Clifton Martini & Wine Bar

Our server, Joey, was awesome with his excellent and attentive service. He gave us the vegan menu right away and we were impressed with the options. We can’t wait to come back! We’re already planning it next meal here!!!

Just ok. Had a nice extensive vegan menu. Was nice to have choices. Ordered the heirloom tomato salad. Not sure what I was thinking. This time of year tomatoes are awful and these appeared and tasted like they were straight out of produce section. In other words, no way were they fresh and and no way were they heirloom. Not a good start. The Cosmo I ordered tasted like a healthy shot of Karo syrup. Not good at all. Do not order unless you love drinking syrup. Had the vegan meatballs. Liked them. Nice change. Not many places offer vegetarian options. I would recommend this dish. Average service and pretty loud. Probably would not go back… But definitely not the worst I have ever had. Just too average. Don’t order the heirloom tomatoes in the middle of winter! My bad.

We celebrated a cousin’s birthday party here recently and the service was great. There were approximately 10 of us, and we were never wanting. The food was delicious, the drinks were great, the service was great, and if we’re ever in the area again, we’ll be back.
The pizza was excellent. I wish I could order this stuff from home. Do try! I also had salmon for dinner, which was also very good. Loved it!
Can’t wait to try the other menu items!

First time in my life I’ve ever walked out of a restaurant. 8pm on a Friday night, not very crowded at all. Got waters and waited over 20 minutes so got up and left. Meanwhile, watched the server on his phone and watching the TV at the bar completely clueless that we were waiting to order dinner and drinks. Way too many good places around this area to afford to have such awful service.

Vegans, and Carnivores and Omnivores– OH MY!
We stopped in for dinner at this spot on Oct 30^th, before a spooky Halloween weekend night out. First impression: cozy, modern space. I really wanted to visit this place as I’ve been eating whole food, plant-​based for about a month. I have done almost all of my cooking at home, but I heard there was a great Vegan menu here so it felt like a great place to try. I also had a carnivore and two omnivores with me, and the menu had something for every one of us! I settled on the spinach & fruit salad to start and chic pea meatballs with angel hair for my entrée. The food was fabulous, our server was very knowledgeable about the ingredients & preparation. She was GREAT! And now for the best part of this visit:
THE MARTINI MENU– There were three seasonal martinis in addition to their regular menu of martinis & so I was in heaven immediately! I’m a martini girl :) The seasonal martinis were pumpkin roll, peanut butter & jelly, and the clifton hard cider– my pick! (house infused vodka w/​Ohio apples & cinnamon sticks, apple spice ginger liqueur, topped with apple cider). It was very crisp and cinnamony, but not too much so. I’d consider it a PERFECT drink.
I was with some carnivores and omnivores– they were all super happy with the food and drinks (especially my husband who got to enjoy his beloved Great Lakes Christmas Ale!). We will be back, and it will be very soon!

I went to enjoy some drinks on their patio with a pretty blonde friend of mine who was already quite drunk. Let’s call her Miley. But let me clarify — Miley was harmlessly drunk, probably said «Love you, babe» instead of «thank you» to the bartender. I don’t know, because Miley had to go in to order the drinks while I sat outside on the patio with my (small and quiet, 3-​legged) dog. My guess is that the bartender assumed that I was just as drunk as Miley. Only I was not. In fact, I had not had one thing to drink before the cocktail I had on their patio. And I watched this bartender and her little flock of regulars at the bar treat us like sh*t. After our one cocktail each, Miley ordered two shots and told the bartender to surprise us, and what the bartender brought out to the patio was obviously only meant to make us sick — to the point that I considered whether there was actually something in toxic in there, like counter cleaner. Since one sip of that shot made my stomach instantly retch, obviously it made already-​drunk Miley instantly sick. She threw up onto the patio. And I was so super embarrassed about all of it that I quickly signed the merchant copy of the receipt for the tab that the bartender brought out with the shots (and also wrote in a generous tip for the bartender). But I went to take the check inside only to find out she locked us out. She straight up locked the doors. Wouldn’t even acknowledge me to let me in as a few regulars sat at the bar snickering. I was embarrassed almost to the point of tears, but at least one of the regulara had the decency to unlock the door long enough for me to hand him the signed receipt.
My point is this: On the scale of drunken-​nightmares-​at-​a-​bar, my friend was about a 4. Seriously. She did not deserve to be treated like that. I sure as hell did not deserve to be treated like that. A bartender at a wine bar should be expected to act like a bartender with some class. And not act like a mean-​spirited bratty child.
I left there feeling bullied and belittled. I will never, ever go back.

One of my favorite outdoor sitting in Cleveland. Great food to boot.

As always, best patio in Cleveland! Had dinner last night with a couple out of town guests. Drinks were of course awesome! Here is where it gets kind of f’d. Though on the BOTTOM of the menu about allergies, tell your server, blah blah blah. Well, we ordered on the appetizer menu the Spring rolls! Description of them SHOULD have read something along the lines of, nuts in them… well it didn’t, get them and THANK GOD I didn’t bite into it first, I was told by my partner, DONT TOUCH THESE, they have nuts. Sever comes over, I ask, do these have nuts? She says, I don’t know? Let me ask, sure enough, yes! With peanut allergy being amongst one of most widely known allergies, it should have stated it in the description. So after the server knowingly is aware I have this allergy that is AWFUL, it should have been a mental note to tell the kitchen about my entrée. That comes, fish and chips, with greens and NUTS! Are you serious? We just had this convo! Everyone had their entrees now, mine taken back, everyone eats and is done! I finally get mine again. This time, perfect. But I’m now just kind of done.
Bar tender was a complete pompous jerk when we HAD to go in to order drinks because said server was not at all attentive after the dinner was paid for including the entrée that had nuts on it that should have been removed! (Not looking for hand outs, but it was known if the allergy). Bartender ignored a couple of us, and just was plain and simply, rude. Clearly didn’t care about tips! The reason we will come back is because it is a nice place but service needs to be picked up about 10 notches. Bartender needs to bring the attitude down a few notches.

If I wanted to get ignored during dinner, I’d eat at home. Hey-​o!
My fiancé and I stopped in for a quick bite before a concert on a Friday night. The lovely patio area was jam packed with people so we had to sit inside. I didn’t realize that I should have brought my parka with me. The thermostat must have been near the open door to the patio because I was COLD. (and I’m normally hot everywhere I go) Had my waitress spent more than about 3 minutes with us total the whole night, I might have told her that I was a little chilly.
We waited forever, and ever, and ever for our waitress to bring us water, utensils, and other restaurant basics. She must have had a lot of parties outside, but… my money is green, too. Even at the end of our meal — close to 2 hours later — I had to flag her down and beg for the check. This was the first time in my entire life that I’ve thought about dining and dashing because I was so fed up with waiting.
The food I ordered was ok. I got the vegan bok choi cabbage rolls, which weren’t actually rolls and were a little bland. I got the vegan tofu lasagna and that was a little bland, too. I like tofu more than any sane person should, but this tofu just tasted like tofu. (fried tofu, too, which was weird in a lasagna) My fiancé’s non-​vegan sandwich wasn’t much better.
Overall, we had a pretty meh experience. (and I had a terrifying experience in the bathroom — only a ⁷⁄₁₁ should have a bathroom that dirty — for reals) I’d go back for drinks again and maybe try another vegan appetizer. But dinner? Probably not. And I’d go to the bathroom on the treelawn before I’d step back inside their grungy bathroom.

Staff was friendly, but the service was very slow.

Yeah, this place is pretty awesome.
Stopped in after work on a Friday with some girl friends for a happy hour, we were all mind blown away. We sat inside, which was nice because it was very cloudy outside and it looked like it might rain. However, there were some brave souls that took their chances and sad outside. I will say that I would love to come back and sit on the patio, it looks really cute and charming. The décor inside it very warm yet modern.
We ordered a cheese plate which was great! It came with a variety of cheese and fruits. Then we ordered two flatbreads and some spring rolls, all were delicious! Our wines were so good! Definitely a place to go to for great wine. And we all really liked the fact that our server was pouring wine from the bottle, her pours were pretty heavy but of course we didn’t mind. The dessert was so delicious! We ordered the apple pie pierogis which came out warm with vanilla ice cream (I swear I can still taste the goodness from this dish) and we ordered the carrot cake, I could have done without this but the other girls loved it.
I will definitely return time and time again! And I will definitely spread the word about this neighborhood gem!

Good service, great martinis. Had the Tuscan flatbread which was small but filling and delicious. Would go there again.

The Clifton Wine Bar intertwined the art of a great, chill environment with the worst wait staff you’ll have ever seen.
Myself and two other friends decided to go here. We ended up seating ourselves after the hostess kept telling us she was to busy to do so herself for 10 minutes. Once we sat down and she brought us some waters, no one acknowledged our table for another 30 minutes. I asked a busser for our server and he said she’d be right out. Well another 10 minutes still nothing. I asked to speak with a manager who immediately apologized and said the first bottle of wine would be on them.
I greatly appreciated this gesture however even after speaking with him, we waited another 15 minutes for it to arrive at our table.
When we explained to the waitress we wanted to order food as well, she quickly said the kitchen was closing to which we immediately fired back that we had already waited over an hour.
The food was excellent however we had to deal with a waitress who kept delivering our food to other tables and blaming the hostess for supposedly writing down the wrong table and kept complaining about how much she hated her.
Pass on this place.

For my first time here I just stopped in for wine and an app. The place inside and out was packed and quite energetic in terms of the volume of the customers. Getting seated and having someone come to the table took a bit longer than ideal, but once someone was on our table, service was fine.
I ordered the crab cakes. I think this is a great dish to judge a restaurant on and if I’m doing that for this place they would have passed with flying colours. The crab cake app is served with two — massive — crab cakes. They are listed as having a pretzel crust on the menu. I didn’t particular notice a pretzel taste, but that’s good in my opinion. The breading was a very fine layer and minute part of the dish. The crab cakes were all crab — no fillers — and were delicious. The sauce and peppers that came with it were great compliments.
I’ll keep this place in mind to come back, have a sit on the Clifton Rd facing patio and enjoy a full dinner next time.

Their food and drinks are good but it’s really pricey. The atomsphere isn’t great. I would say it’s worth a try once, but I wouldn’t go back time and time again.

We’ve been going to Clifton Martini & Wine bar for some time now, and it seems like things are getting worse. Two visits ago, our waitress was coving the entire dining room, and although she did her best, I felt that she was really hustling to cover all the tables, but I’d still say she did a great job. The food was fantastic, and we enjoyed our visit.
We returned again recently, and the service wasn’t great at all. Our server forgot our wine order & had to come back and ask us what bottle we wanted again. Then we put in our food order, once again she forgot our order, and came back 15 minutes late to ask us what we wanted again. I’d never knock a server for writing down an order, if you can’t remember it, just write it down.
When our food finally came out, the order wasn’t even right. I had ordered a buffalo chicken pizza, instead they gave me what looked to be a white pizza with banana peppers. Since I had the buffalo chicken pizza before and loved it, I sent it back. It seems they just threw a dry sliced chicken breast & some bleu cheese on it. The pizza was not that good, and a bit of a disappointment from what I expected out of the dinner.
Needless to say, I don’t think we’ll be returning to Clifton martini & wine bar any time soon.

This place is right around the corner from my apt so I’ve been dying to check it out. My roommate and I made our way over around 9pm on a Saturday. The atmosphere was very low-​key and casual while still giving off a slightly higher end feel. It wasn’t crowded and we were seated right away. We didn’t bother ordering any food, but rather stuck exclusively to the drink menu. I got the seasonal BLVD martini, which was delicious and a great summer option. Though the price was steep ($ 10 for one drink) overall the experience was really enjoyable!

A solid choice for drinks and snacks on the patio or inside – which also happens to be right around the corner!
Quiet, chill vibe on the patio? Check. I don’t know what it’s like on the inside, but according to other Unilocalers, there may be some bleach over-​usage? Who knows. Guess I’ll have to check it out on a cooler night.
We came here for date night on a hot, summer evening and tried the scallop appetizer, the filet and a bottle of bubbly. The appetizer was good – I’m not really one for «fruit salsas» but they did a pretty great job with their mango variety. The scallops were wrapped in bacon, which meant they really didn’t get a good sear. I like mine with the sear, but these were perfectly cooked even without it. The filets were also good, but I think I make them better at home. They had a sweeter glaze on them, which I didn’t like. The potatoes weren’t very good (a little meal-​y/​grainy) and the asparagus was just… well, asparagus. If you’re going to get spendy on a cut of steak, you want it to be mind-​blowing. This really wasn’t, although the presentation was pretty. While properly cooked, I just didn’t really like the preparation. I wish I would have asked for the «toppings» on the side.
I think next time around I would stick to the snack-​y side of their very large menu. There were a ton of pizza options, cheese plates and other delicious small plates. Pair those with some drinks on the patio and I don’t think you could leave displeased. I just don’t think this is the place to grab a big, fancy entrée. But I’d love to come back and try something else! You know, I could be wrong.

This is my favorite restaurant in all of Cleveland and surrounding areas! It’s great for celebrating special occasions! Especially because my birthday is in June and they have an amazing patio.
The atmosphere is always very chill, and comfortable. The service is good and the food is great! I never ordered anything I didn’t like. They have an awesome shrimp cocktail and their salads are another favorite.
They also have an amazing happy hour with a wonderful selection of $ 6 pizzas that taste great the next day cold or heated up in an oven. The Hawaiian is my favorite so far, there are still some I want to try.

So, I’m a fairly seasoned drinker, but still fall prey to the dreaded «Asian Glow». Ergo, this is probably my favorite bar based on the dim lighting alone… It’s so dark, one can barely read the menu, much less notice that I have morphed into the Grimace after my second vodka tonic.
The $ 10 cocktails are good and strong. Parking is ample, and the patio will be great in just a few short weeks!