Vin’tij Wine Boutique & Bistro

Fantastic food. Fantastic service. Don’t let the location fool you – this place is a gem.

Best food in Destin. Nice atmosphere. Everything on the menu is amazing.

Don’t let the strip mall thing fool you this place is a class act. The customer service is really good and the main reason for this is that team work is implemented by ALL of their staff in delivering it. You are just not the customer of your one waitress but numerous staff will come and check on you. This is an excellent strategy that makes the customers feel like they matter but most of all helps to avoid all of the ridiculous issues and misunderstandings that can occur when customers just plain and simply don’t feel that they were properly attended to, which can easily happen if you are in an establishment where you are seen only as the responsibility of your one over burdened waitress. This is a model that other restaurants really to follow.
Now for the eats: They start you out with a very nice freshly baked warm bread basket.
From there I had the Griddled Sea Scallops. If I were to give this dish a grade I would give it a C+. It wasn’t that bad of a dish but it wasn’t that great either. It seemed like an amateur chef wanting to be creative but not quite there yet. However the scallops were fresh and the Spaghetti Squash was a good idea. But overall the dish was too oily almost to the point of being greasy. And the field pea relish was out of place and just didn’t fit. At this stage in my dining experience I was almost afraid that I had walked into one of those overrated «wanna be fine dining» places. But I’m a courageous culinary enthusiast so I carried on. And boy am I glad I did. Because the next dish, the Vegetable Romesco was off the charts yummy. I have to give it an A+. Such a complex dish and so well executed to make such different ingredients come out to such extraordinary taste. It is with this dish that I realized 100% why this place gets such good reviews.
When I go into a place I also pick up on the vibe and energy. I knew I was in the right place when some tourists from DC approached me and told me how great this place was and how they always come here when they visit Destin. There were other friendly patrons that I encountered as well, there is something about a place that draws nice people to it, or at least is just making them so happy when they are there. That’s definitely not a requirement of mine but it’s nice when it happens. This place is very classy and high end but yet friendly and casual. When you are here it doesn’t feel like you are in redneck land, like it does in some establishments in the area. They also have a very large wine cellar, but I did not partake in the vino because I was driving, but if you are into wine you will have a wide selection to choose from here.

I LOVE this place! Have been here numerous times for lunch and dinner. My favorite is of course the pecan chicken! Had the mango salmon for lunch today and loved every bite! Portions are always generous and well worth the price! The atmosphere is extremely friendly and always very welcoming, the owner is fabulous and great at remembering us! A+++ great for dates, get together with friends and even work meetings!

Outstanding food, wine, service, and atmosphere. Great intimate restaurant in Destin. Tuna was outstanding. We’ve dined here several times and it never disappoints.

Great food really enjoy the catch of the day. Fish had plenty of flavor with some rice that went great together. Also had some veggies and shrimp as well that made the whole thing delicious. Staff was great they don’t mind helping if you need it plus they had good character certainly some excellent worker

We were turned on to Vin’taj several years ago by friends who live in Destin. It is one of those ‘hidden gems’ in a strip shopping center (across from the outlet mall) where all the locals go. It’s fine dining with an extensive wine selection in a very relaxed and «low key» environment. It continues to be my favorite restaurant in Destin and the daily specials never disappoint!

I love this place! The wine flight I chose was fantastic. The Pinot noir was highly recommended by our server, and I bought a bottle I liked it so much. The cheese plate appetizer was huge and very tasty. Our entrees were delicious. (He had the steak and I had the crab cakes). The lemon pound cake with strawberries and cinnamon ice cream was a perfect ending to a great meal. I can’t wait to visit during our next vacation!

Excellent food, service and atmosphere. We are from New Orleans and know good and this place met all about expectations. Highly recommend.

The tuna last night was by far the absolutely best tuna meal EVER. The watermelon salsa complemented by the black beans WOW.
The wine they chose for us went over and above hays off to the staff our waiter matched the meal and wine.
We will be back but wish we lived closer to enjoy more often.

Dined at Vin’tij with friends on Thursday evening, September 10. Wine was great. Ambiance was cozy. Food was great with presentation being exemplary.
Danny, our server, was exceptional. Desserts are usually just a fond memory these days; however, Danny started the list off with the deep dish pecan pie with cinnamon ice cream. He went down the list of choices but the pie was his all time recommendation. We ordered a slice for the table. Danny said we would not be disappointed and I told him that if the pecan pie did not live up to his ravings I would have to give him and the restaurant a bad review on Unilocal.
One ample ample slice of pie ala mode later and a foursome who fought over it, here is the Unilocal review
Vin’tij well deserves. Danny speaks the truth about the menu.
Thanks Danny and Vin’tij for a nice evening.

Totally a fan of Vin’tij and have been for years! Very consistent and dependable. They were super busy when we went this time and they were able to move some people around at the bar to seat 5 of us. Friendly service. Good food all around.
If I had to give a con, it is the Caesar salad. I’m not so much a fan of wedge salads and that’s what this is. Seriously… I’m just nit picking at this point.

The food, service and ambience is exceptional. The oyster Bly was great, they are open to modifications (I only eat seafood so got it w/​o the bacon) and the catch of the day was top notch. I wish my belly was bigger, I wanted to eat everything here.

«This might be my new favorite place to dine,» said the husband at the table next to us, speaking to the waiter.
We only ordered desserts, but tasted what he professed.
The large, round pecans in the Deep Dish Pecan Pie were a dessert unto themselves. The homemade cinnamon ice cream made me wonder why more restaurants don’t make their own ice cream and dance with different flavors.
The sauteed strawberries over lemon pound cake showed me a new way to experience strawberries, but I’m still more comfortable keeping them out of the pan.

Really lovely spot. Don’t let the strip center façade fool you, these guys know wine. This is not the place to find boring standards you’d normally see at the grocery store. Instead, this is the place to find a refreshingly unique wine list, personally cared for details to the menu, and genuine people.
After a terrible experience at a gastropub down the street, my husband and I stumbled into Vintij — without a reservation. Not to worry, there was room at the bar and a friendly owner in a cheerful mood who didn’t mind mixing up some custom flights for us. I wanted both Albariño and Barolo, and he made it happen with pleasure. He also recommended a wonderful Spanish red (not a typical Tempranillo) with the smoothness of an old-​world Cote du Rhone and friendliness of a Malbec. Wonderful!
For food, we enjoyed the tuna appetizer that was light and dressed to perfection. My non-​GF husband also enjoyed the fresh baked bread and house-​infused cumin chili oil.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend this place. In fact, sit at the bar even if they do have a table. Such a warm welcome you just can’t miss it. Only reason I left off the final star was not much is GF, but everything else totally makes up for it!

So here’s the deal…
Vegan vegetable Romanesco– good
Wife’s ribeye over blue cheese polenta– awesome (and cooked perfectly medium as requested.)
Wine flight experience, really cool and unique.
Flighted wines– just fine, if a tad in the low end
Service– quick, attentive, but slightly inaccurate.
(Be careful if you have food restrictions) The service is the reason i’l don’t give it 5 stars.
We’ll come back.

Dined here during spring break with a group of 8 adults. The interior is classy and welcoming with a huge wine selection of bottles you can purchase (pricey from what I could see), a bar, and an intimately sized dining area.
I did not choose this location as I am not a wine drinker, but the reviews were excellent and I’m always game to try new places. I wasn’t sure if there would be more than wine to choose from for beverages but alas, it is beer and wine only.
The service was outstanding, and our waiter very knowledgeable and friendly. I ordered the soup of the day, a chicken lentil stew, which was unlike anything I’ve tasted before. It was only lukewarm but it was tasty in a unique sort of way. For my meal, I had the shrimp and grits which were excellent. The grits were so creamy, I was fishing around the items on top to get to them. The shrimp and sausage were very good as well though.
Hub started with a Caesar chop salad that was really good with homemade dressing. He had the tuna poke as an entrée which he said was good but didn’t rave about.
All in all, a good dining experience but not a place I’d run back to since I’m not a wine connoisseur. If you are, you’ll love this place.

If you like intimate wine bars that offer excellent food, a wide variety of wines, exceptional service and major ambiance then you will love Vin’tij Wine Boutique & Bistro. Just because they are in a strip mall next to a burger joint you might think this isn’t a nice place for a romantic dinner or a really good glass of wine. This is one of those situations where the expression «don’t judge a book by its cover» would apply. Trust me on this! The décor in this place was so adorable that I enjoyed just sipping on my wine flight looking around. I enjoyed the Pinot Noir wine flight with the Yellowfin Tuna. It was utterly delightful. My husband enjoyed the Big Fruit Varietal Reds flight with the Masala Roast Pork Tenderloin which he enjoyed immensely. We indulged in the Sautéed Strawberries & Lemon Pound Cake served warm with Cinnamon Ice Cream for dessert. LOVED IT!
The most interesting thing about this wine boutique is the wine shop selection. I was extremely surprised by the selection and the number of EXPENSIVE wines for sale on their shelves. They had a Kongsgaard Cabernet Sauvignon for $ 400.
While I was vacationing in Destin when I visited Vin’tij Wine Boutique and Bistro, we loved the area so much that we are definitely coming back again. Next time we are back in Destin we are gonna be kickin’ it at Vin’tij!

So I stopped by Vin’tij last night for dessert with Tim S after he finished his late work session — chose this place mostly because it was a convenient walk to the hotel on a cold and windy (ok, for Florida) night. Turned out to be good fortune!
Our luck continued as we were warmly welcomed and seated by Janet V, who as it turns out is the manager. Remembering that we’d mentioned we were only looking for dessert, Janet made some great recommendations: cinnamon pound cake, check; deep dish pecan pie, check; coffee, check, water, check (ironically neither of us is a wine drinker).
Desserts proved Janet to be as truthful as she is personable — both excellent, but especially the home-​made cinnamon ice cream on top was a great twist. The desserts and coffee were all-​around terrific.
Service — what can I say? It’s a difficult thing for restaurant staff to be friendly and conversational when customers want to engage without being intrusive when they don’t, but Janet and the wait staff tread that line brilliantly, while making it look and feel effortless. We left feeling like we’d been to visit close neighbors for dessert. Neighbors with a really cool house. And a great chef.
Ambiance is great for a comfortable smooth-​jazz kinda night out. Go. And give my best to Janet, please.

I can only comment/​review on dessert. We were in search of the perfect comfort food (my son and I decided to have dessert for dinner on our last night of Christmas vacation in Destin) and I found several reviews for pecan pie here so we placed a to-​go order earlier tonight.
The restaurant is small and cozy looking, and the staff who greeted us (three individuals, separately) were all very friendly and helpful. I ordered their deep dish pecan pie and my son ordered the chocolate torte. Both were boxed to go with whipped cream and some other, richer sauce. The total for both was $ 19.00, which seemed a little pricey.
I wasn’t delighted by the pecan pie. I found it to be somewhat dry and I did not care for the crust, which I felt was lacking flavor throughout, dry around the edge and chewy at the bottom. I was really hoping for something southern-​gooey-​sweet, and this just wasn’t. My son enjoyed the torte, but commented that he prefers chocolate cake.