Last night, my husband and I went out to dinner at a newish wine bar in the Westcott Neighborhood near Syracuse University. Saint Urban Wine Bar and Restaurant has only been open a few weeks from what I understand but colleagues at work were raving and since we love wine and food, we decided to check it out pronto!
We made a reservation easily from the website and chose dining but there also was an option for communal dining at a long table down the middle of the restaurant. We had a nice two-top near the corner which allowed us to chat pretty easily and wasn’t too close to people on either side of us. The entire space is quite small so I can see why reservations are a must! But, we didn’t notice too many people at the bar, though.
The menu is more wine than food however Saint Urban offers three-course specials on a weekly basis — appetizer, main dish and dessert. There were three choices in each category. While wines are not suggested for each course, our server assured us that the chef designed the dishes with the wines in mind and there would not be a poor pairing!
Using what we knew about wine and food pairings, we came up with a good collection of wines and small plates and shared/tasted each other’s to give us even more depth to our overall experience. My husband had Carpaccio with vegetables and duck; I ended up on the seafood side of things, trying a chilled pea soup with crab, sea scallops. For dessert, he chose Burrato with strawberry-rhubarb; I went for the chocolate and cherries plate.
My appetizer and dinner wines:
Laroche Chablis, 2014
Burgundy, France
Stephano Mancinelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Superiore
Cru Santa Maria 2017
Marche, Italy
My husband’s appetizer and dinner wines:
Dauvergne-Ranvier Luberon Vin Gourmond 2017
Rhone, France
Pike Road Pinot Noir 2015
Willamette Valley, OR
Now for dessert, my husband grabbed the dessert wine I really wanted so I decided to try a Hungarian wine for the first time. We ended up realizing our mistake after one bite/taste! We shared our dessert wines but I mostly drank his — Broadbent Colheita Maderia 1999, Madeira, Portugal; while he sipped more on mine — Royal Tokaji Late Harvest Tokaji 2016, North Hungary, Hungary Furmint.
The menu offers wines by the taste, half glass or full glass, allowing you to freely taste and enjoy many different wines without breaking the bank or drinking to excess! I overheard our server explaining that the owner really wanted to create a fine dining and wine experience for people who ordinarily couldn’t afford a high end establishment. I think he succeeded. The three-course meals are $39 each plus the wines are various prices, depending on the wine and serving size. All together, our bill came to $150, which was reasonable considering we each had three courses and three different wines.
Service was excellent, competent and friendly. I think we’ll definitely be back! 10/10!