Vin Rouge

02/15/2008 Posted by micahm

My boyfriend and I went to Vin Rouge for Valentines Day. It was amazing. I had lamb shank, which was perfectly cooked. He had the sea bass which was also delicious.Our server was great too. He was very knowledgeable and attentive without being overbearing. Fantastic. Can't wait to go back!

Pros: food, ambience, service

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

01/28/2008 Posted by euncapher

Upon the recommendation of friends, four of us ventured to Vin Rouge this past Sunday for brunch. I've never judged a restaurant by location or decor, since usually the best food comes out of the most interesting establishments and grand and gorgeous establishments are needed in order to serve overly expensive bland food (An in Cary for example). Anyway, Vin Rouge has such a pricey dinner menu that we decided upon brunch. I got the ham and gruyere omelette that came with pommes frites (I guess if it's french food, you don't call them french fries), and a small green salad. The dressing on the salad was excellent! The fries were the best of the best as far as fries go. I'm not usually a big fan of fries, but those were yummy. The gruyere was excellently melted throughout my omelette! Daryl got the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and capers and loved it. Joel and Amber both got the Eggs Benedict and said it was great! I would definitely go back. The service was average, but the bread was exceptional!

Pros: Great brunch menu and prices! Great pommes frites!

Cons: Cramped quarters for dining

11/04/2007 Posted by rossmck

We've been to VR many times over the years. Tonight was typical. We were in need of a nice treat for each other, it was a Sunday night, and not many places are open. VR was, so I made a reservation. We were seated immediately, our service was really superb (one of those waiters who not only knows his stuff about the food and wine, but conveys it well, AND provided excellent service). I had a duck confit salad that could practically have been the entree. It was excellent. And so was the lamb stew over polenta (I'm not sure exactly what they labeled the entree - it was a special). My wife had squash soup and calf's liver. I wouldn't touch the latter, but she said it was very well done ("Like my mother used to make."). The wine list is superb. Our creme brulee and Rieussec sauterne was a perfect pairing. In short, a memorable meal with excellent service. It's a bit noisy, more bistro than refined, and my rating reflects my perception that they accomplish what they were trying for. We'll be back.

Pros: Great bistro food. Nice wine list. Excellent service.

Cons: Can be crowded. More fun when outside available.

11/03/2007 Posted by automechaniker

I have eaten at Vin Rouge a number of time and have always been pleased with the total dining experience. The outdoor patio is very romantic in the cool late summer evenings. Last night we had a large party of ten for my birthday. I was impressed with our server's knowledge of the wine list and attentiveness to the whole table. We had two people join us at the end of our entrees but the staff got them food very quickly. The portion size of the entree are perfect. The only downside to the evening was the tent that was set up in the patio. The atmosphere was nice but it was chilly and the heat they had going wasn't quite enough. Keep this place in mind if your looking for a special place to celebrate.

Pros: Atmosphere, service, food

Cons: parking, temperature in tent

06/24/2007 Posted by dwe1978

Warning: if you are on a diet, you should skip this place. Even our waiter told us that all of the food is "rich." It's also delicious. While it's not the cheapest restaurant in the world, for the food and service, it's not too bad. Plus, restaurant dot com has discounts to it. I had the hanger steak, one of three "steak frites" which mine had a blue cheese sauce. The steak was tender and delicious. The fries, while great, were a little too salty. I notice that at the restaurants owned by the same person, he always puts too much salt on the food. My date had the pork chops which were huge. She liked them as well. We shared chocolate mousse for dessert which was tasty. My only complaint is that they could have had a few more wines by the glass. But the ones each of us had were very good. I highly recommend this place.

Pros: Excellent food

Cons: Short list of wines by the glass

04/24/2007 Posted by roninpL

This restaurant is not out there trying too hard to impress some foodies. It is what it is...consistent French bistro fare. This is one of the places on my list whenever I can take my clients out. The duck confit and steak frites are true to the style. To the reviewer who mentioned no sighting of French person working in the restaurant. Well, good luck looking for one, chances are slim. Most of the great "French" cooks in NYC and other metropolitan ciites are from Pueblo, Mexico or other part of Latin America.

Pros: Unpretentious food

Cons: Beer list

03/07/2007 Posted by ieatwine

I tried Vin Rouge for the first time the other night and was blown away. As soon as we walked in it just felt good. The aromas coming from the open kitchen were outstanding, the place was hopping and I saw the most delicious looking giant bowl of chocolate mousse wiz by me by a hurried server. We were immediately taken to our table in the cutest little dining room I've seen. After looking at the menu and listening to the specials, we decided on mussels for our appetizer (we only ordered one because I knew we had to get that mousse for dessert) and for entrees I had the salmon and my date ordered the new york strip. The mussels were served in the coolest serving vessel I have ever seen. It was specially designed for mussels and made getting to the broth so easy. The broth, by the way, was certainly the best I've ever had but it was a little richer than I expected. We shared a glass of muscadet from 1995. I thiught the server must be wrong but I ordered it anyway and later talked to the manager who explained that it was the first day they had this wine and wanted to see what people thought about it. It was a great match for the mussels. With our entrees we shared a bottle of red burgundy from beaune. I had never had a wine from that area but I'm now a big fan. It went perfectly with my salmon with lentils and with the steak too. The steak came with awesome french fries and a butter sauce. We did have that mousse for dessert and I can't stopp thinking about it. It was so chocolatey and rich and not too sweet. I did't have wine with it but there seemed to be a nice list of dessert wines to choose from.

02/19/2007 Posted by michaelfe

My wife and I went to Vin Rouge for our Valentine Day dinner (actually, 3 days after) last Saturday. My wife was a bit concerned about the service after reading the reviews, however, decided to give it a try. Neither of us regret our visit. The table setting was nice, the waiting staff was very attentive and the waiting time for the ordered food was appropriate. While we were a bit disappointed with their duck confit (it was too salty outside and kind of disappointing inside), the rest of the dishes were very good. The oysters were prepared in a very tasty sauce, escargot was just right and the calf liver was simply outstanding. Also, the place does not charge as much as other place in Triangle that serve French food. We can definitely recommend this place to others.

Pros: Food, service, parking, ambience

Cons: duck confit

12/15/2006 Posted by mongah

I went to the restaurant with two other friends. From the moment we sat down until the moment we got up to leave the server never acknowledged that I was also part of our party. Our server never once made eye contact or looked at me. I approached him afterwards to say I thought he was rude (this is very unusual of me). I also spoke with the manager...and basically nothing was done to make our experience better. The manager seemed like he was trying, but was rather baffled and even admitted that he knows what to do witht he food is bad, but not when the service isn't what we expected. If you want good service, then I recommend somewhere else.

12/10/2006 Posted by go27560

After reading the rave reviews of Vin Rouge in TriangleCitySearch, we decided to head there for dinner on a Saturday night. Our first impression was one of disappointment. The place is cheaply decorated and the tables are crammed against each other. We ended up sitting at a table very close to the open kitchen and the front door, just a few inches from the couple at the nearest table. So much for the romance factor... We did request another table and even though the hostess said she would get back to us on that, she never did, even to say that it was not possible. The food itself was disappointing. I had a "steak-frites", a safe bet usually, pepper steak and French fries. The steak was small and the meat was not of great quality. I actually had a better steak-frites in the cafeteria of the Paris Airport for half the price. My friend ordered a grilled tuna dish, which was, well just that, dry, very little sauce and mashed potatoes as a side dish. We could have had a better evening barbecuing steaks and tuna on our back porch... The wine list is nice but the vintages are grossly marked up. And by the way, there isn't a single French person among the staff (including the cook). To us, the Vin Rouge experience was the equivalent of a tourist trap, overrrated and overpriced. Now, we know why it wasn't hard to get a reservation on a Saturday night in such a "hot spot". We do not recommend this restaurant, especially if you are planning a romantic evening.