Last weekend, my wife and I wanted to take advantage of the Orlando Magical Dining Month offer, so we made reservations and dined at B.B. King’s Blues Club at Pointe Orlando. While our evening was enjoyable, there were a few aspects of the “Magical Dining” experience that left us less than impressed. Not wanting to give up all hope, however, we decided to give the Magical Dining Month offer another try.

Vines Grille and Wine Bar, located on “Restaurant Row” in Dr. Phillips, specializes in fine wine and dry-aged prime grade beef. In fact, their extensive wine list has been given the “Award of Excellence” by Wine Spectator Magazine for the past three years. Their beef selections include both American Kobe and Japanese A5 Kobe. As their website states, they focus on the very best the world has to offer.

After arriving at the restaurant, we waited for our table in the bar area at one of the small high-top tables that would make for a good spot to have a cocktail and listen to some live music (which begins at 8pm, nightly). Looking around the relatively small dining room, all available space was reserved for the storage of wine bottles - either in private lockers, as decoration or simply for bottles used in everyday dining. It’s not an overly impressive interior, but they’ve left no doubt as to where they focus their efforts.

The Magical Menu at Vines includes four courses, starting with an appetizer of a jumbo lump crab cake or fire-grilled octopus. Next up is either a relatively simple “Vineyard” salad or tomato basil soup, followed by an entree selection of free range chicken breast with truffle-whipped potatoes, pepperberry-crusted yellow fin tuna with bok choy-ginger risotto, grilled wild shrimp with grilled cheese polenta or petite filet mignon with wild mushroom risotto. The final course would be a dessert sampler.

My wife and I made sure to cover all of the options for the first two courses, and found the fire-grilled octopus to be our favorite. Of the entrees, we selected the chicken and petit filet, both of which were excellent. The truffle-whipped potatoes proved to be an interesting flavor; and the very cheesy mushroom risotto was the perfect pairing for the small, but perfectly prepared filet. For dessert, a sampling of cheesecake and apple baklava was paired, wrapping up the meal with just the right amount of sweetness.

Overall, the dining experience at Vines Grille and Wine Bar was truly first-rate. Our service was nearly flawless, with our head waiter doing a spectacular job of explaining the Magical Dining Month selections, and even going so far as to describe the dishes on the everyday menu, “just in case” we ever decide to visit again.

With only a week or so left in September, I recommend taking advantage of the Magical Dining Month by making reservations at Vines Grille and Wine Bar. At $29 per person, you’ll be getting an amazing deal at one of Orlando’s finest restaurants.

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