ate … maybe it may be the right place? The Cooper Garrard Estate Chardonnay was not to sweet, crisp and full bodied.

Bottom line is this place used to be great and now that new ownership has taken over it’s terrible. They don’t let you taste the wine you’re interested in. You must purchase a full glass. They rarely even have the wines listed on the menu as they are nearly always «out of that.» Their tv only plays three radio stations consisting of «teen pop,» «hip hop» and «Brittany spears.» No cable. Nothing else. Just music. This is Silicon Valley and this is no longer a Silicon Valley wine bar of class nor taste.

I bought two expensive california wines for taking them as souvenirs to Japan. Their (gift) packing needs to improve.

Still my favorite place to kill time before flight. Unfortunately my favorite Bartender (Jill) has been rotated to another bar at a different terminal. Staff is still friendly.

Gosh… this place just sucks big time. Bad service and bad selection of food. Period.
Find another place for your wine fix.

So came here with a co-​worker after both our flights had been delayed and it was fine. No superlatives. The place had a nice selection of wines. Both of us got a glass of white wine and split the cheese and fruit platter. The fruit platter seemed fairly pricey for what you got and the brie cheese was alright but the grapes were very sweet. It was a nice way to kill some time while waiting for our flight and the wine and food was good.
Perhaps I’m not used to airport prices, but I just thought the place was slightly pricey. Everything was good but I’m just not sure that I would necessary pay those prices out of my own pocket. But it’s a nice way to wait for your flight. Got nothing else to say.

Very nice wine selection with a very knowledgable and super-​helpful, vivacious girl behind the bar.
Since they also have spirits (they are not allowed to advertise that fact due to airport rules) I can’t see why I would stop by anywhere else for a quiet drink when in San Jose airport.
Putting this one under the heading of ‘quiet surprise’ and delighted to have found it.
Suggest you stop by for a glass of locally sourced wines — or ask for a gin and tonic if you need something stronger for your flight!

If your at the airport– as no doubt you are, Santa Cruz wine bar is a good start or nice ending to your time in Silicon Valley. BONUS! Because all the dudes here are SO utterly into their gadgets there is no risk of a bar-​fly hitting on you. I repeat– NO RISK of GETTING HIT ON,
Thank you, you can now go back to your iLife.

This wine bar has great local wine choices primarily from Saratoga to Santa Cruz. I got to taste a flight of 3 wines, 2 of which I was familiar with and one from a new winery I just stumbled upon that I made been meaning to visit.
The lovely woman bartender was attentive and patient and knew quite a bit about the wines being served. The food is served from the neighbor restaurant on paper plates. It is high quality, fresh, and reasonable.
Minus one star as I would like some more affordable choices in wine. Also, if you are traveling with your bud light boyfriend, send him to Joes and enjoy your wine. You have all that time on the plane together and the wine is worth a meal apart.
They check everyones ID here.

Santa Cruz Wine Bar was okay compared to other airport dining spots. They had nice places to sit along floor to ceiling windows, classy wooden décor, and outstanding service. We perused airport options before settling on this one. What initially sold us was that it was well-​lit, nearly empty, and had wine. It’s the service that made us satisfied customers.
Kudos to server Jill. We asked her for an outlet for M’s computer and she explained that there was only one and it was inside the service station stand. She said that we could open the cabinet door and use the plug in the lower back wall. Jill was also genuinely friendly when explaining the wine options to us. M got two glasses of wine and I got a flight. We also got a brie and fruit plate to share.
The wine was good and the brie and fruit plate was okay. Presentation was horrible. It was served on a paper plate with slices of brie fanned around half of the perimeter, apple pieces on the other half, and green grapes in the middle. It looked like something you would give a five year old as an after school snack.
It’s really a shame because that brie and fruit plate (and the price of it) is the reason why I’m not giving a higher rating. The ambiance and service are both top notch. The wine was good.