Jump toOverall Rating
Vinalia Urbana, which opened in March of this year and is located on Monroe Ave. near the Bug Jar, is one of Roc’s newest restaurants. Delightfully, they named a cocktail in honor of Dac Hoa, which was a Roc Vietnamese restaurant best known for its duck that was housed in that location for around 40 years. We had seven veteran Rouletters and one guest from out of town: this Croupier’s mother-in-law! Please note that the menu changes frequently.
We kicked off our meal with a complimentary amuse bouche: parmesan squares with honey. One might ask, why was this so good? But a better question might be, what’s not to love? It was sweet, salty, and savory and the presentation was beautiful. The sweetness of the honey was a delightful complement to the slightly sharp nuttiness of the parmesan. This was a lovely surprise and start to our meal and really showed the hospitality that was consistently on display for the entire evening. ⭐️ 4.6 ⭐️
Next off we had the fried calamari, Bianco Di Napoli tomato, pepperoncini aioli. Rouletters agreed that this was a basically well-done calamari: a good fry and not too much breading resulting in a light and crunchy bite. The star of the show was the sauce. Rouletters wanted pepperoncini ailoli on everything – and they brought us extra!! The owner explained the process for the aoili which involves dehydrating pepperoncini brine into a salt consistency then incorporating it into this delicious dip. ⭐️ 4.2 ⭐️
The artichokes francaise were very nicely cooked so that even the larger artichokes parts were tender inside. The batter was very light and not oily: almost like a tempura. The sauce was a deliciously light accompaniment, which didn’t overpower, and we loved the light flecks of lemon. Some Rouletters found the sauce a bit too light though and thought the dish lacked flavor. ⭐️ 4.0 ⭐️
In a tie for the second lowest rated dish of the night is the ricotta-caponata canapé. This dish tasted unbalanced: as much as I love spreadable cheese, the caponata added capoNADA to this ricotta. The fleshy texture of the chopped eggplant and olives overpowered the cheese’s delicate mouthfeel without adding anything to the flavor profile of the dish. We talk about ricotta A LOT here at Roc Restaurant Roulette. The reason is simple: there is some exceptional ricotta in town. And a lot of average ricotta too. This fell in the average category. The ricotta had a bit of a lemon flavor but lacked salt. The topping was too strong to compliment it, so it erased the ricotta entirely. We would have preferred three big dollops of ricotta with different toppings – a blistered tomato, basil caprese style maybe, macerated berries also would have been nice – all finished with some salt and olive oil. Ricotta is too lovely to bury. The crusty charred bread was delish and they promptly brought more when we asked. Very nice touch.⭐️ 3.4 ⭐️
Next up was the fondant potatoes, broken gribiche. It was a little reminiscent of a warm german potato salad to some – the eggs with the brininess of the capers, maybe? The potatoes were tender but crisp on the outside: very well executed and tasty. Some Rouletters were not excited about the hard boiled eggs with warm potatoes, however. Others felt this would make more sense as a side dish than a small shareable plate. ⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️
The lowest rated dish of the night was the cured salmon, red onion con fiture, pickled mustard seed, grilled bread. This was a particularly fishy salmon meaning that if you LOVE salmon you loved it. If you just like salmon or are on the fence (ie, you dig it if it isn’t too fishy), you hated it. Rouletters appreciated the mustard and red onion to help cut the flavor but at the end of the day, it appears there was only one true salmon lover at the table. ⭐️ 2.7 ⭐️
The highest rated dish of the night was the spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, Stracciatella. This was light, perfectly cooked, and nicely seasoned: they had just the right amount of red pepper to add a zing. We especially loved how the mix of microgreens and cheese complemented the depth of flavor with the roasted garlic. Friends, we didn’t expect to be impressed by spaghetti here but this was exceptional. That’s right: we have a Golden Shrimp Toast Award winner!! ⭐️ 4.8 ⭐️
Next, we had the crudites, rotating double dippies, accessories. One Rouletter notes that while they hate to be a stickler, it’s not crudite because crudite means raw; however, we loved the char on these veggies! The color combination and presentation of this dish was art. The stars of this dish, too, were the homemade dips: clearly the Vinalia Urbana kitchen team are dip masters. The white bean dip was to die for, and we may have asked for extra. The homemade blue cheese was also delicious for the moldy cheese loving Rouletters. One note: there were no accessories. Not that there needed to be, but if you list it, you should serve it. ⭐️ 4.2 ⭐️
We followed that up with the spaetzle, sauce mornay, braised leeks, herbed breadcrumbs. The leeks gave a nice tang to the dish, which was creamy, and the “noodles” are a lovely doughy texture. The Breadcrumbs were a nice added crunch. Rouletters either found this to have a nice flavor or wished there was more flavor to this mild dish. ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️
Rouletters liked the coconut-curry lentils, grilled vegetables, herbs but some wished the curry was a little stronger. The coconut sweetness balanced the curry heat which some Rouletters loved while others found it a bit too sweet. The grilled vegetables were a hit and Rouletters would have liked to have seen a few more of those. ⭐️ 4.0 ⭐️
The onion rings were fried perfectly in a delicious batter that was seasoned very well. Folks liked the honey mustard dipping sauce best but noted that if the pepperoncini aioli was served with them that they probably would have been in the running for top dish of the night. ⭐️ 4.3 ⭐️
The Parisian Paradox goes to the dessert special: coconut rice pudding with pickled blueberries. This was a bit of a savory dessert and tied for second lowest rated dish of the night. Some Rouletters found it not to be sweet enough with the coconut being too subtle. Others were unhappy with the gelatinous texture. The star was the pickled blueberries and made the dish a top for some Rouletters. Meanwhile, others found that the pickled with the texture and the savory was just not their thing. ⭐️ 3.4 ⭐️
The dessert special: NY cheesecake with strawberry sauce was light and not too sweet. Most of us love a basque cheesecake because the texture is just so perfect while others found it a touch too dense. The macerated strawberries and the meringue were both perfectly executed. ⭐️ 4.0 ⭐️
The second highest rated dish of the night was the dessert special: chocolate pot de crème. This was rich and creamy: a smooth, perfect texture means a lot to some Rouletters. The rich cream with the topping was heaven in our mouths. ⭐️ 4.7 ⭐️
Turning to drinks, they have a lovely selection of cocktails, wines, and beers. Before we jump into cocktails, we really appreciated the server’s knowledge of the wine and the nice selection available. Okay, the French 75swere top notch – do we have another contender for top French 75s in the Roc? A few Rouletters loved the seasonal Oaxaca flocka flame – mezcal, strawberry, habanero, anchoreyes, lime and a tajin rim. It had the perfect amount of heat: you could taste and feel it but it was not completely overpowering. Strawberry was a great flavor to pair with that. Just perfect. The King’s Nectar – aperol, tequila, lemon and elderflower water was super refreshing. Who would think to combine those flavors? Someone smart because that drink was terrific. The golden Gaia – bourbon, cognac, lillet, apricotwas another winner. The last drink we tried was the purple rain – indigo gin, crème de violette, lavender syrup, lemon, tonic. WOW. The violet and lavender were absolutely lovely and created an interesting layer of flavors that perfectly ended our meal. Some of us may be back just for cocktail hour! ⭐️ 4.6 ⭐️
The service was incredible. This place knows how to do hospitality. We had a super attentive and fun server. We never saw an empty drink, they changed over plates/forks with courses, and they coursed it out perfectly. The owner, JJ, also checked in, described some of the dishes, and brought extra of our favorite sauce. This was a wonderful experience with the staff and owner: we never had to wait for anything and all requests were met with a smile. ⭐️ 5.0 ⭐️
We had a terrific time at Vinalia Urbana with the cocktails and service being absolutely exceptional. They even asked if we had any dietary restrictions unprompted, which is a thoughtful touch. One note we had is that the prices are on the higher end in line with some top Roc spots like Good Luck, Redd, and Nosh. They have a nice sized parking lot right next to the building, so parking is easy. Finally, they had lovely and well-appointed all gender restrooms – we love to see it! This one is in the top 5 highest scored restaurants we have ranked. ⭐️ 4.4 ⭐️
