Unwine’d – Key West Cafe & Grill

Heard this place is finally throwing in the towel and closing down… GOOD RIDDANCE! That’s your karma Scot for being such a horrible human being!

INCREDIBLE food and service! We had everything from cheese fondue to Mahi Mahi tacos and the BBQ Flatbread, and we’re absolutely blown away. My fiancé is a plain eater, and Chef Scott happily whipped him up some incredible fried chicken on soft, decadent mashed potatoes (not on the menu, but he was happy to accommodate us). The chocolate mousse cake and key lime pie were to die for, and the chocolate covered strawberries were freshly dipped in a heavenly homemade ganache. Nothing was frozen, and the chef/​owner ensured that every drink and dish was absolutely perfect before serving it. You don’t see the kind of old school, high-​quality food and service like we experienced here at Un-​wined. The waitress was charming and there is not one negative thing to say about this place. Highly recommend!!! We will be back soon! If you’re looking for a different spin on dinner and drinks or even just a nearby helping of comfort food– this is your place.

My husband and I have been fans of Unwine’d for years now and I thought I would write a review of our experience last night. Scott, the owner, is a gracious host and obviously cares a lot about his business. He provided us with excellent service and we enjoyed talking to him about his menu changes and drinks. It is refreshing to see an owner talk to his guests instead of hiding in an office. We felt appreciated.
The drinks we ordered were phenomenal and my espresso martini was made exactly the same both times I ordered (hooray for consistent drinks!). My husband’s wine flights were very good and though the wine list is shorter than years past, the selection is great.
The food was also excellent and was obviously made fresh. I ordered the jerk chicken dish which was extremely tender and seasoned well. I had boxed my leftovers to take home but my husband ended up devouring them while we finished our drinks (if that says anything!) He ordered the chicken gyro and my brother-​in-​law got the chicken and waffles. I’ve always wanted to try the chicken and waffles but haven’t yet and WOW! It was really good. We also got the plantains for dessert (it is actually an appetizer on the dinner menu) and the maple butter was amazing. Prices are also very reasonable as well as portion sizes.
In the past we have tried many things off of the menu and have never been disappointed. The scallops and the filet are both really good and I personally look forward to seasonal menu changes. If you are looking to try somewhere new or visit an old favorite and haven’t been here since the Key West flavor was added, I would recommend it. We’ll be back sooner rather than later!

The last time i was here was probably 5 years. I liked the new theme and décor, it was different and looked pretty good. My friends asked me to go because they loved the fondue — there is no where around here to get fondue so i was super excited.
We sat down and waited forever to put our drink order in. we put our drink order in and our appetizer order, 1 soda, 1 wine, and 1 martini. From the time we sat down it literally took 30 minutes before we got our drinks. We actually got our appetizers well before we got our drinks. It wasn’t busy so i couldn’t really justify it.
The cheese fondue was good, i would get it again. We ordered some meals, that were really just horrible. No flavor, looked unappealing, and expensive for what you actually get. I got the BBQ Cornbread Chicken something. it was like they bought a rotisserie chicken from Market Basket and cut a piece out (except not as good as market basket — so i know they didn’t get it from there). Then they mashed up some cornbread put it on the side and drizzled BBQ sauce over it. Oh and they put some zucchini (i think) on the side that was soo overcooked and slimy. eww!
Over all it was OK. if i went back i would just get the fondue.

These guys can cook ! Everything they make is fresh and from scratch. You can taste the quality in the food the chefs have good seasoning as well. I have been several times and never had a bad meal… Also have a very nice beer selection. See you soon folks!

The food was good but the atmosphere was a weird mixture of styles (Key West, Italy, Modern) and all of the furniture was very outdated and the place did not appear to be clean. The tables had tacky plastic table cloths, made to look like linen. Our chairs were uncomfortable, lumpy padded chairs.
We appreciated the concept of the flower in the vase (to signal the waiter that we were ready to order or needed something) but he still came around frequently to ask how we were doing.
I don’t think we’ll be returning.

Classy not trashy. Good food and atmosphere to hang w friends or a date. Fondue and the best macadamia nuts crusted MahiMahi I’ve ever had. Friendly staff too

I have yet to have a bad meal here, and have not had the same meal twice! The only repeat item I have had is their seasonal crème brûlée. It’s almost impossible to find somebody who knows how to brûlée properly and I would rather not eat the desert than eat a poorly torched one. Finally, the bar tender is great with both regular cocktails and custom creations. I can guarantee that I will be back!

Don’t let the location in a strip mall turn you off. This was a wonderful dining experience. It is apparent that the owner scot has put his heart n soul into this restaurant from the decorating, to the menu, to the cooking. His visible presence says a lot about his passion for this business. The waitstaff was very attentive and accommodating. Our server was personable and outgoing. The food was unique and very tastey. We started with cheese fondue with bread, tortellini, broccoli, and apples for dipping. It was amazing. I had Jamaican jerk chicken for my main entrée. It was moist and seasoned well. My husband had chicken n waffles. I just had to try a bite out of curiosity and I wasn’t disappointed. Dessert was chocolate mousse pie. My husband who doesn’t like chocolate mousse ate almost all of it. This wasn’t ordinary chocolate mousse. Reasonable prices as well.
There was a private party in the adjacent room but it wasn’t distracting at all. The dinner ambience is quiet and romantic. I think reservations are recommended but we arrived right when dinner was starting so were seated immediately. Glad I tried something new. Hope I make time to go back soon.

On Saturday November 7^th we made or first and last trip to this establishment. my wife and I were with 3 other couples for a group night out. The service was extremely slow at times during the first round of drinks it took 20 minutes from the time we ordered for a single glass of wine. The waitress put in the all of couples food ticket orders staggered, so the food all came out at different times. This lead to 1 couple to cancel dinner. All of this could have been overlooked except for the extremely rude chef/​owner. 1 of the couples were not impressed with the Mahi Mahi tacos, so they told the waitress and she informed the «owner/​chef. He proceeded to come to the table and attack and insult my friends as if their supposed to like everything he prepared. Confrontational is the best way I could describe this interaction. The customer service experience was by far the worst in a restaurant I have ever experienced in my life! I normally will give places 2 chances to impress before I decide to write it off, but I will never set foot in the place and spend an other dime in UnWine’d. My friends and I can be considered 8 men out

WARNING!!! went in for breakfast. Wait staff was fantastic. When our meal came my over easy eggs were well done and brown with no liquid yolk. I brought this to the waitress’ attention expecting it was an easy fix. The owner/​chef came charging over saying he cooked them a second too long. I said they were way overdone and he started to berate me for making him feel bad. WTF? He slapped himself and said it’s on me as he stormed off. He made my entire family uncomfortable and we left without eating. I would strongly suggest unless you are willing to eat whatever he decides to put in front of you you avoid this place at all costs

Thrilled to see that the bar is back and the restaurant has been recently renovated! The Key West flair is a refreshing upgrade!
There are 17 additions to the dinner menu, but the UnWine’d favorites are still available. A very pleasant night out!

We ate here with friends on a Saturday night recently. Great meal interesting bottle of wine service was a tad slow but the owner did come over to our table to apologize explaining a server failed to show up. Very affordable considering the overall experience

A smaller more romantic version of the famous oh-​so popular restauraunt Margaritaville. For being located in a run down plaza on the east side of Manchester, this place truly defines a well-​crafted hidden gem. Recently renovated UnWined boasts a cozy three room layout where one can simply sit down, converse, dine and unwind.
Now serving breakfast and lunch the resteraurnt has opened itself to a wider variety of customers. Including kids!
While conveying that relaxing laid back island atmosphere, the staff are on point when it comes to customer service.
Another unique attribute about this restaurant is their: Flower Service.
The food is amazing the perfect combination of creativity and passion without going overboard. The flavours and spices showcased in most of the Caribbean dishes is very palatable and refreshing. My favorite dishes include: The Carrot Ginger Soup, Pesto Brucchetta, and the Banana Cinnamon Maple Sugar Crêpe. Every cocktail here needs to be tried, they are all divine. The chef and owner of the restaurant is there almost all the time and very open to new customers and new suggestions.
Perfect for date night, ladies night or gatherings. They feature deals on Monday Thursday and Friday.
This place is a must try if you find yourself in Manchester NH.

I have been going to UnWine’d since it opened 14 years ago. My husband and I just went for dessert and drinks on Wed and were delighted with the new décor, menu and atmosphere. Still run by Scot and expertly done. I love the fact the they now do breakfast and lunch and offer gluten free items. I was so impressed I took my grand daughters back on Sunday for brunch. Two thumbs up from both of them. As the 10 year old bit into her buttermilk blueberry pancake she said «ahhh my world just got a little brighter» hi praise indeed. Reasonable pricing and excellent taste and service. Will be a regular once again!

Food was underwhelming. The atmosphere was not worthy of the 125 dollar bill. We had one drink each and a subpar meal. The bar patrons can be clearly heard throughout the entire experience. Will not go back. I created a Unilocal just to warn others

So very disappointed in our experience last night, and our recently experiences have been regularly declining, so this was not an isolated negative experience. We have been many many times over the years since opening and last night made me decide I’ve had enough of this place. The décor/​floor plan changes every time, it always seems like it’s mid-​construction or destruction, and over the years I’ve seen it go from top-​notch upscale lush & plush to yard sale/​remnant leftovers slapped together looking like crap. We were initially seated on a table with 2 chairs and an extremely uncomfortable vinyl covered bench that felt like it was plywood with a 2×4 over it. We chose to sit in the 2 seats and forego the sticky plank. We were then told we would have to use the bench as a «nine top» (whatever that is) is coming in next to us and the chairs were in the way. HOW rude. The place was DESERTED by the way as it was very early evening, so why a party of 2 would be shoved next to a «nine top» (aka large party of nine? later noted to be a party of 5, our seats would have been fine where they were.) Anyway rather than us having the punishment of sitting on the sticky plank we asked to be moved. Our things were picked up for us and moved to a table that abutted an upright piece of fabric covered wood that abutted the entrance, an awkwardly assembled and placed partition to the entrance. Again, the place was DESERTED, why were we seated next to the door, next to the tacky wood/​fabric partition? We didn’t want to bother moving again as we had already decided this place has gone to crap and this would be our list trip there anyway, lets just get it over with and enjoy eachother’s company. Our waitress seemed attentive enough at first, but as the meal went on we found ourselves waiting and waiting despite using their flower system, to the point that another gentleman waiter ended up helping us several times due to walking past and seeing our flower sit there and sit there and sit there unanswered. Even asking for another glass of wine took over 10 minutes for the flower to be noted and the request to be made, and another 20 minutes before we saw said glass of wine. Again, DESERTED, so not like she was busy. As I looked around I noted cheap unfinished touches in the décor and build. The wall in some parts appears to be made of bathroom flooring, fake brick linoleum remnants that don’t match up on the wall. The paint job is sloppy and patchy. The fabrics look like gramma’s curtains stapled on everything and nothing matches or even coordinates and just looks dusty, sticky, and tired. I remember when everything seemed so plush and luxurious there, we felt pampered and our money was well spent; now I’m not sure if they are going for that yard-​sale chic vibe and they just missed the chic part or what, but I didn’t get that luxurious vibe at all, everything seemed dusty, tired and cheap. The food was just okay, nothing impressive and certainly not worth the $ 100 we spent on a party of 2. Won’t bother with this place ever again and will certainly not recommend, especially with all of the other interesting, unique upscale-​but-​worth-​it places Manchester area has to offer.
*EDIT* Just received a SCATHING message from «Scot, the current and original owner» under the Unilocal user name «Rania K.» No apology for our negative experiences Thursday night or our declining experiences over the past few years. Just argumentative excuses, about staff fainting, about a supposed «hour wait» (not at 5pm on Thursday evening, no wait the entire time we were there, yet we were still seated in two completely awkward and uncomfortable areas. Again, DESERTED) and talking about his dead grandmother along excessive overuse of question marks and many other things that are too silly to even take seriously. Scot is obviously passionate about his establishment and also doesn’t take criticism well. He is also delusional in thinking his reviews «have been mostly all fantastic» as many many that I read relate similar experiences to ours, even going back a few years, with the main point being that it’s just not great anymore, isn’t the upscale experience it was years ago. Sorry Scot/​Rania, No, I’m not «trying to become the next great restaurant blogger.» I’m just a consumer who was sorely disappointed, who is relaying my experience, just like everyone else on this site does. I don’t enjoy posting negative reviews, but what I enjoy even less is spending $ 100 for 2 people on bad service and ordinary food, especially when I would have once gladly paid that much and more for what the experience was several years ago at the same establishment. 2^nd edit: now he’s had his friend send me a nasty message also! Wow my friends are right, Scot with one T is «an asshat!» *Final edit: Scot’s comment here is hilarious considering the SCATHING messages he has sent me privately. Scot, i don’t hate you nor do I even know you. You’re the angry one, tantrum much?

Not sure how this place has an average of 3 stars, never mind 3 ½. The food was tasteless, unseasoned and bland as hell (yes, 3 of the same adjective, but I feel I really had to emphasize my point). The food was barely warm so it was a toss-​up between whether it was because the plates sat in the window or because they were ice cold themselves; you warm plates to serve warm food (simple thermo-​dynamics). I’m not even going to get into the server who was either annoyed she was working or just generally an unhappy individual. If you must go, do the «fondon’t» (fondue) hopefully they can’t f**k that up.

I visited UnWined 2 weeks ago with 3 friends for dinner.
It was a Wednesday evening and the host accommodated us in a booth which was comfortable. The ambiance and décor is tasteful and classy. The service was impeccable! The waiters were very attentive, personable and efficient. We ordered wine and dinner and everything was perfect. We weren’t sure about ordering dessert, but when we looked at the menu, it was too irresistible to pass on. We shared the milk chocolate fondue and it was heavenly!
It was soooo good, that I’m bringing another friend this afternoon. I would definitely recommend this restaurant!

I have used Unilocal for 2 – 3 years now and have thought of writing reviews many times. I have had great meals and terrible meals, but THIS ONE was so AWFUL it made me actually write a review.
Service– ⁰⁄₁₀. It took AN HOUR AND A HALF TO GET OUR FOOD!
Food: ¹⁄₁₀ Filet was served with a butter knife. Pork was dry. Steak tips were cooked wrong.
Bar: this is a wine bar. They had one bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Took FOREVER to get drinks.
STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS!

I’m glad a place like Unwined exists in the Manchester area, it gives you an interesting additional dining option, and there are some things I like about it very much. It’s unfortunate that a few things were off just enough last night to disappoint us in terms of expectations.
I’d like to suggest a couple of tweaks to your website. As of the day I am writing this review, your dinner menu showed up as «Not Found,» and only a dessert menu was visible. Also, as I found out when calling, you only accept reservations for groups larger than 2 (though the hostess told me there would be no problem being seated, which was true). Unilocal only allows a Yes/​No option for «Takes Reservations,» so you can’t expand on that except in a review.
I like the atmosphere inside, with the dim lighting, and plenty of space between tables (though sound does carry). Likewise I enjoyed the wine list with plenty of options for bottles, «wine flights,» and carafes. For our group, carafes made sense. But it’s tough to know if a carafe is actually a half-​bottle of wine; we eyeballed ours for quite a while trying to figure out if it was close. It was also unfortunate that the waiter spilled a bit of wine on someone’s cell phone when pouring.
One person in our party ordered the prix fixe dinner, which includes a Caesar salad, a beef tips dinner, and dessert. He was surprised that the waiter did not ask him how he wanted the tips done. Fortunately, they came out well done, which is what he had wanted, but if you like your tips rare, and they don’t ask, you should bring it up. The salad also raised his eyebrows. It had a honey dijon dressing instead of a Caesar dressing. We asked the waiter about that, and he did check in the kitchen and verified that there was a Caesar dressing in the kitchen. Our best guess is that someone inadvertently poured the wrong dressing on the salad.
My dinner, the panko-​crusted sea scallops, was a good deal, with four large scallops over a bed of cheese ravioli and baby bok choy in a complementary tangy sauce. The scallops were quite firm, as I like them, but that may have been because they were slightly overcooked on the bottom.
For dessert, if you are a chocolate lover, you have to go with the chocolate fondue (which also comes with the prix fixe dinner) for its deep fudgy taste. I wanted something lighter, so I tried the Lemon Mist Layer Cake. It was refreshing, as advertised, but the buttercream frosting was very heavy.
May I also suggest you put a sign on the rest room in the back room? Someone in our party went to use it, but saw someone else enter before him. He spied a similar doorway a few feet away and entered, only to discover he had entered a boiler room. Also, you have a table for 6 very close to the rest room door. It wasn’t a problem last night as that room was not in use. But if a group is sitting there, it must be awkward for folks to try to walk by to get to the rest room, and distracting for anyone sitting at that table.
Overall, I feel like my dinner here was one of those «off karma» nights where a number of little things offset the good, without anything being horrible or even bad. I’ll keep my fingers crossed if I have another opportunity to come here for dinner. This is a place I would like to see succeed.