Urban Vines Wine Bistro opened last week at 9219 Garland Road in the old Café Lago space. Jennifer Rodriguez and Jon Sparks both have a strong affinity for wine and wanted to bring a quaint and personal wine experience to East Dallas.
"We've been waiting for the right place, and when this space became available we jumped on it," Rodriguez says. "East Dallas is where we're from and is home to us. We want to do something different than other area wine bars, so in addition to wine, we also offer lunch."
The inside of the restaurant is loaded with dark woods and a sleek modern look, with a bevy of wine cubbies throughout the space. There's a bar, banquet seating, some lounge chairs and a pet-friendly patio.
Urban Vines opens at 11 a.m. daily and the menu has house-made sandwiches, salads and nibbles, like hummus, bruschetta and crostinis with smoke salmon and mascarpone.
In terms of the wine selection, Rodriguez said they had a line in the sand with distributors, "We didn't want any wines that someone could go down the street to buy. We wanted to offer something unique, so we carry boutique wines only."
Urban Vines also carries a selection of craft beer.
They're open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. most nights. On Friday and Saturdays the spot is open until 11:30 p.m. Your nice bistro-friendly dogs are welcome to the patio.