Winston’s Whiskey & Wine Bar

This place is reallly neat. After eating dinner at Grillfire, my wife and I dropped in here for a drink because we had never been here before. It was a different environment with dark lights and a rustic feel to it. We were allowed to sit at a table even though we weren’t ordering food. Great service and great whiskey

I’ve been there twice so far. Both times the food and drinks were excellent. The first time the place was so dimly lit that they had to give us little pocket flashlights to read the menu, but the second time I was there the place was lit just enough to read the menu and see what we were eating without needing a lantern. Quiet but cool atmosphere. It’s my favorite place thus far in Rockville Centre. I hope the food and drinks remain of good quality because I’d like to be a frequent flyer of Winston’s for a while. I definitely recommend a grilled cheese or the braised short rib. Warm up with a good bourbon if that’s your thing — they have some great bourbon based cocktails!

So for a newish spot in RVC not bad. They are trying to be a gastropub/​tapas bar. The food came out a little cold. Plates are small for the price and drinks are a little lack luster for the price. Service was great and welcoming. But doesn’t make up for the food and drinks. Any new place coming into RVC needs to blow people away with excellence to compete with the establishments already here, unfortunately i didn’t find it here.

Fantastic whiskey & wine selection. Vibe was really beautiful and relaxed. Not a lot of non-​meat/​shellfish options. The mushroom ravioli was heavy, overly creamy, and lacked flavor — however — grilled cheese with fig, brie, and arugula was absolutely delicious!

I’ve been here for happy hour twice and had great experiences. The bartender Megan is super sweet! She makes great drinks and is very friendly! The pizza is delicious. I’ve had the meatball and the primavera, both are great choices. The Arancini are good but I wish they were a little cheesier. Finally came here for dinner and had a blast. Nikki took care of us and was an absolute delight. She recommended the Holiday Spice, which was really yummy. One of my friends had the Adult Arnold Palmer, which was everything you would hope it to be. We had the spinach & artichoke dip, the fish special (sautéed calamari fra diavlo), grilled flat iron steak and the campfire s’mores. Everything was perfect. We left happily stuffed. Definitely looking forward to coming back! There are still tons of things on the menu I can’t wait to try.

My hubby & I came here last night after seeing «Star Wars». We were feeling good & wanted a drink & maybe a dessert to share. First, this place is very rustic, wood is everywhere — I love that!!! It feels so comfortable! It’s a place that you would like to bring your friends & family to share a meal! Second, the wine list is Extensive! You will find something to like!!! I had the house wine of Cab Sav, it was very good!!! And they give you a nice pour of house wine for only $ 7!!! Very Nice!!! After that I had a cappuccino & a Whiskey Drenched Doughnut & Reeses peanut butter cup cheesecake, both are house made & excellent!!! My eyes rolled back in my head when I tasted the doughnut since it warm & sooo delicious!!! Wow!!! Third, Our waitress «Riley» was so good!!! She told us a lot about the restaurant since I was asking questions & made some good recommendations! She was attentive & very friendly, I want to go back to this place for Brunch on a Sunday, since she made it sound so good & she showed us the brunch menu, and that looked really good too & reasonably priced!!! This is a place that my grown kids will like very much I can tell!
Two Thumbs Up!!!

I came here twice for happy hour. It’s a cute little restaurant, much different than the RVC places I’m used to. I felt out of place in leggings (We were coming from the gym). They have drink specials until 7pm. $ 4 draft beers, $ 5 sangria, $ 6 titos martinis and $ 5 pizzas! The first time I went I had the spinach pizza, which was really good! Second time it was the meatball pizza, that one was okay. I also ordered the drunken donut. It’s pretty ridiculous to pay $ 7 for a single donut but I did that twice so, obviously, I enjoyed it. Our bartender was Megan she was super sweet and attentive. She also made the most amazinggggggg drink ever. Unfortunately I forgot the name, but if you show her the pic I post, I’m sure she’ll remember and YOU won’t regret it.
I’d def come back for happy hour and hope Megan will be behind the bar!

Great little hideaway next to to Churchills. Get it. Winstons. Churchills! Great food and vibe. Staff is spot friendly and attentive. Tuna tartar tacos are addictive.

Went on a Friday at 6:30…just in time for happy hour. $ 5 glasses of house wine Started with short rib enchiladas which was a good call if I do say so myself. Very tasty. My entrée, the octopus, was just ok. Small portion. Didn’t taste fresh. Again, it was ok. Desert was average. Whiskey glazed doughnuts were interesting… the chocolate bars were salty and a little funky.
The service, host and busboy were very friendly. There were errors on the bill but not a big deal.

A bar John Taffer would be proud of! Such a cool environment and knowledgable bartenders that craft the perfect cocktail every time. Great selection of wines. I personally never ate there but their food looks really good, will have to go there for dinner sometime.

Identity Crisis.
After visiting a phenomenal wine bar in Merrick, I decided to look for another a bit closer to home. I was happy to find Winston’s. The pictures looked good and the reviews were as well. With the gf excited, we jumped in the car and off we went.
Winston’s décor is nothing short of spectacular. You get this old-​school rustic, wood feel that I absolutely love in a place. It screams, class. This is the type of place I look for; the type of place I can go and have a drink after work without being bothered by the typically young crowd of RVC. So the gf and I pop in and fall in love immediately, unfortunately the honeymoon phase didn’t last long.
The first thing that raised eyebrows was the menu. After being seated, the hostess let us know that they were only serving things on the left and right columns of the menu, as the middle was for brunch and brunch was over. Ok I guess, but why not have a brunch menu and a dinner menu? Looking at the menu was worse than we though since half the right column was also brunch. Our waitress comes over and she also reiterated the fact that we couldn’t order any brunch items. This seemed very important for them to communicate to us, although we went for an early dinner.
I ordered a burger along with an Old Fashioned. The gf ordered some truffle tries along with a shrimp thing. My Old Fashioned left a lot to be desired. It was poorly balanced. My gf ordered the house pinot grigio, which she was very happy with as she was served a generous amount. My burger was good, as were the fries. The gf’s shrimp thing though joined the ranks of my old fashioned in that it left a lot to be desired. It’s presentation was odd as the shrimp were smushed into a mash of some kind.
After our meal we had to ask a bus boy to hep us with the check as we could not find our waitress. The staff seemed more interested in talking with each other since it was still a little slow. All-​in-​all, I thought our waitress Sam did a good job though.
We left Winston’s feeling like it had a bit of an identity crisis. The food on the menu makes it feel like it should be the type of place that you could go to watch a game and have a beer, but it’s décor suggests it’s the type of place you go for a more elegant evening. I didn’t feel like it did either particularly well. At the end of the day, you’ll also be paying city prices for your visit.
Winston’s was nice to visit, but I think I’ll be trying a few other places before returning. If I do go back, it will surely be for brunch!

Nice classy spot. Love the décor that rustic look. Tried the cucumber park ace cocktail very refreshing.
For an older crowd not for the vibrant 20s or early 30s for a bar hopping type spot.

Dropped in just after 5PM tonight for quick dinner and drinks. We had the Truffle Mac and Cheese with Rock Shrimp (SO good!) and took advantage of their happy hour deal on a shrimp pesto pizza and drinks. The manager came over to our table to make sure we were happy with everything (always appreciated) and our server, Riley, took great care of us. The leftovers will make a nice lunch too!
We will be back for sure.

Went here for a friends birthday. Drinks were on point and so was the food. Waiter was terrible. I believe his name was mike… totally ruined friends birthday. Would come again ask for different server

Stumbled into Winston’s on a mini bar crawl with my fellow Elite and I fell a little bit in love with what they have going on in there. The entire vibe and atmosphere they have in there is different from every other place in RVC.
It’s really dark in here. Low lighting and candles and it sets a mood. The bar is right there when you walk in and the décor is just really upscale or classy. Especially compared to the bar it’s adjacent to. The crowd was a more mature crowd and they specialize in whiskey. I love me some Johnnie Walker (scotch whiskey) so I ordered that with Coke and it was $ 10. Which was a shock to me but I was pleasantly surprised.
The bartender was nice. She didn’t overlook me and pretend not to see me. She took my orders and quickly gave me my drinks. As well as asked me if I wanted to open a tab or close it out.
We sat at a high table and just talked all while sipping on our drinks. No one bothered us to get up or move or force us to order and I loved that. I was full from dinner but this is one of those places you can come and drink with some friends and talk and just vibe. Or you can come in on a date and enjoy the ambiance and some good food from what I hear. I definitely won’t hesitate to come back over here. Great experience.

«I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.» — W. Churchill
Winston’s is located next to and owned by Churchill’s…See what they did there? Eh? Eh?
Cool Vibe and décor, dark, candlelit, I totally would recommend it for dates, intimate gatherings, clandestine get togethers, ghouls, etc…
We tried the tuna tar tar tacos. Very light crunchy shells, spicy mayo, fresh cubed sushi tuna, and topped with seaweed salad. We actually doubled down and reordered them, a testament to their deliciousness.
The duck confit tacos were equally delicous, chock full of meat, and a spicy asian slaw.
Stuffed Dates? I was certainly a Stuffed Date when we left the place! Ahahahahahahahahahaha OK I’m done. Fruit stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped in bacon. Rich, tasty, perfect combo of salty & sweet.
Truffle fries are truffles fries. I mean what else do I need to say? Delicious.
Service was excellent, friendly, and attentive.
My lone criticism: You can not call yourself a «whiskey bar», and then only carry the most cliché and mainstream bourbons and ryes. I can go anywhere for Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, etc. Scotch selection was a little better, but again, lacking. Expand your collection, there are so many amazing whiskeys out there, I found the selection disappointing. Also — the Old Fashioned is a stirred cocktail. Not shaken.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Advertised as a whiskey bar and they do have a selection of good whiskey. However their cocktails leave much to be desired. Ordered an old fashioned and a sazerac. Received an old fashioned filled with ice with smooshed orange and cherries at the bottom of the glass. The sazerac was advertised as being very traditional: rye, cognac, peychaud’s bitters and absinthe. The drink came out full of ice and with a bubbly head, an indication of being shaken. When I inquired how the drink was made I was told it does not have absinthe and instead has sambuca.
Here’s a tip: both drinks are spirit based and should therefore be stirred (contrary to what James Bond says). The old fashioned should be made of 3 ingredients: whiskey, sugar and bitters. The citrus should come from a twist of citrus peel over the top of the finished drink and contain one large piece of ice to prevent dilution instead of the tiny pieces of soda ice it came with.
The sazerac should have an absinthe rinse and be served neat.
I don’t leave negative reviews believing that if I don’t have anything nice to say, to not say anything at all. However, my wife and I could not even finish our drinks they were so bad.
Don’t come here and expect any classic cocktail made correctly.

Winston’s is a conveniently located example of a bad long island south shore bar, without having to go all the way out to Patchogue. Foodies, cocktail snobs, and general adults, beware. This place is 5 stars and ideal for college students, guys who roofie college students, or if you want to get sloppy drunk without anyone judging you.
Drinks: The drinks alone would have earned about 3 – 4 stars as it was a nice selection of cocktails and wine. The cocktails did, however, seem watered down, but that could have been due to service problems like having the drink prepared and the ice melting before it was delivered to my table. I also can’t be too enthusiastic about any cocktail menu that relies so heavily on Absolute.
Food: The food was ok, maybe 3 stars as it was average for the price point and for what it was.
Service: Now, the wait staff was very friendly and attentive and my upcoming poor review on the service is definitely not for lack of trying. It was abundantly clear that there was very very very little experience in the wait staff. Some examples: I got the wrong drink; If you’re serving tapas-​style, it’s a basic rule that you stagger the dishes and you don’t bring everything out at once; and I don’t need to be asked every 2 minutes how everything is and whether you can take my plates away (which still have food on it). My waiter (s) were very very nice and hopefully they’ll catch on soon.
Overall décor/​operations: They share a backyard, which is weird overall, with a sports bar. If i wanted to hang out in a sports bar, I’d go to a sports bar. So I was basically hanging out in a sports bar, where children were running around (who brings children to a sports bar?). They should put up more bushes or something to separate the spaces. The bathroom kept running out of toilet paper. Perhaps they don’t leave extra rolls around because this is the type of clientele that steals toilet paper? The white wine is kept cool, not cold. The music is way too loud, even outside, and since they share a backyard with a sports bar, you get bombarded with two different sources of different music and it’s very annoying. Also, the fire alarm went off and rang for a long time.
Clientele: Now, this part of the review is unfair because this section does not reflect on the establishment or management decisions as they cannot control who goes to the bar. But the aim is to help Unilocal reviewers gauge whether they want to go here, so I’ll comment on the atrocity that is, Winston’s clientele. I think it would be reasonable to have some expectation of a «whiskey and wine bar». This is NOT it. Like i said, this place is like a college bar where the sloppy drunk girls were ordering shots of «buttery nipple» and «lemon drops». There was a really gross couple performing x-​rated stuff in the middle of the bar, which nobody seemed to mind, so I guess this totally a normal thing here? Drunks kept bumping into me and threw their empty bottles on my table on their way out the door to smoke.
I wish this place luck and hope the unwashed masses that frequent your establishment don’t end up destroying the place.

WELL Winston’s is located right next door to Churchill’s … coincidence? I think not. I already love the place. It’s fairly new and I’ve been meaning to try it out for some time now.
Came on a Tuesday evening with some friends and we had a very pleasant time.
The décor is beautiful upon walking in. Dim lighting, hard wood floors, overall rustic look with a romantic vibe — typical of a wine bar but nevertheless classy and beautiful. We sat outside on the patio, which was also adjacent to Churchill’s outdoor seating.
The service was great. Our waitress was very polite, friendly, and knowledgeable when I asked her for suggestions. The menu is a bit different and you can tell they’re trying to be trendy with it. It’s also more suited for sharing a few small plates. They bring out each plate as it’s ready, not all at once, which gave us time to really enjoy everything that we ordered. We tried the goat cheese dip (served with bread), truffle french fries, braised short ribs, and frenched chicken breast. All were delicious and we finished every last bite.
For dessert, our waitress recommended the «drunken doughnuts» and chocolate chip cookies with nutella. SO GOOD OHMYGOD.
They also have an extensive whiskey and wine selection (obviously) but I didn’t delve into that portion of the menu because I was in the mood for sangria, which was really good and a decent serving. My friend had a martini which was also pretty big.
Overall, I had a really good time and will definitely be back, especially to try their wines and cured meats and cheeses.

So disappointed!
I want to love this place. It’s new and it’s got a nice vibe and it’s walking distance from where I live.
Unfortunately, this place is way overpriced and the food menu is not quite there yet. They are trying REALLY hard to have a trendy menu, but the taste is most important. There is plenty of wine to choose from (as well as liquor), but expect NYC prices and beyond. After finally being seated, we ordered the polenta fries, a specialty pizza of the day, and the truffle mac and cheese. The polenta fries were just not for me (not a fan of polenta). The pizza (a chaotic mess of chipotle, bacon, steak, I forget what else) was decent, but nothing to write home about. The truffle mac and cheese was inundated with truffle oil, to the point of being completely inedible for me!
Long story short, I’ll have to give Winston’s some time before I head back and try again. I really hope they have success, but for the cost of dinner and drinks here, I can go to well-​established restaurants elsewhere.