Vertical Wine Bistro

Great decor and interesting, tasty food and wine choices. Such a trendy place just off the beaten path of Old Town. Great place for a romantic date, or a mini-girls' night out.

Pros: Trendy, tasty

Cons: Expensive

Posted 09/19/09

This is a coolplace for Pasadena and I do enjoy the wine flights. Its a little pricey but the staff is knowledgeable! I have never tried the food but they do have wine/ Food pairings.

Pros: Wine flight selection,Staff very friendly

Cons: A little pricey

Posted 05/03/09

I rarely write reviews but felt compelled to this time. The portions at this place are almost laughable. The strip steak comes serviced on a small square plate about 5" x 5". That is about $18. For about the same price you can get a red snapper cut in small slivers for the same price. The "wine tasting" is not what you expect. The cheapest flight is $15 for only three-2 oz. servings. I thought it was a great idea to wine taste while eating but it is not feasible. With the portion sizes, it is right out of the movie "L.A. Story" (if you remember that!). Two of our guests had to buy more food at a pool hall we stopped only an hour later because they were so hungry. On top of that the drinks in the bar until 7 p.m. are half the price they are at the table. We had to casually order there and bring it to the table to avoid paying double. However, the dichotomy of this place is that the service is great at this place, one of the best I have seen. We had a reservation at 6:30 and the rest of our party didn't get there until 50 minutes later while we waited and ordered only one appetizer, our waiter was more than kinda to let us hold up his table. He overheard there was a birthday and brought us a complimentary dessert. I'd say if the wine tasting was a lot cheeper it would be worth it to come and do that but in light of that, I would skip this place as you are not going to be to impressed. Happy hour though would be a better alternative as the ambiance is quite nice.

Pros: Great Service

Cons: Very small portion sizes

Posted 03/07/09

I love Vertical!!! I was there last Friday for my birthday. We were a party of 10 but the server made everyone of us feel at home. I particularly love their little wine booklet with 10+ different flights and a wide selection of wine by the glass. You can read about the wines in the different flights and you can also take down notes in the empty spaces they provide. I guess you can take the booklet home and I did! I didn't expect much foodwise but they turned out to be good too! I had the pan seared scallops with an asian flair and it was pretty good. My friends seemed to like their duck confit and pulled pork too. We had a really great time and I will definitely come again!

Pros: Wine list, food and service :)

Cons: Hidden location.

Posted 10/02/08

Just back from dining here. Had the prix-fix menu $28 each. Wife had the salad and steak, I had the grill cheese and salmon. Never thought I would have grill cheese for dinner but I did(this is obviously not your normal grill cheese), nice strong cheese on a raisin bread(very good) the salmon was tender and not dry. My wife liked the salad and steak. Took our own wine ($20 corkage fee) so can't comment on the wine list but they did have a nice variety which was reasonably priced. With an appetizer we ordered and two capaccinos total bill was $101...Would return with another couple....

Posted 06/09/08

I tried this place for the first time today for a nice Friday lunch. I understand they only recently started serving lunch so they weren't crowded, but from my experience they should be! I suspect the decor of the restaurant was designed with evenings in mind, but it was still quite congenial with the sunlight streaming in the tall windows down one side of the room. The service was perfect--attentive and very friendly without being obtrusive. I was dining alone with a book and have sometimes found in that case that I will be either abandoned or rushed, but the waitress had just the right balance of timing. The wine she recommended went very well with my food, but the main reason I'll be back was the food itself. I had a goat cheese and pear salad, the lobster club sandwich, and an apple galette. It was all delicious, especially the lobster sandwich, which isn't on their dinner menu. The prices were comparable to the other "fancy lunch" places I've tried in Old Pasadena, but the food was significantly tastier and more interesting. I intend to try them for dinner in the future, but I definitely suggest trying them for lunch.

Pros: Great service, very tasty food, attractive space, portions good for trying several things

Cons: No outdoor seating, portions not for huge eaters

Posted 05/18/08

This is a beautiful place. The portions are indeed good for the small plates that they serve. The wine list is one of the best in Pasadena minus the dinning room at the former Ritz. Its nice to see this sort of intimate dinning experence that doesn't turn into a club after a certain time.

My wine was a tad bit off and the server was wonderful about it. You can't say enough about a good attitude.

Thumbs up by all in my party

Pros: Ambience and Service

Cons: Parking

Posted 04/08/08

I went here with a date for wine and appetizers; I haven't yet tried any of their entrees. Their hostesses were friendly and accomodating. Their front bar area features comfy couch-style seating and candles. The decor reminded me of an upscale loft -- exposed brick, wood beams, iron supports, etc., with darker earth tones everywhere. They have a great wine selection, but the pinot noir I tried was a little tart for my taste. (Granted, it was their cheapest pinot noir). Overall, it was relaxing and laid-back; not too noisy or crowded.

Pros: Friendly and attentive staff, great decor and ambiance, nice variety of wines and appetizers

Cons: High prices

Posted 10/04/07

I've been here a few times and I love it. It's the only other wine bar I know of in Pasadena. This place has more seats and much better selecion of food than the other place, but I would still recommend both. It' nice to have an alternate choice of where to go by changing location every now and then.

Pros: Wine, Food, Ambience, Location, Valet

Cons: Price

Posted 08/19/07

I took a valued client here for dinner and had a marvelous experience! The food portions are perfect. We had a very informative waiter who made excellent suggestions. The polenta is the BEST I have ever had as well as the skirt steak. The ambience is a perfect balance of "New York City" meets cozy chic. The only problem is getting a reservation here!

Posted 03/27/07

I went here on Feb 18th and had a really fabulous time with a group of friends of mine. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable when it came to choosing wine. Overall, we had great food and drink and we were treated like they wanted us to come back.

Posted 02/18/07

I went here on Feb 18th and had a really fabulous time with a group of friends of mine. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable when it came to choosing wine. Overall, we had great food and drink and we were treated like they wanted us to come back.

Posted 02/18/07

My brother and I stopped by the place because we saw how cool it looked from the outside. The menu didn't look too bad and the wine selection sounded great. When we got up to the hostess area we were standing there waiting for quite a while. Then a middle age caucasian lady (whom I presumed was the hostess) walked up to us and asked if we had reservation. We said no and she proceeded to say that the wait would be half an hour. We thought about having dinner at the bar but decided to dine in the dinning room. In less than a minute, she went from quoting us HALF an HOUR to AN HOUR wait. She then proceeded to immediately seat a couple who came in after us. Before she sat them at their table, she did tell me that I couldn't take the bifold menu sitting in the basket. Nonetheless, what would've turned out to be a nice dinner at a cool looking place turned into an experience of poor service and arrogant behavior from the hostess. If that's the image this restaurant wants to portray then they have the right person working for them.

Pros: Wine selection

Cons: Hostess service

Posted 01/30/07

I called to make a reservation at 8pm. The hostess was gracious to put my name down on the list. Upon arrival we sat immediately. (half the tables were filled.) They had a elaborate list of sixteen different flights of wines. (pinot noir, cabernet, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and more)

We ordered the Duck confit, day pulled pork, acorn squash, jumbo prawns, and fries. Prawns, decorated with pine nuts and bell peppers was delectable. The acorn squash was soft, and deliciously sweet. The day pulled pork accompanied by prunes and brie was dry but palatable. The duck confit, mixed with a mesh of chestnuts, and ??? was moist and tender. I tried the California Big Pinot Noir flight of three wines for $24. The second and last ones were everlasting. Will go again. Superb for Pasadena area.

Posted 01/18/07

I went there a couple of times now, once sitting at the dining room and once at the bar area.
Their wine tasting menu changes constantly, so you can come back again and again. The decoration is perfect if you are looking for something modern and tastful. It is intimate and versatile, from a drink after work to a romantic dinner for two. You get the same menu in both areas, I believe.

But because of the small plates and wine tasting, the bill will add up quickly. I highly recommend the scallops, the grill cheese sandwhich and the duck confit.

Pros: ambience, level of food and drink selections

Posted 01/04/07