Bites Nearby: The Wine Loft

While I enjoy a good hearty dinner, tapas are also a favorite of mine at cocktail hour. The key is to find a place that does them just right.

at Pier Village in Long Branch is one of many locations across the country, with a menu specific to each one. I went here recently with my mom and aunts, looking for a good place to relax at 5 p.m. on a Sunday.

What drew us in was the happy hour special, daily from 4-7, offering half-price wine and $5 Belvedere cocktails.  I started with a glass of Pinot Grigio while we browsed the menu, figuring out the best spread to split between four people.

Their “small plates” menu seems easy to choose from, but really everything sounded good. We ordered the trio of spreads with hummus, babganoush, and tomato bruschetta served with slices of bread on the side.  The tomato bruschetta and hummus together was delicious.

We also split the baked brie en croute, served with vanilla infused honey, spiced pecans, a balsamic reduction, strawberries, and the same sliced bread to spead on the warm brie. The combination of the balsamic reduction, vanilla and brie was very interesting and as a brie lover, it was one of the best servings I have had.

The Wine Bar Pie is your basic crispy bar pie, with italian sausage, roasted red peppers, and fresh mozarella, which we opted for much to our delight. We almost ordered the sliders, grass-fed organic beef, Irish cheddar cheese, and curry mustard.  They also have shrimp cocktail, a cheese plate, jumbo lump crab cake, salmon, a surf and turf entrée, and even a baby rack of ribs.               

The Wine Loft is typically a tapas restaurant, but some of the entrees could be combined for a wonderful dinner. It may be hard to go to a different location with the great happy hour they offer, plus they have some outdoor seating, along with bar seating and a loungy seating area near the bar.

As far as their extensive wine list? Wine Spectator gave them an “Award of Excellence” in 2010.