My girlfriend and I decided to try this place out for Restaurant Week. We go into Old Town a lot but had never been here before, so we decided to give it a shot. We showed up a little after 2:30 on a Sunday to try their RW brunch special. The place had a family owned feel and felt like you were in a house, so we initially liked the vibe. We asked about brunch and Restaurant Week and were told it was still going on and given brunch menus and sat upstairs. The place was moderately full, with several groups still eating and drinking. We were sat next to another group that had arrived just before us and apparently were there for the same Restaurant Week brunch. We then overheard the server tell that table that the kitchen has decided to stop serving brunch at 2:30 and hadn't told the rest of the restaurant employees, so he was unable to offer any brunch items and could not do Restaurant Week. Since that's the whole reason we were there, we quickly asked him about it and he confirmed with us as well. I would say the ONE TIME it is not wise to cut corners would be during a week designed to attract new customers. What started out as a charming impression quickly soured into a bad taste that would not go away. At 2:40 the server brought over DINNER menus and took our other menus away. We were nowhere near in the mood for a full dinner, so we promptly left the place and went to Virtue Feed and Grain where we had a wonderful lunch. If the place had been empty and the lunch crew had decided to start cleaning up early, I may could understand. The place, however, was still hopping and all your advertisement promotes brunch until 3. Perhaps at some point I will try this place again, but it's going to take a while after such a bad first impression. Maybe this is just a place that focuses more on selling wine than giving a dining experience. If you want to do more than drinks, I would look elsewhere. read more

Service is slow, kitchen is slow. Ordered red wine and was brought white. However, food is good and wine is well selected. Historic building was originally constructed in 1810. read more

Sonoma Cellar - Brie and fig jam crostini - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

We love this restaurant. It has wonderful food, terrific wines, and exceptional service. They are very careful with taking COVID-19 precautions. Highly recommend!! read more

This wine bar down near the water in Old Town Alexandria is very cute, and has a great atmosphere. People have been very friendly and welcoming when I've gone, and I really enjoy the food there. I do admit that I had some sticker shock on wine bottle prices the first couple of times I walked in, at which point I quite rapidly walk right back out. But if you're ordering a glass of wine and dinner at the bar, it's really not that bad. And I've really enjoyed the wines on their list. Definitely worth trying their "tasting list"! I haven't yet had an opportunity to take part in the various events and book club and outdoors summer celebration, but I look forward to it in the future. Update: I just had to change this from 4 to 5 stars because the braised short rib with polenta is that amazing. Favorite thing here yet. read more

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This review is for the dog-friendly patio out back. The owner spotted us walking our dogs down King Street and invited us to have lunch in their outdoor patio so the dogs were also invited. They were so sweet to our dogs, even brought them doggy beds to sit on while we ate lunch! The food was mediocre and service was a bit slow, but the atmosphere and inviting friendliness of the staff made up for it. read more

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Sonoma Cellar is a great spot for a date or an intimate gathering. The main deal of the wine menu is to have 5 tastes of wine or a half glass or a full glass from two general groupings of moderately priced or more expensive wines. The selections are well thought out and nicely described on the menu. Our server, Emma, was very friendly and well versed in each of the wines. The delicious crab cakes had an Asian twist to them that set them apart from any others you'll find in the area. The establishment is bright, cozy and very hospitable. You get the immediate feeling that they're happy to have you there (which can't be said for many other places on King Street). One caveat: The mark up on full bottles is a bit extreme, so I would recommend sticking with the in-house consumption deals. We're looking forward to returning to Sonoma Cellar soon! read more

Sonoma Cellar - Spectacular wine tasting and the most interesting take on crab cakes! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Top knotch selection. Cool classic digs in a prime Old Town location.

This place has a lot of potential and I remain cautiously optimistic about my next round here. The wine was really good and so was the food; however, there was no host and it took the staff 10 min before they got to us. Not gonna lie... we sat ourselves down by the host stand and grabbed menus after waiting there for several minutes. The black bear Zinfandel and the Moldavi moscato were super delish and so was the baked brie--we devoured it. I look forward to giving this place another try soon for a few reasons: it looks like the product they serve is delicious. Let's hope customer service will bring it home the next time! read more

A wine bar with EXTREMELY good food and healthy options? Doesn't get better than that for an evening out :) The interior is also so cozy as set in a Old Town townhouse and plenty of cute backyard dining space. Love this place. read more

Sonoma Cellar - Wine flight - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I have very mixed feelings about Sonoma Cellar, I want to like it more, but it was an expensive visit * space/ambiance ~ this is a cute place to hang out. We were very happy that we could relax with our pup in their back yard area, which is charming and shaded * wine ~ its a bit of a bummer that you can't do a real tasting out back, but I accept that's the trade off for having the pup out back. They do have a cheaper tasting pour that you pay for, but I would say in general that it would be nice for have a wider range of prices on the wines - they are all pricey * eats ~ we ordered the charcuterie plate which comes with 4 cheese offerings, 3 meat offerings, toasted rosemary bread and some jams/mustard. While that sounds lovely (and the food itself was good) the amount of food you get for $22 is very small For us to have 2 'tasting' level glasses of wine and the charcturie, our bill was $50, which IMO is too high for what we received read more

The setting is run down and uninspired. The staff was young and not instructed by the manager on what they want to put forth to customers. Lack of attention to detail is high in the list. Go to Hummingbird and see how they treat there customers. This place is not making money and it it is entirely their fault. Step up or move on Sonoma......until they get it...spend your money elsewhere. read more

Great staff and wine selection. Just came to drink and not only was every wine a good selection, they gave a touch more for each glass for the tastings. Didn't try the food. read more

We had a great time at this place. We had the entire patio to ourselves, staff following COVID19 protocol. Our favorite appetizers were the cheese board and the avocado/shrimp toast. read more

Very bad service and several parts of our order were messed up. We had to get up to get our own water, silverware, and napkins. We ordered iced tea and they gave us hot tea and ice on a 92° day so our tea was watered down. The manager, when I informed him of all of the mistakes during our father's day brunch, offered us a bottle of wine and a lackluster apology. I declined the unknown wine and he took 30% off, but that didn't feel worth it either for the poor experience and waiting on our own table. Needless to say, we won't be going back. The food was OK otherwise, nothing that I couldn't easily make at home myself. The aesthetic and ambiance were nice. read more

Very cute place in old town. They have wine and food.. I tried the red wine brownie with ice cream it was soooooo delicious! You get 4 wines to try. Definitely would love to go back soon read more

Found this cute wine bar and restaurant in Old Town on King St. The majority of the wine is from California. We got the appetizer which was tasty but a little overpriced for the serving size. It's a cute atmosphere but the food and wine were alright. read more

Sonoma Cellar - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Absolutely adorable! It feels like I was back in San Fran! You can get unique wines by the glass or do tastings. The people were super friendly. In fact, I as meeting a friend somewhere else for dinner and they gave me directions and background on the place. Absolutely stop in here. It's like you're transported to the west coast. read more

Sonoma Cellar - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Duke and I love to go there. Staffs are friendly and nice. Lot of good wine also. I haven't tried food yet otherwise I will give them 5 stars. read more

Sonoma Cellar - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

As good as it gets for California wines! Tuesday night out on the back patio is the best! Rick and Beth make an amazing team--this is a must do when in town. read more

Sonoma Cellar - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I'll start by saying it was restaurant week, but ordered off the regular menu. I generalyl dislike Restaurant week as I feel the quality suffers and you don't get the full menu, but they offered full menu options at Sonoma Cellar. Bravo. Very good wine for reasonable prices, but the food is overpriced for mediocre quality. When you see "Bone-in porkchop" and a $24+ pricetag...you assume you'll get something of more substantial thickness than you'd find at Golden Corral. 1/4" thick at best and very tough. Served with a reduction on top of mushroom risotto...which was slightly better than mediocre. Far too small a portion. A few others ordered the caprese salad...I've NEVER seen a smaller caprese salad than what arrived at the table. ROFL. Seriously...tiny slivers of mozzarella and tomato. Service was fair, but the courses were not well spaced. We waited 15 minutes before our order was taken. Appetizers/salads came out quickly and just as we finished the appetizers the main courses were at the table. Too quick. When you have a table that will rack up $3-400, don't rush us. We left hungry, which is always disappointing when you spend hard earned cash. Great location and nice ambiance, but so many other places in Old Town beat it out for service and food. Meh read more

We are new to the area and did a few google searches of restaurants with outdoor patios to meet two friends from the area. I made a reservation which allowed me to indicate "outdoor seating. My husband and I have not been out for over a year into a restaurant because of covid and it was pretty important for us to get what we expected. It was raining, and though there were so many choices of better places on that street that did allow outside dining, these guys were ill-prepared to honor our reservation and sat us upstairs, in a room with no discernible ventilation. Our waitress was wonderful, the appetizers we had were great and the wine was also fantastic, but this is not a safe place to be dining if you expect to be in a well-ventilated room. If you "think" you have an outdoor reservation and the weather is not perfect, think again. I believe we were told they had three total umbrellas and there was not one for us when we got there, though we had a reservation. I hope not to regret not wanting to cause a scene with two people who had never been to Alexandria before. If you want to be safe, that end of the street has loads of restaurants with ample seating--they just won because they bought the keyword search terms from google. I know better for next time. read more

We met out-of-town friends here for wine & appetizers last week. Candidly, I was disappointed. We sat upstairs and the room was quite uncomfortable because it is so barren. The server was ok but did things like bring three glasses ... not four .. of wine when I asked for a round. We didn't have him get another glass due to the slow service. High prices for food and drink and quite a limited wine menu., at least upstairs I would give it another try but am not in a hurry to do so. There are many other friendlier options. read more

I've been to Sonoma a couple times - once for drinks and once for brunch. It is such a cute little bar in Alexandria for a post-dinner flight or glass of wine. Their cheese plates look amazing (though we didn't order one). Our waitress was so friendly and attentive and the flights are decently priced. They also have a cute little outdoor patio with string lights that would be perfect for a date night. My second visit was for brunch, which I wasn't so impressed with. If you sit outside, they don't let you order flights, which I thought was odd. They also don't have too many drink specials for brunch (just bellinis and mimosas). The waiter was very attentive, but I was disappointed with my Salmon Crostini, which was $15 and was only 3 small pieces of bread with salmon and tzatziki smear. I would have appreciated if the waiter told me I would probably still leave hungry. read more

Sonoma is an elegant surprise addition to a neighborhood that mostly features tourist traps and bland food offerings. It is versatile and supports everything from date nights to casual bites, and is a great stop even if you're not focusing on wine. I stopped into Sonoma with my date and her out of town friend, and we were rewarded with stellar service and a clean/sharp dining room upstairs. Built into a large rowhouse, Sonoma feels comforting and homey will presenting high end small plates and locally sourced food. The food scene here is truly unique; it FEELS like California menus, and its hard to remember that you're in Alexandria. The fish tacos pass muster; fish is delicate and fresh, and the accouterments balance and enhance the dish rather than hide the fish. (Easy to get wrong, on this coast) The hanger steak was well prepared, and the corn chowder, surprisingly, drew the most compliments at the table with its diced fresh veggies and pops of flavor. The booze offerings here don't just stop with wine; Sonoma offers a wide selection craft beers and ciders as well. read more

I had my bridal shower here in August. I had a hard time finding something that was a good price, that had a private room, and that was in the Alexandria area. I had never been to Sonoma Cellar before my bridal shower so I did not know what to expect! It was AMAZING! Their correspondence was direct and timely, and we had this private room upstairs which was adorable. We had 8 people, and we brought our own little decorations which was welcomed warmly. The owner of the restaurant greeted us and made sure we were take ln care of. It was a casual gathering, and we were there for a few hours. The food was great, (the charcuterie tray was the star!) And the drinks were delicious. All staff was friendly. If you have to book a private party, I absolutely recommend Sonoma Cellar! I will be back! read more

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We tried this place for Sunday brunch at the bar. The menu was very thoughtful with many interesting options. There was a really cute patio outside to eat at once it warms up. The service was nice and the food was great. We will be back! read more

My fiancé and I just had a fantastic little Sunday here. The location is an old mansion in Old Town Alexandria and couldn't be more cozy. We had lunch upstairs in their dining room followed by a tasting downstairs and everything was perfect, from the food, to the wine, to the service. My fiancé and I were celebrating our engagement and were treated like royalty. Everyone was personable and the food was excellent. Everything we ate and drank was 5 stars. If you live in Old Town or the Alexandria area definitely stop in. This will not be our last time here. Thanks Jose and Mike for a lovely Sunday. read more

So..the wine is excellent...and the tacos are good (by DC standards)....but... I sit down at the bar, it's pretty quiet. Bartender explains their happy hour, $2 off select wines, 4 1oz pours for $10, and "Taco Tuesday". Taco Tuesday means...instead of paying $15 for 3 tacos, you pay $5 for one taco....how that is a happy hour...I do not know.... I ask for a pour of wine and he pours me a tasting amount....about 2 sips worth....thanks? I sit with an empty glass for about 10 minutes before he checks on me... So I run with the small pour thing and say I'll just do the four one ounce pours and tell him the other 3 I want....20 minutes go by...nothing. I ask him if he forgot about me...he had. I eventually get all 4 one oz pours and my two "happy hour" tacos, in an hour and a half... Then he brings me my bill, and charges me for two tastings (8 pours)...I'm like...no I didn't do that. He's like yeah, you did, didn't you? Back and forth, it's decided I didn't. Hand him my card one the bill is corrected. He charges someone else's more expensive bill to my card....I have to explain this and he goes to refund/void it. But refunds/voids the wrong amount... He pulls a manager over and it takes another 20' minutes to get the bills straightened out, the charges on my card are still pending, so hopefully everything is straightened out on the card soon. Was quite disappointed, some friends of mine are part of the wine club and like it, and I was thinking of joining, but I think I'll go elsewhere for my wine. read more

Heads up: the menu says Vegan friendly and it's really not. I went here for restaurant week and couldn't even get anything or sub anything on the restaurant week menu. There was pretty much 2 items I could order. One being the butternut squash soup but as you'll see from another review it doesn't have a lot of flavor. Two being a pasta dish with zoodles which again wasn't very flavorful. My friend was also displeased with her dish. I will say the wine was good. My friend and I got the Sauvignon Blanc. I did feel like for a wine bar they really didn't have a a lot of choices to order by glass. The customer service was also not very attentive and professional. I would recommend just going to Grape + Bean right around the corner. The menu is great there, customer service is always good, and there's a lot more wine to choose from. From the looks of everything online this seemed like a great place, it's unfortunate that my experience was not. read more

This is a very lovely place with great selection. We did the 4 pours, all were excellent. However, I accidentally left a bag of Marou chocolates at the bar. I tried calling numerous times the same night and next afternoon, no one picked up! There was also no voicemail setup either. That's the only reason I'm giving a 1-star review. read more

As an Old Town resident, I have been wanting to check out this establishment for a long time. I finally did, tonight. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. My friend and I chose to sit outside - as did many others given this unseasonably warm February night. From the get-go, our waitress seemed annoyed. We ordered two glasses of wine. She delivered them and one was wrong. No big deal. We ordered our food - two cups of butternut squash soup and two mushroom risottos. The soup came and was slightly under seasoned. No big deal. I asked for some salt. My soup sat and sat....no salt came. My friend got up to use the bathroom and asked someone inside for salt. She was told - if you want salt - it's over there. Grab it YOURSELF. Awesome. Self service salt on cold soup. Well, ok then. We wanted a second glass of wine. No waitress to be found. We again went inside and ordered a second round. (Because...hunting down wine at a wine bar is something you should have to do...right?) Our risotto was served. And hey! Look! There's our mystery waitress! We ask for a third glass of wine. 25 minutes later............. No wine. We give up. Go inside to ask for our check. Lo and behold. The waitress can't be found. We wait. Again. She sees us, and wonders - would you like the glass of wine you ordered? Nope. I wanted it half an hour ago. Now, I want to leave you a 10 percent tip and get the hell out of here and hope the people who run this restaurant don't lose more customers based on your incompetency. I would like to return....I love the ambiance. But I will certainly think twice. read more

Absolutely amazing atmosphere! The food was unique and on point. The people that frequent the place are super friendly and make being an out of towner definitely feel at home. Great music out on the patio. Even though it was super cold, there was quite a crowd outside. You can enjoy a glass of wine or a cigar by the fire pit all while enjoying great conversation with new people! All in all a great place to eat, drink and enjoy entertainment and outstanding ambience and company! read more

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I would give it five stars but I didn't taste any of the food on their menu I only had their wine! However, their menu looked delicious and had a diverse selection and their red wines I tried were excellent! I also loved the unique set up of the place and how out back there was a fire pit and heaters so people could sit comfortably outside while sipping on their wine. It was a very cozy and pleasant vibe overall and we also met and talked to one of the owners briefly who was very nice and welcoming. Definitely planning on returning to this place to try out their food next time! read more

This place is phenomenal! They are all about safety during this pandemic and very professional! The food was awesome and the new way of wine tasting is fun too! I will definitely go back! Wonderful experience! read more

The host is very rude. If you are wearing a face mask and/or ask questions about "gluten-free" items on the menu, he will claim he "cannot hear you." Raising your voice won't matter if you are wearing a mask and/or ask questions about "gluten-free" items on the menu. read more

Great happy hour, date night or GNO! Loved the variety of wine choices by the glass, friendly staff and WOW, variety of lite fare and main dishes to please all! DAIRY AND gluten Free allergy and the staff accommodated Shrimp over vegetables delicious. My date raved over Ahi Poke and than the Carnitas dinner. Just enough food without being over served! Love this little spot and will start later next time to hear the Friday night band! read more

I booked a table for 10 to have dinner with colleagues/friends who were in town for a conference. The ENTIRE experience surpassed my expectations from calling to make the reservation to paying the check. When we arrived, it was raining and we had reserved a table outside. The staff had already made a table for us inside in a small room that was perfect for our group, who all arrived in dribs and drabs. They accommodated our intermittent arrivals and kept the food and drinks flowing all night. The icing on the cake was our most incredible server, Stephanie! We could not have asked for a more attentive, affable or knowledgeable person to shepherd us through the evening. And then there was the food itself! Delicious! We will definitely be back. Thank you, Stephanie and the whole Sonoma Cellar crew! read more

I never write reviews, but I felt absolutely compelled to write one for Sonoma Cellar after my horrendous experience. I had been emailing management weeks in advance of a wine tasting+dinner event I wanted to organize for a group of people. I was assured that we would have a tasting prepared for us. When we got there, the only thing that was ready for us was a reserved table. The wait staff was unprepared to give us a wine tasting, which was the main reason that I had selected to come to Sonoma Cellar. We ended up just ordering dinner while some people just chose tastings from their menu without us being guided through an actual wine tasting experience. Throughout this meal, wait staff was incredibly slow, it felt as if they had forgotten about us at times. From the time we were seated to the time they took our orders it was 45 minutes. At the end of our meal, I was told that we would all have separate checks. We were instead given one check and I had to clarify the issue. When the checks were separated, there were still mistakes, which my party pointed out to the wait staff; one of them, I think the manager, seemed offended that we pointed out their mistake. By the end of our experience there, we could not wait to leave. The thing that shocked me the most about this whole horrible experience was that Sonoma Cellar was expecting my party to come for weeks. I was so sure that things would be well prepared. Instead, we did not receive a proper wine tasting and were left waiting for long stretches of time by wait staff. Service was inattentive and it was clear they did not care for our business. TL;DR: If you have a special occasion and would like to incorporate a wine tasting, please look elsewhere. You deserve to have a nice time when you go out and you will not find that here. read more

Wonderful experience. We live in DC, took the Wharf ferry over. Very socially distanced, great ambiance. But the real catch is the service, food, and wine! Our server was very knowledgeable about wine and food pairings -- we've had an amazing dinner. Diego P was incredible! Amazing pairings. Wonderful find. read more

Very disappointed in quality of service. We ordered a delivery order, which included an $8 side of brussel sprouts. Well apparently they were running low on the brussel sprouts, because we received maybe 4 whole brussel sprouts in the order. We did not receive a call ahead of receiving the order, nor did we receive any kind of acknowledgement about the side order. Further confirming my suspicion that they had run out of the brussel sprouts (and failed to tell us), when I looked on the mobile order menu (after receiving our order), the side was no longer listed. If that is their normal serving size for an $8 side that's disappointing in itself. Pretty disappointed overall given the other food was good. read more

Sonoma Cellar - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia