VIN

05/20/2008 Posted by Denoli

My wife and I have gone to VIN three times. The first time was a couple months after they opened. It took an hour to be seated even though there wasn't a wait. It was 30 minutes before our drink order was taken. The waiter knew little to nothing about the items on their menu, and without exception the food we ordered was overcooked - but served cold. The whole ordeal took about three hours and we couldn't wait to leave. Second time was with a group of friends that just *had* to try this place. Same experience as before. Long wait, terrible service, bad food. I mean *bad*. Lacking in both taste and preparation. We couldn't decide if the worst dish we received was pasta so over-cooked that it fell apart, or a tomato soup that had the consistency of paste and tasted like soap. That's not a typo, I said s-o-a-p, the sudsy stuff. The last time (and I mean last time) was last week. Another long wait, and I swear they do this on purpose, followed by a memorable (in the childhood abuse sense of the word) meal. My "medium rare" steak was cooked to death - like leather. It was served cold and had some sort of gravy on it. It was a steak - it wasn't supposed to have any sauce of any type. I honestly think that was an attempt to cover the fact that it was cold and cooked far beyond "well done". The local papers go nuts for this place, I don't know why. The only reason to go here is if you want to sit outside and be noticed by all the other people waiting to get a seat. If you do go, don't order food. Their mixed drinks are expensive, but reasonably well made.

Pros: The drinks are okay, and they try very hard to create atmosphere next to a loading dock.

Cons: Food (taste and preparation are off), service, waitstaff, long waits.

09/20/2007 Posted by wisar

My wife and I have eaten at Vin a number of times since their opening but have never been impressed. My latest experience tops (or bottoms) them all. Six of us arrived for a 5:30pm dinner prior to an 8:00pm conference call. Should have been plenty of time since we work locally. First the hostess tried to seat us at one of the booths...six guys with four of them over six feet tall. When we asked for a table we were stashed at the bar to wait while a table was configured...while three other six tops sat empty. When we are finally seated we were able to order our drinks promptly...and then waited 20 minutes for them to be delivered. Did I mention this was at 5:30pm and the place was empty? A notable moment came when one of our party asked the waiter about the hanger steak and was told it was a tough cut of beef ?!? Another waiter did step in and give a description good enough to sell two of them. Wine delivery came next with the waiter struggling to de-cork the bottle and then not being able to pour six glasses from the bottle. Food was actually pretty good though it took five minutes longer for my chicken to make it to the table than the rest of the food. Unfortunately the chicken was raw and had to be sent back. By now everyone had finished their meal and still my chicken is in the kitchen. I almost NEVER complain to a manager about service but this night was the exception. The manager promptly went to the kitchen and immediately returned with my bird. It had obviously been sitting in the warmer. It did taste pretty good as did most of the other food. At this point we were running out of time so a couple of us ordered deserts and we asked for the check. We got the check and after twenty minutes still no deserts. We left without them. A place that is as pretensious as Vin needs to have the staff to back it up. They don't. The food doesnt nearly make up for that lack. And this is not a new story for Vin.

Pros: Not much else in Towson

Cons: Poor service and high prices