Cuvée 103 Bistro

Here’s what I loved about Cuvee 103 Bistro: the food is very fresh — like you were cooking at home. I try to eat clean and fresh, so eating out can be challenging, but the portion sizes and freshness of the food here was very much appreciated! I had the fish of the day, which was salmon, with fresh green beans and «mushroom risotto» (in quotes because it was really not creamy at all like you would expect from risotto; it was more like regular rice with mushrooms) and it was very tasty. The lobster grilled cheese appetizer was really good too — nice size for sharing and have just a couple bites.
However, I’m only giving 3 stars because it’s overpriced, especially the per-​glass wines. $ 15 for a 6 oz pour of La Crema pinor noir, when it is $ 11 for a glass other places (BJ’s Restaurant and Clear Sky Draught Haus to name just two) is very steep in my opinion. The lobster grilled cheese was $ 14 for 3 small pieces — which is fine but then the owner? manager? made a comment that he should raise the price to keep people from getting full on it and then not ordering entrees. I thought this was a very odd comment since the appetizer size was actually quite fine and gave us each a couple bites without filling us up — we had plenty of room for our appetizers still. If I had to pay MORE than $ 14 for the size of the portion we received it would be obscenely priced.
I also did not like that on a Monday they were out of half of their menu. Their menu is limited and they were out of chicken, duck, and the ribeye (which essentially limited their entrée menu to 4 choices: filet, pork chop, fish of the day, and a vegetarian pasta).

Had dinner here recently with a friend. The food was EXCELLENT! I loved the menu and everything on it, which made it quite difficult to decide what to eat. The wine menu is AMAZING and one of the best I have seen anywhere. If you’re a foodie and a wine lover, you’re going to love Cuveé 103 and the variety of choices. I will definitely be back again and plan to make this place a regular monthly stop to satisfy my gastronomic palate!

Horrible service, waited an hour and food still wasn’t ready, had to go to a play and didn’t get our meal

Just discovered this gem! It’s Friday night, the food is delicious, the service is wonderful and there is live music! ORDER THE LAMB SHANK!!! It was flavorful but not greasy or gamey. The calamari was excellent, fresh and perfect. The silverware and glassware were sparkling clean. Highly recommend this wonderful restaurant. Good experience.

We’ve gone in a few times for apps and drinks, but this week had dinner (and apps and drinks). The food is amazing. I had the gnocchi with shredded chicken — amazing. My friends had specials: filet and lobster for $ 30 is a steal; the short ribs special was also amazing. We always enjoy the meat and cheese board.
While the food can be a tad pricey, it’s worth it for a splurge. Half-​price wine Wednesdays makes up for it and the service is great. It can be a little quiet on weekdays, which we actually prefer.

4.5 but if it was a choice between 4 or 5 I would give it the 5. The entrée’s and apps all come out well timed and delicious. Check in for the free glass of wine! Very nice attentive staff with good attention to detail.

Life Altering Cuisine!!! From atmosphere to extremely pleasant service with such delicate care and attention to detail. Took a small town girl from Maine who’s never enjoyed lobster or seafood of any kind her entire life and made a converted believer out of her. Surf & turf option from the Valentines Day menu was most appropriate. Couldn’t get her to stop talking about that lobster tail.

Just had an amazing experience at a local restaurant! First and foremost, I need to say that everything here is made FRESH. This is incredibly important in the age of microwave food from competing wine bars.
The wine menu is extensive and if you need some assistance, the friendly owners have an extensive background!
The menu is a little pricer than an Applebee’s, but what do you expect when you go local? Love the ambiance, love the service, and with the new menu evolving, I am sure I will continue to love the food!

New Year’s Eve dinner. Prix fixe $ 75. Usually service and food not do great on holidays in restaurants, but not here.
Everything was fabulous from the pace of the service (don’t want to hurry a 6 course meal) to the attentiveness (filling water glasses) and especially the food.
We had lobster bisque or kale&bean soup, caprese salads, apps of scallops or ravioli, surf&turf or salmon Wellington, desserts and a glass of prosecco along with the smooth sounds of sax/​clarinet/​flute player who also sang the standards. Not too loud tho.
Will go back. In a strip mall. Don’t let that stop you.

A hidden gem! Although I haven’t been in the Clearwater area much lately, I had never heard of this place, but I’m so glad my family and I found it. We were looking for somewhere to go for a nice dinner New Year’s Eve and discovered their Prix Fixe menu in a local listing.
Granted, it was a different menu than usual, but the food was fantastic and they even had some vegetarian options which you don’t often see on a holiday menu like that (vegetable risotto was satisfying and yummy!) I also couldn’t resist the cheese plate intermezzo course… perfectly portioned so I didn’t feel disgustingly full, but pleasantly satiated even after a 6 course feast. The way you should feel when dining in a fine establishment. Great wine menu as well.
The service was excellent and they decorated nicely for New Years. There was even a jazz saxophonist and singer to add to the ambience. A great place for fine dining or a date night. Would love to bring my boyfriend back here!

Saturday night dinner, nicely decorated and the food was was very good freshly made. We had the duck spring rolls, worth ordering again, and the lamb chop with sweet potatoes and the the pork chop with risotto which were both extremely tasty. That’s about the extent of the good news. Very limited menu selections and whatever main courses that were available were too high in price. Also the service was extremely slow, only 2 servers for a Saturday night, not good. Overall review only a 2 ½ rounding up because I’m being nice.

We went for a birthday celebration with friends and family, and everything was top notch, from atmosphere, service, food, and a visit and conversation with the owner. I also got my free glass of wine with Unilocal check in with a smile. Loved the duck confit, salmon, and pork belly and lamb slider appetizers, all reasonably priced. I definitely would go back, and highly recommend.

My husband & I visited Clearwater Beach recently. We ended up at Cuvée 103 after taking one look at & promptly leaving a beachside seafood restaurant full of screaming children at 10 p.m. Side note: If it can’t function in public, leave it at home! And, don’t be selfish & entitled enough to EVER bring it to a place like this! I’m talking to YOU, previous Cuvée reviewer who actually took your baby to WINE BAR then bitched about how YOU were treated, when the hostess shouldn’t have even let you in the door!
But I digress.
My husband & I were looking for something more sophisticated in both food & ambiance & Cuvée hit that spot in spades.
We arrived around 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday, in time to order supper just before the kitchen closed at 11, but too late for live music, which was great because we live in New Orleans & have more live music than we can stand. At this point, unless it’s The Stones, I don’t care.
In any event, I ordered a glass of Moscato (usually a dessert wine, but I loves me some sweet wine) & my husband ordered a local oatmeal brown ale, Cigar City Brewing Co.‘s Maduro. The Moscato was very good, though, above $ 15 a bottle, they all taste the same. However, one sip of that Maduro & I ordered one for myself. In fact, it was so good that on another night in FL, we dined at Cigar City’s Brewpub & are traveling by car from New Orleans to Mobile, AL this weekend because that’s the closest we can buy Maduro. Did I mention this stuff was good? It’s amazeballs good! But I digress.
Just as good as the Maduro was Cuvée’s food! I ordered the Heirloom Caprese, the Summer Corn Bisque, & the Flourless Chocolate. Each dish was divine! The tomatoes, basil & mozzarella in the Caprese were super fresh & bursting with flavor, while the balsamic glaze was in fact a glaze rather than the obligatory sprinkling of olive oil & balsamic in a substandard caprese. The glaze was also the perfect flavor & consistency, & I didn’t need to bomb the plate with salt to compensate for a sour balsamic. As for the incredibly & unbelievably delicious Bisque, my husband & I spent most of the meal trying to figure out how a corn soup could taste simultaneously sweet, creamy, fresh & light. Finally, the chocolate dessert was rich & dense, complimented by fresh strawberries & a berry glaze.
My husband ordered the Grilled Caesar, the Lobster Grilled Cheese & a crab or lobster & cheese spring roll special, the name of which I don’t recall. I don’t do melted cheese, so I have no idea how his hot dishes tasted, but he raved about them. I did taste the Caesar however, & as someone who generally dislikes romaine lettuce, it was still one of the best salads I’ve ever tasted. The wedge of lettuce had a slight smokey flavor & was warm from the grill, which elevated it far above your standard caesar salad.
Other pros included friendly & attentive service from both our server & a gentleman whose title I didn’t get, modern yet serene décor, & even the scent of eucalyptus (one of my favorite smells) from a dried floral arrangement near the front door.
Although I enjoyed everything about our meal, the food stole the show! Cuvée 103 is now one of my must-​dos whenever I’m in the Tampa area & I can’t recommend it enough. And, to Cuvée 103’s owners, I would further recommend a strictly enforced child-​free policy.

Great wine bar and restaurant! Amazing wine selection. I had the BBQ pork belly as a starter which was very flavorful. The heirloom caprese salad was fresh and the mozzarella melted in your mouth. And the cornbread crab cake entrée was fantastic Wonderful texture, sauce and cooked to perfection. Our companions and the salted Carmel cheesecake for dessert and couldn’t stop raving about it. Professional and helpful service and the owners are very gracious hosts. Highly recommended if you’re in the area. They offer Rombauer Chardonnay by the glass. It’s expensive but the most buttery and delicious Chardonnay ever and hard to find by the glass.

My first visit to Cuvee 103 was the week of the soft opening I was craving a glass of wine but I didn’t want to buy a bottle. I wanted to hang with friends and have a drink. I stumbledupon Cuvee by accident and fell in love. The night we landed at Cuvee the restaurant was empty to say the least maybe two other couples. My friend and I decided to have a glass of wine Jackie came over and asked what would I like I said surprise me. She asked me a couple questions and picked out a perfect glass of wine. As the night progressed we started to talk about the food they were going to start serving and my mouth watered with anticipation. The next week I took my husband and friend and we ordered dinner Oh glorious dinner. The food was amazing the music on point the atmosphere delightful and the staff accommodating to my dietary needs. I’ve been back several times to always be greeted with a smile and to always leave with a full happy stomach. This is a great date night place or a place to hang with the girls.

Cuvee 103 Wine Bistro, Clearwater, Florida
This upscale wine bistro is one of a kind, tucked in the Safety Harbor
Hub and has a Clearwater address. They received the ‘best wine bar’ 2015 award given by Tampa Bay Magazine and they really deserve it.
It is a very cozy restaurant with casual sophistication, serving all fresh food blends made by Chef Jason. They have an extensive wine list of 150 bottles of wine from different regions of the world. If you need help choosing a wine, Chief Wine Officer, Jacquie Mann, who is WSET Level 1 Certified and Todd York, their fine wine and craft beer aficionado, who is also WSET Level 3 Certified, will help you. Once a month they host a special wine or craft beer dinner where you can sample wines or craft beers of a certain region of the world or by a certain winemaker paired perfectly.
I hosted a foodie event recently and we had a wonderful evening of fine wine, eclectic atmosphere, delicious cuisine and fabulous live music.
The menu is a combination of eclectic tastes from Lobster Grilled Cheese
(A Cuvee 103 original… and delicious) to Duck Confit with a nice selection of seafood, pork and steak entrees. All the entrees are delicately seasoned and cooked to perfection.
Live Jazz Thursday through Saturday
Private events
Happy Hour — Mon — Fri 5pm to 7pm
$ 4 House Pours (Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon) and $ 5 small plates
Free Tasting Tuesday
Wednesday 50% off all bottles of wine with purchase of Entrée
Closed Sundays
Reservations suggested
Certificate of Excellence 2015 Winner

Quaint little bistro with very friendly staff. Large variety of wines available and while the menu is on the small side everything we had was delicious.
The duck confit spring rolls and fried goat cheese were definitely a favorite.

A lovely little place! Great food and extremely hospitable staff. The owners are wonderful people and the bartender is extremely knowledgeable! They also have live dinner-​music, good band too!
Definitely recommend making this place a destination for food & drinks!

Hailing from Boca Raton, we visited Cuvee 103 on a Saturday evening. Early before the dinner rush we were greeted by a friendly staff who seemed eager to serve us.
Arriving well before most other diners and about 20min before the musical duo performed on stage, we were in no particular rush and decided to relax and see how the evening would play out.
The Wife and I are light eaters but since we were with a small group of people and had some time to savor and digest, we were able to sample a number of appetizers and wines.
This is where, in my opinion, Cuvee shines brightest.
I highly recommend dining here with other people so you can sample more items than you would as a couple.
The appetizers were prepared and plated in a way that made them easy to share… too easy, I should have grabbed another slice of the lobster grilled cheese!
The apps were paired nicely with wine selections suggested by the knowledgeable staff. I’m not a wine drinker but all I heard from my table companions was «Oooh, aahh, and yumm!» at each wine they sampled.
The bartender noticed I wasn’t drinking wine and asked if I’d like a beer. His suggestion was a Cigar City Jai Alai IPA, which is brewed in Tampa FL. This IPA is dark, hoppy with a peppery note and sweet finish. A perfect recommendation to awaken my taste buds to the food arriving to the table.
Among the apps I enjoyed:
Cheese & Charcuterie — This plate arrived first and looked like it was arranged in an art studio to be captured on canvas. But it was only temporary beauty as we unbashfully dismantled the cured meats and cheeses. I was a happy camper enjoying this with my IPA and could have made a meal from this alone, but I was wise to carry on to the next plate.
Lobster Grilled Cheese — As I already mentioned, I just couldn’t get enough. Cheddar cheese, sourdough bread, remoullade and lobster. A fairly straight forward presentation that needs no more than described.
Fried Goat Cheese — Panko crusted balls of warm spreadable tangy goat cheese. I was enjoying this on the crusty bread from the charcuterie plate.
Grilled Caesar — Grilled?, Why yes… grilling brings out that anchovy/​parmesan tangyness.
Filipino Style Pork Belly — Marinated pork (I learned what Duroc pork is) cut into manageable cubes, an Asian glaze with a little kick. Something I could really sink my teeth into. I eat ‘mostly’ vegeterian but this got me hungry for more meat, so I’m ready to order my main course.
Meanwhile the dining room is filling up and the jazz/​blues duo has taken the stage and playing soft, ambient music. The room is now ¾ full yet our service never waned from when we first arrived.
Dinner:
Temporarily satisfied, I was at a loss to decided which direction to go from here. Our waiter Peter patiently described the selections I inquired about and since I was in the mood for red meat, landed on the Hanger steak. «Excellent choice», says Peter. You know you’ve made a good choice when the waiter shows how much they enjoy the dish.
Hanger Steak — In the past, I learned, this was called Butcher’s Steak because butchers would keep this cut for themselves. Similar to a flank steak, this was sliced across the grain and served as leafed medallions with a peppercorn sauce lightly drizzled. Au gratin potato was thinly sliced with a light sauce and crispy edges. The steamed asparagus were large yet tender, bright green with some snap left and juicy.
Quite full and 2.5 beers later I’m done… but wait, the Wife’s chicken looks good and she wants me to try so…
Sous Vide Chicken — VERY crispy skin yet still moist and tender meat. The risotto and spinach sides seem like an obvious paring because they simply are a great accompaniment.
OK, now I’m really done… At least until our next visit which won’t come soon enough!

Classy date night with an extensive wine list as well as some great wine specials. Live music, elegant atmosphere, friendly service. Not rushed at all, took our time with a bottle of wine and an appetizer — great location — time away from the kids — a place you can get dressed up for — nice full menu — lots to choose from. Will return and try more of the wonderful menu!

Pleasantly surprised, that’s exactly what can be said about our entire experience last night. We enjoyed a Living Social deal which promised a 4 course chef’s menu and Curvee did not disappoint!
Our server, Ace, is eccentric, polished and obviously wants to ensure his customers have a wonderful experience (the glass of prosecco helped ease us into a wonderful evening). We shared the spinach salad with bacon, gorgonzola, strawberries and a light poppyseed dressing — good to go indeed. Next up we absolutely crushed the seared pork belly. We both opted for the filet (which was pleasantly available on the chef’s menu) and was executed very well with perfect risotto, wild mushrooms and perfectly blanched asparagus spears.
We split the crème brûlée which Ace mentioned was toasted with turbinado sugar to generate a more marshmallow flavor profile. I thought the man was on something but after the first bite I says ‘I want s’more of that’! Excellent course pacing through the evening and generous portions meant smiles all around.
John and Debbie, the owners, were most gracious and take obvious and personal attention to the diners and their experience.

I really wanted to like this place more and I really feel as though it’s a solid 3.5 stars, but I’m docking them and knocking it down to 3 stars due to the way we were treated at the door.
We arrived at 6pm on a Saturday night-​well before the «rush». We had our sleeping baby in tow (mind you she didn’t make a peep the entire time we were there). I worked in the restaurant industry all through high school and college, so I’m very cognizant of proper restaurant etiquette and would never bring a fussy baby out to dinner. The hostess asked if we had a reservation and I said no. There was a decent crowd but still plenty of seats available. She said «oh» and made us feel as though we weren’t welcomed. She then tried to seat us at a high top that was for 2 people. Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that a baby that’s in her car seat, can’t sit at a high top that’s made for 2 people. When I pointed this out to her, she was obviously annoyed that we would have to take up one of her 4 top tables. Like I said, it was 6pm and plenty of tables available.
This put me in a sour mood. The only reason we stayed is because we had a
voucher to use. Otherwise, I would have probably left.
The wine list was pretty good, although some of their wines were way overpriced. We both ordered a beer, since their beer list was pretty good and well priced. I ordered a wittekerke and my husband ordered a maduro.
After looking at the menu, Patrick ordered the mushroom soup. It was incredibly tasty but a little overpriced at $ 8. He ordered the sausage stuffed pork tenderloin and I ordered the braised short ribs.
Both came out and looked wonderful. Unfortunately, Patrick’s was still raw in the middle and had to be sent back. Mine was good, but honestly tasted like pot roast. I think the presentation is better than the actual meal.
I could tell they have a lot of regulars and it was more of an older crowd. Around 7:30 when we were leaving, the band was beginning to set up.
Would I go back? Sure but I’m not rushing to go there again. There are a lot of other restaurants I want to try before revisiting Cuvée.
Oh and btw, the hostess was never without a 4 top the entire time we were there ;)

UPDATE: It appears I didn’t read the wine menu close enough, because the business pointed out my error in claiming wines start at $ 9. I will leave my review mostly intact, but I bumped it up to 4 stars since no business deserves a sub-​par review because the customer doesn’t look at the menu closely enough. Once again, this is a nice wine bar, but I felt a bit overpriced. Very friendly service — great bartender. However, I was wrong and they do have some lower priced glasses that I missed, so you don’t have to spend too much for a glass or two. My mistake.
ORIGINAL: I really don’t have much to say (for once). The little lady and I were looking for a place to grab a glass of wine or two for a happy hour. They may have a happy hour here, but if so, we missed it.
This probably deserves a bit better than 3 stars, so maybe I’ll call it 3.5. Its nice on the inside and pretty comfortable. We sat at the bar and a very friendly bartender kept trying to get us to try different wines, even poured us a couple of tastes without us asking.
In the end, we just had a glass of wine each and no food. Our problem was simply the prices. Safety Harbor appears to have a few wine bars in the area, and I am surprised they can charge the prices they charge here, and for 6 oz pours. I know that might be standard, but some places go up to 8 oz, and some wine bars serve 2 – 4 oz tastes for a few bucks. I’m not looking for cheapo boxed wine at a nice wine bar, but a more reasonable selection of slightly lower end wines would be nice. Their wines basically start at 9 bucks, and while it may not be served to the President of France, I have had many a good $ 7 glass of wine, or even $ 8. Maybe I am making too big of a deal over a dollar or two, but the upcharge on wine and liquor is already outrageous. Surely they can have a couple of options of each type of wine that costs less than a martini.
Anyway, I would take my review with a grain of salt (you probably already do) considering I am clearly an outlier here. It’s also not very fair of me to complain about prices when we could have just gone somewhere else if we didn’t like the menu. So ignore me.

Looking for a wine bar close by, me and the misses came here for a random date night. Located in a section of a strip shopping mall by enterprise road & McMullen Booth, once you step inside you can see that the owners put in a lot of investment in this place as the décor inside looked very modern and well presented. We were lucky to have walked in during a live band performance which was a pleasant surprise and made date night feel all the more special for the two of us. Very classy feel to it inside makes Cuvee a very intimate place for a nice night out!
We sat by the bar (which had about 3 flat screens right above it) and was able to catch the FSU-​Miami game which made me a happy camper. The bartender was able to offer us a few samples of their wine selections before we finally made our choice. we also ordered the cheese plate that was very good and went down well with the wine. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to order the food but when we looked at the menu we knew that we had to come back another time to try the duck which sounded fantastic.
This place is truly a great place for date night and a hidden gem. come sit by the bar & check this place out!

What an amazing California Dreaming 5 course wine dinner at Cuvee 103
Reception…Boisset Grandin Cuvee Prestige brut
Lobster grilled cheese with baby spinach. Raymond reserve chardonnay
Crispy pork belly with caramelized onion and apple compote. Buena Vista carneros pinot noir
Braised short ribs with sweet pea risotto. Buena Vista «The Badge»
Filet trio maytag blue jumbo lump crab and caviar mushroom and truffle duxelle. Raymond sommelier selection cabernet.
Chocolate English toffee crème brûlée. De Loach heritage reserve zinfandel