Mavrik Wine Bar

After a long day of travel we were exhausted, hungry and overwhelmed by so many options on Queen Street. So glad we opted to try Mavrik! The chicken taco + sangria special was just the thing. The perfect balance of flavors. The side dishes we tried were delicious as well, and the staff helpful and friendly.

I came here for drinks on a rainy Saturday night. The atmosphere is pretty cool in this tiny wine bar. We ordered the sangria which was pretty good. They make a point to support wineries that don’t sell at the LCBO which makes the wine list pretty small. We also had some appetizers: bruschetta, red pepper spread and hummus. The bruschetta and red pepper spread were served on little crostinis and very tasty. The hummus was a different story. It tasted like… well nothing, absolutely ZERO taste.
This is a chic place to have a fancy cocktail but nothing too too special

Came here on a Saturday night for some casual drinks. The place is pretty small with maybe five tables max (they’re all high tables btw so don’t bring your grandma here). I really liked the ambiance here — dark, cozy, and laid back. Service was good — one guy was serving everyone here and managed to do a good job. The wine menu was pretty small; their reasoning is that they serve wine that’s not available at the LCBO. Yeah, that’s great, but I wanted to get a few glasses of Riesling. The selection was limited, but pricing was reasonable. We ended up ordering pitcher of Mavrik’s Sangria, which was pretty tasty. Additionally, we ordered the ‘Sharing Bowl’ — Bruschetta, Red Pepper Tapenade, and Garlic Hummus. Let me warn you now, the GARLIC in the hummus is missing — skip it.
This place was a-​ok and I’m a-​ok coming back or not.
Good for: getting your drink on, meeting up with friends

I returned to Mavrik after a brief hiatus of being out of the country.
I always love the friendly and knowledgable staff and the casual, inviting atmosphere; you can always meet new friends or bring your own and enjoy yourself here.
I’m by no means a wine expert, but the bar staff is always helpful in finding me something that I will enjoy.
My favourite upgrade has been to the menu. I will miss the gourmet poutine, but the tacos (I’ve tried all 4 styles) are additive. They are flavourful, the right portions and come out a few minutes after you order.
If you haven’t tried Mavrik and you frequent Queen West, you don’t know what you have been missing!

Friendly server, chicken taco special and kale salad were delicious!
Some nice VQA wines on the list and a great experience. We’ll definitely be back.

This is a pretty chill after dinner place to enjoy nice wine and great company. It’s small and cozy and perfect for a girls’ night or to bring a date.

A bar that has bottles that you can’t get from the LCBO? Sign. Me. Up.
VIBE
It’s pretty basic in here. High top tables and lots of wood and mirrors fill the periphery of this small space. And the clientele? My friends! Ha. You will have to walk up to the chalkboard to read the menu. Noone will make fun of you, I promise. :)
WE DRANK
What a great selection of wines! (What else do you expect from a winebar?)
I was lucky to have come here with a wine writer and he recommended the full bodied red Colle Petrito Aglianico, from Minervino Murge, Italy 2008. I loved the smoothness of this wine and it went perfectly with the spicy apps that we had.
Wine writer friend likes more acidity in his wine so he had the Domaine Breton Trinchi, Cabernet Franc from Bourgeil, France. A bit spicier and much for my taste.
He also had the popular Villa Rubini which had a very peppery taste. He loved it but not my taste.
Melissa, our server/​bartender, knew our tastes and was able to help us out. She’s really knowledgeable and super friendly.
WE ATE
I was all ready to get these croquettes everyone was talking about to find out they were not on the menu that night. BOO URNS. They had a different menu on our night because the main chefs weren’t in town and it was Korean themed (and Korean is the usual influence on the regular menu). So we got the Ginger popped chicken and pork belly tacos with wasabi mayo and kimchi on the side. Delish Delish DELISH. I could have ordered two but I wanted something else so we ordered off of their staple cheese/​charcuterie list on the chalkboard. We got a hard cheese (Beemster) and a soft cheese (the Pierre Robert triple cream). Both were great and complemented the meat we had. And the Pierre Robert is DANGEROUS. Like I could eat at least 500 grams err 1000 grams of it in one sitting.
A note: it’s not cheap here! But we had two glasses each of wine and the above food items
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
These ladies are mavericks! (Zing).
A great date place, especially if you’re dating an alcohol snob. But lacks the pretentiousness of other bars. Me likey! A nice addition to the Queen West strip and alternative to Czehoski’s.

I didn’t have any food, so this review is only for wine and ambiance.
I love wine, so I was excited to check this place out. It’s tiny inside, but that goes with the territory on Queen West. There was a group celebrating a birthday the night I was there so it was super loud. The furnishings are all wood and metal, so it’s more clean than cozy inside.
The wine list… it’s pricey for wines by the glass. I wasn’t in love with my selection or my companion’s selection, but that’s down to my taste buds. It was nice, but I wouldn’t say that it has the ambiance to be anyone’s local hangout. It has more of an after work drinks kind of vibe.

I came back here recently for dinner with a wine-​loving friend from out of town. The food selection is not great, but the fish tacos (cod in a light batter) were delicious! You get 3 small tacos. It’s not really filling enough for a meal, but a good snack. The build-​your-​own charcuterie and cheese platter is a great idea. I think it was 3 items for $ 20 and there is a detailed list on the blackboard for you to choose from. The dessert options are quite uninspiring, so we went elsewhere for dessert (
). They also have wine flights, 3 choices for $ 15. I like the relaxed vibe and great wine list. I would be back for drinks and munchies, but probably would not come for dinner again.

Love the vibe and feel of this place.
It’s quite small so you might have problems with a group larger than four. But its perfect if you want a nice glass of wine with a friend. I dig it!

I was on the hunt for another place to drink, that wasn’t too beer-​focused. So, I was totally stoked to recall that Mavrik is just around the corner from so many of the liquor and beer places further East.
Cool selection of music played at just the right volume so you can hear your companions.
Big list of wines, with many being from Niagara– try the Flat Rock Estates!
The staff were really helpful at describing wines, and we ended up with a bottle to finish the night off.
Great for a first date– not quite dinner, not just drinks.
Great for girls to share a big bottle of bubbly.
Space is a little sparse. Food looks basic, but like Czehoski next door, isn’t quite balanced enough for a dinner, but perfect for after-​work drinks and appy’s.

Mavrik accommodated our group of 12 late-​night eaters with grace. The server was helpful and friendly, the food was fabulous!
We had some nice prosecco with meat and cheese chosen carefully by our server, some terrific poutine (ask for the shoestring fries to be cooked extra-​crispy). Best part about this place is that the servers can navigate the menu for you and enjoy doing it. Don’t even look — just tell them what you’re in the mood for and prepare to be pleasantly surprised.
*****Second visit a few days ago — one thing I didn’t guess to ask for last time I was here was a dirty martini. I mean, I’m in a wine bar! How could I possibly expect the most beautifully crafted dirty drink EVER??? New martini mecca exposed! The fifth star in this review is entirely based on this drink and two more just like it!

I have been on a wine bar kick since my Niagara adventure a few weeks ago. Mavrik Wine Bar has this hipster vibe to it. Quaint and cozy, my friends and I got a corner table.
Their wine selection is quite good, from various countries represented — Canada to Italy. Glasses are $ 7+. I was impressed with their reds.
Food — they have a small plate menu great for sharing or just light meal. We shared the flatbread and each had a plate of our own as we were hungry. I ordered the Lobster Roll which was delish, not overtly mayoy and descent chunks of Lobster. One of my friends ordered the pork belly confit, which she enjoyed and the other ordered the fish and chips, which was great. The best part of meal was the dessert, we shared their homemade donuts which came with ice cream. It was soo good, think gourmet Tim Hortons. Plates varied from $ 9 – 14.
I love the vibe at this place, I can definitely see myself coming back and hanging out with friends for an evening out.

Came here with a few Unilocalers for Jen K’s 1 zillionth review party.
They gave us a few comped appetizers. Lobster spread on crackers, beef tartar, some fancy poutine among a few others. The snacks were tasty, but nothing to remember. I could have made the same at home.
Their saving grace is their decent wine selection for such a small place. It holds maybe 30 people. Also the bar staff were pretty friendly and quick on the ball.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here but if you are looking for somewhere to have a few drinks in an open faced bar, then you should be content with this place.

Came here for the Jennifer K. CMYE.
The food was really good. All of the appetizers were delicious. I wish I had had time to order a meal.
The wine selection is solid. I’m not a wine snob by any means but I thought they have a good selection for both price and flavours/​types. For $ 7+ I doubt you’ll have trouble finding something you like.

Came here for a celebration with fellow Unilocalers.
Was surprised the wine menu wasn’t a bit more extensive (for a wine bar) but I did appreciate that the wine selection at least had a varied price range with glasses starting from $ 7 and bottles from $ 30.
They made good mojitos too!
The food they served us was ok, nothing special but most definitely they were appropriate items to pair with wine. The beef tartar was quite nice; the gravlox was not — too bland and the crackers it was served on had turned soggy from sitting too long.
Service was OK, I think they were scrambling a little to serve our group of 15 or so. They definitely did not have time to give me any info about the wines I was drinking and at one point Rafi & I ordered a dessert wine by accident and the server didn’t bother telling us this until he had poured it. Blerghh

Cool little venue, great snacks, good drinks & attentive staff!
It was a great celebratory evening & much thanks to Vivek, Jen K & people at Mavrik Wine Bar for this nice event!
Always lookin forward to more fun times!

Was here for a Unilocal event and had a great time. The food selection was decent; lamb, flat bread, poutine and Ceasar among others. Will I come back yes? Definitely!
The server was friendly and attentive. Seating is limited so I can see that it can get packed with over 40 people. The ambience is awesome.
Street parking on Queen Street but remember, don’t drink and drive :).

This review is based on a CMYE: Jennifer K Spectular… It is no way reflect the usual atmosphere and offerings of Marvike Wine Bar.
Thanks for Vivek organizing it! And for Mavrik Wine Bar to have the whole place exclusively for us Unilocalers to hang out!
Great food to snack on!
Free finger food like:
— lobster roll
— deep fried shrimps
— goat cheese flatbread
— pâté
— smoked salmon
Great and awesome services from the staffs!
I love how intimate and cozy the place is so I can really mingle around and got to talk to everyone!
Love you all!
I am looking forward to have another event in my honour when I have 5000 reviews and 20,000 photos? Maybe? one day?!

Wines intimidate me as much as lion, tigers, and bears; that is to say, a lot. My palate for wine is as refined as oil from the oil sands; that is, not at all. (It’s analogy day!) Add in the pretentiousness that sometimes comes with wine tastings, airings, and you have me running the opposite way when I hear «wine».
Enter Mavrik wine bar. This little wine bar on Queen west opened up fairly recently and is as cozy as your favorite pajamas (ok, i’ll stop). It’s a small space, but one that makes for an intimate, friendly atmosphere. No dress code, pleasant servers, friendly owners, no pretentiousness, just (mostly) wine.
As the owner explained to me, they carry «artisinal» vintages of wine, which is something along the lines of micro brewed beer, or wines made in smaller batches. They have about 30 different wines and the owners and servers took the time to help me understand what the heck I was drinking. Not to say I’m the Einstein of wine now, but I think it did help, at least now I’m like the young apprentice (is that an analogy?)
The friendliness and atmosphere take away some of the intimidation of wine tasting and lets you have some fun without looking like an idiot. All in all, it’s a great spot for both wine lovers and those less wine-​refined individuals as me, and a nice meet up spot for friends to hang out (face it, once you hit your late 20s, sports and dive bars just can’t be an every-​outting thing anymore. Dive bars get old like… oh wait, I said I’d stop).
The best part is, if I give up on wine while my friends keep on trying new ones, i can always opt for a beer :)