Flight Lounge

So sorry to hear this lil wine bar gem is closing at the end of the week. I finally got to check it out at Abby’s Soirée for Community Unilocaling last night and enjoyed it and the extraordinarily reasonable prices.
I will agree with fellow Unilocalers that it is (1) off the beaten track at the very south end of the main drag and (2) no one was even out last night on a random Wednesday and there was no parking to be found. When the Thursday nights start up (Hot Thursday Nights have great Farmer’s Markets, bands, etc., there will literally be nowhere to park) I’m not sure how this lil bar is going to survive with new ownership and a very successful business next door packing them in all night long.
Thanks for a fun and friendly Community Unilocal Event!
~Ms. Ali

May 4^th will be the final day of this cute wine lounge.
According from one of the bartenders, the reason why the closure of the wine lounge; lease of the business has expired.
Despite being a cool lounge, the location is not the greatest location. It is located at the tail end of Laurel St and near the residential area.
With the lounge’s era near ending, South Bay CM: Abby arranged a potluck event for any Unilocalers to bring whatever food he/​she wants. Me… I brought my appetite and thirst for beer.
The lounge is best known for the great selection of wine. Many of you know I am not a wine-​expert or drinker. But I chose the lounge’s popular selection of beer on tap. All beverages are half-​off for this Unilocal gathering.
I bought a pint of Devil Canyon: Sunshine IPA for $ 3.00 (regularly $ 6.00). The local beer from nearby Belmont, CA. has a nice smooth taste. I definitely support all local businesses, and this beer is really tasty.
As I was enjoying my brew, I was chatting with many new Unilocalers, mainly tech-​people from the South Bay.
The lounge’s final days is near. I’m happy Abby organized another fun event to end the lounge’s era. But I’m sad, I wish I knew this cool lounge prior.

Enough said by my fellow Unilocaler friend, Matt G. on Flight Lounge; too bad they are closing this Friday!
Went there after work yesterday for the CMYE happy hour organized by our lovely South Bay CM Abby. This was the second time I went to a Unilocal happy hour and based on my last experience at the Attic in downtown San Mateo, I was looking forward to meeting the fellow Unilocalers and perhaps finally meet some friends in person.
I was the first one (after Abby) to arrive at 6 pm and that was a first for me as I have never been early for anything! Yay! I was enjoying the appetizers brought by Abby, the half price ($ 3) pint size draft beer that Flight Lounge offered for this event, and nice one-​on-​one conversation with Abby before people started trickling in. Thanks Abby for organizing the event and bringing all the foods, especially the Sugar Bowl brownies!
Another fun event just meeting up and chatting with nice folks and thanks to everyone for sharing your foods with us, especially the croissant sandwiches and dark chocolate chip cookies made by Jessica!

A solid 4-​stars from this Unilocaler. Maybe I don’t have the most discriminating palate when it comes to wine, but this is a cute little place regardless. Being next to the Refuge, it’s probably hard to attract anyone to come inside, but Flight does a good job of differentiating themselves from the infamous restaurant next door.
First, they serve a very limited menu. Mostly appetizer-​style foods, like hummus and cheese plates. I tried the latter and it was very good AND reasonably priced. $ 12? Not too bad.
Want something more? Bring your own eats or order something and have it delivered. They don’t care, as long as you stick around to enjoy a few more glasses of wine.
Service was attentive. No problems there. It wasn’t very crowded and the bartender left us alone.
TV’s at the bar play Sharks and college basketball games. Not my idea of a good time, but it’s something to do if you’re drinking alone.
I had a good time and would be happy to order a Reuben from next door and enjoy a glass of vino at the same time.

I’ve been here enough times to have a solid stance. When Flight Lounge1st opened, I was a fan. The service was awesome, selection was cherry picked, and a certain very nice bartender named Kevin was all personality and that’s why we checked it out initially. He suggested it to us before they opened and we followed. (He’s back at Caprino’s in Belmont, fyi).
The last 2 times here have been lame. Dry service, one very arrogant owner, mediocre wines and very anti-​climatic environment with lots of women my mother’s age hitting on men my age. Kinda gross. We were here the other day and I decided our relationship has run its course. Stagnancy doesn’t do it for me. I’d rather crack a bottle at home or just not bother drinking at all.
So dear FL, it was nice knowing you, had fun, but I’m over you now.
Ciao.

Place is like a made-​over bar (& not too well). A glass of wine is over priced, but they do pour generously. Mostly wines from strange places, but a few from known regions. The flights are more like short-​hops with smallish glasses that don’t let the reds breathe much. Our waitress was sweet and helpful however.
Clever name, but not great execution yet… especially with the terrific neighbor next door: Refuge. I hope it improves with age???

Stopped in here while we were waiting for our table at Refuge. They serve Devil’s Canyon beer which is nice to support the local biz.
The wine fight was inexpensive and I probably only liked one of the wines I tried but it was a great place to hang out and wait.
They also sell bottles and we overheard a couple of ladies who took their bottle next door while they got their mani/​pedi — fabulous idea!

My friends and I came here on a random Thursday night for an unexpected get together… We wanted a place to catch up, but we also felt that some good wine was in order. I suggested this place, and I was SO glad that I did!
There was some live jazz music that night, and it was absolutely incredible. The owner was out mingling and having a good time with everyone there. (He even gave us samples of his mulled red wine, which was AMAZING.) The band members even wandered around to greet the guests. It was a GREAT environment!
We shared a flight, though I can’t remember the title of that particular one now. We received a half glass of two reds and a white. It was enough for two to share!
At the end of the night, my friends raved about how much fun they had. They gushed, «Mel, you always know the BEST places!» :D Thanks, Flight Lounge!

Second time at Flight Lounge last night for my boyfriend and I and we both feel exactly what the two stars rating says, MEH… so so wine selection that is overpriced (although we do like the Hawley, everything else fairly underwhelming). We each had a flight and they come in these tiny little glasses, I don’t feel like I’m a wine snob, but really, you can’t swirl the wine or get a good nose of the wine at all in these glasses.
They were also out of one of their few food selections in the middle of a Friday night.
One person was trying to handle three tables, and a bar full of people and take care of all the food herself. She did the best job she could, and was pleasant so no diss to her, but we felt like the bar was understaffed and a few of our friends that had joined us had to wait awhile to get a glass of wine.
Not saying I would never go back but I’ll be looking for other options.

Came in here for a glass of wine since Refuge was not opened yet. Instead of a glass, friend and I both got a flight of red — mistake.
I had the Old World Reds flight and was not impressed at all. One was so juice like that I didn’t even bother with it — this didn’t prompt any of the staff to ask if there was something wrong or ?
For the price, their wine selection (at least for the flight) is quite pathetic. The ambiance or lack thereof is not cozy or inviting. Large flat screen TVs showing different sports do not help…
As we were leaving, the guy (owner?) thanked us for coming in and told us about their live music…
They have their own label of wine — not impressive.

I’ve been hanging out here quite a bit of late since I live in the San Carlos area. The staff at Flight Lounge are very friendly and cool, and it’s a great place to watch a game since it’s usually not very crowded (I was the only person in the place for a 49ers Monday Night Football game earlier this season), and they have a bunch of nice big screen TVs all around so you can easily see what’s on from pretty much any location in the bar.
While I do like the location and staff at Flight Lounge, and would really like to see the place succeed, I think they have some some fairly significant problems they need to address:
1. The place needs to find it’s identity. It’s like they can’t decide whether to be a wine bar or a sports bar. Maybe they’re trying to be both, but I don’t think that’s a combo that’s really going to work. For example, I was there on a recent Saturday evening and there was a group of fans watching a college football game at one end of the bar, and they were whooping it up, yelling, pounding on the bar and making all sorts of racket. On the other side of the room, there were several people who obviously went in for a quiet conversation and to try some wine. It didn’t strike me as a good mix and I don’t know if they can expect to satisfy both types of patrons in such an atmosphere.
2. The food menu is lacking. While the food I’ve had there (Minestrone soup, Chili) has been quite tasty, I’d like to see a few more substantive options on the menu. Also, two of the times I’ve ordered a hot dish it has been served up lukewarm. They need to do a better job when heating up the hot dishes.
3. The wine selection is not that great and the prices are high for the mediocre wines they serve.
4. The beer selection sucks. All they offer are a few Devil’s Canyon (local Belmont brewery) brews on tap. The main problem here is that I don’t think Devil’s Canyon beers are all that great, so drinking beer at Flight Lounge is really not much of an option as long as those are the only offerings. I would love to see Flight Lounge offer some truly high-​quality craft brews on tap and in the bottle. A selection like that at Marvin’s West in Redwood City would be great to see. I know this probably means adding more refrigerator space and more taps, but I think this place would be well-​served if they offered a better, and more adventurous, beer selection. There aren’t many bars in this area that offer true craft brews, so Flight Lounge could really set themselves apart by doing so.
That covers the major issues here. Overall Flight Lounge is a nice enough spot, but I fear the mediocre selection of wine, food, and beer, along with prices that aren’t exactly cheap for what you’re getting, may not be enough to keep people coming in. They’re already in a tough enough part of town — away from the main business district of San Carlos — to attract crowds, so I think Flight Lounge needs to do more to make it a destination that customers will seek out. The Refuge next door has done just that — they offer a product that customers can’t get anywhere else in the area — and the place is packed. Then you see Flight Lounge next door mostly empty. Obviously relying on overflow crowds from The Refuge is not going to keep Flight Lounge afloat.

This is a neat little place. We went here for a friend’s birthday the other week. The staff is super friendly and knowledgable. The cheese platter was delightful.
I got a flight of reds to sample, but honestly they weren’t that great. I’m definitely not an aficionado of wines, but I like a good Syrah from time to time. In my flight, I couldn’t find anything I really enjoyed to want to get a glass of.
Nevertheless they were generous in portions and once in a while have live performances.

I’ll start by saying that I was sobbing in the car on the way home, after experiencing this place — it was the epitome of why restaurants are suffering these days.
$ 49 for next to nothing was my biggest gripe. We were told the cheese plate was ‘generous portions’. We ordered that as well as the mousse plate, and ended up with the feeling that we were eating doll food at a little girl’s tea party.
On the plus-​side: The crackers were good.
On the plus/​minus side: Since we could see into the kitchen from the bar, I was able to observe that our server washed her hands according to nursing protocol prior to preparing our food; but having this in my sight-​line was fairly revolting.
I agree with other comments as to odd décor/​ambiance. The door to the Restroom being so ‘in my face’ and with a bright blue sign was particularly bothersome — I spent awhile pondering whether this was intentionally supposed to resemble an airplane bathroom door, or was just bad layout and design.
I’ll end by saying that we found this place after looking for a late-​afternoon venue to celebrate that I just passed State Board exams. So, I was not a happy camper that my euphoric vibe was ruined.

Nice little wine bar (with a few beers on draught).
Very friendly and informative bar keeps.
My friends and I were looking for a spot to grab a drink within walking distance after a special event at the Masonic Hall around the corner. We came upon this place just before closing. Many of my buddies were already intoxicated and did not realize what they were walking into. Everyone trying to be a connoisseur orders a bottle for themselves and then tries to hold inebriated conversations with the owners. Twas hilarious, but the owners were unscathed.
The staff were extremely accommodating and this place made our night. I will be returning when I am in the area.

A friend of ours loves this place, so after dinner Saturday night he suggested we stop in for a drink.
What a lovely little find in San Carlos!
I like that they have several varieties of reasonably priced flights, as well as many reasonably priced wines by the glass.
The manager was really nice, and totally knowledgeable about the wines, (both on the menu and off.)
We stayed for awhile, chatting and trying a few different wines.
This was the perfect spot for it, and I look forward to returning!

I have been a regular at the Flight Lounge for going on three months. I have drank everything on the wine list and have found many favorites.
Aside from the pallet pleasing wines, the special hot dish of the day is amazing! I had real split pea soup with ham the other night– it was incredible! I recently tried the Lasagna (from the beloved Gracie’s Delicatessen) which really hit the spot (and went well with the red I was drinking).
I have not achieved the status of «Frequent Flyer» yet, however, I am confident in giving 5 Unilocal stars for six reasons:
1) Unique wines
2) Great cheese plates
3) Wonderful desserts (which go well with paired wines)
4) Clean bathroom
5) FL is open until 1am (Tues-​Sat– YAY!)
6) The Flight Crew is knowledgeable and dedicated to excellent service-​whether you may be a first class traveler or riding back in cattle class.
If you have read this far, I suggest you go to the Flight Lounge and personally experience the newest and hottest wine bar/​lounge in San Carlos! I guarantee that you will enjoy it. Cheers!

I came here with my cousin-​n-​law in their first week of opening. The atmosphere was splendid! We ordered a really great red French wine called something Rhone and it was extremely palatable.
Due to their lounge being called, «The Flight Lounge» they had cute drinks named after an airline or cutsy symbols that had to do with a «flight.» The place was spacious and I felt really comfortable in there, it was new so the place is clean and their bathrooms were 100% CLEAN!

A very comfy neighborhood wine bar.
Tthey go out on a limb by not being formulamatic in their selection of wines and flights as well as their small plates. They get very creative in their showcasing wines from Argentina to South Africa and combining different varietals in unique combinations. The small plates are well thought out and also combine relatively local items with those from more far flung locales.
Flights are short, generally limited to a very small pour into three glasses. The owners do this to keep prices down to around $ 10. One can then get a full glass of whatever most catches their attention.
Owners seem very open to feedback and fine tuning the menu over time. The general plan is to change the flights every month and a half or so. Much will ultimately depend on how quickly customers will go through the cases they have on hand.
Kudos to any business set up shop on South Laurel. Double kudos to the likes of Refuge two doors down and Flight Lounge for going out on a limb of offering the unusual and combining and juxtaposing food and drink offerings in new ways.

Drinkers! Flight deserves your support. We returned after a couple of weeks, had some great conversations with the guys, and sampled some of things weren’t on the menu yet. Their dedication to bringing you value priced wines that are distinctive (not stuff you’d find at many places) is rarely matched, especially in the south bay. If you desire, you can inquire about pricier options but finding hidden gems for not much money is a win win. Being open till 1am while the rest of the area closes is another great reason to drop by. Make your way to Flight!

I was lucky enough to be able to check out this place on their second night in business. It looks like Kim N beat me to the punch with the first review! Grrrr!
We had an early dinner a few doors down at Refuge and headed over to the Flight Lounge after.
The atmosphere is great. There wasn’t a DJ that night, but it didn’t seem like the kind of place that really should have a DJ.
The staff was really friendly… The service was spot on. Tons of wines to choose from, which I admittedly am not that knowledgeable about, but the wine drinkers in our group were happy. They had 4 or 5 different kinds of a LOCAL BEER (Devil’s Canyon) on tap… VERY COOL!
They did have a small selection of food items, but appeared to be a work in progress… They are a wine bar, and aren’t trying to be a restaurant.
Refuge (a few doors down) seemed to have quite a wait as the evening went on… If faced with a wait, walk the 10 yards to the Flight Lounge and have a drink!
Also, if you are a beer drinker, the Flight Lounge served pints of beer at very decent prices. The Refuge served some very cool Belgium beers, but lacked any local beers. All the Refuge beers were very expensive and served in SMALL glasses. Bottom line, the Flight Lounge seemed to be a better value.
Ok Peninsula People, Time to head on down to San Carlos and check this place out!