Happy Hour Review- The Wine Loft

When you find yourself in the Short Pump area, you must stop by The Wine Loft (4035 Whittall Way, Glen Allen).  This place is a gem and I am so happy to add them to my list of Happy Hour reviews.  The location is a little hidden, so you have to keep your eye out for it.  They are in the plaza near the Whole Foods kind of behind Kona Grill.

I had been here once before for the Wine Down Wednesday event, but wanted to try their Happy Hour.  I dragged the husband there on a Wednesday (after a sad experience at another West End spot).  The atmosphere is a little "West End-y", but the people were very friendly.  They have a mixture of seating ranging from sofas and plush armchairs around a coffee table to the full bar and then another seating bar in the middle of the space which makes for a very different atmosphere.  There was a couple snuggling in one corner, a group of ladies chatting in another and a good mix of people at the bar.

We missed the Happy Hour by about 20 minutes, since they only go 4-6pm M-F.  They offer $3 select beer, $4 well drinks and $5 select glasses of wine.  Even though we were too late for that, we were just in time for the FREE wine tasting.  The night we were there, they were sampling three wines from Franciscan Winery in the Napa Valley.  I tried healthy sized tastings of their Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet. 

We ordered drinks and two of their flatbreads, the wild mushroom with caramelized onions and the fig and prosciutto with blue cheese crumbles.  AMAZING!  The flatbreads were delicious and too much for us to finish.  We ended up taking half of each home for lunch the next day and our tab was only $31.

I would definitely recommend this place for a romantic date, ladies night or to take out of town guests for a different experience from the crowded West End spots. Photo credit.