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Plonk Beer & Wine Bistro

(Wine Boutique)

MY REVIEW: Great atmosphere, good selection for drinks. Food was great! But, please, please, please get a wait staff. If it were only drinks, o.k., but offering food, it is needed.

NAME: kag
SUBMITTED: 1/8/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: January 2011
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Food is very good for being a limiited menu. Best pizza in town and gret burgers. My daughter in law had the Muff and loved it. Great wine selection. Once you learn to walk to the counter and order things the rest goes pretty smooth. Great addition to Oak Forest area where previously only fast food was generally available.

NAME: legran
SUBMITTED: 11/1/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: October 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Best muffalata in Houston.

Good wine selection.

Owner cares.

Pizza good.

Nice crowd.

NAME: Jackie
SUBMITTED: 5/7/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 5/6/10
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Excellent wine list (not a bad one so far, but I'm working my way thru the list)

Great beer selection (some familiar, some new ones to try - all great)

Propietor Scott Miller takes great care and pride in proper storage and climate control on all of his beers and his wines, and it shows.

Great brick oven pizzas, and the "gardenia" appetizer plate has an amazing array of dips/spreads to go on house-baked tiny pita breads (cilantro pecan pesto, red pepper puree, lovely hummus, a tapenade, and one or two others).

The cheese and meat plates are equally good, with an outstanding prosciutto.

The place has a great deal of warmth for a contemporary wine bar, and the friendly atmosphere is apparent immediately.

"belly up to the bar" though - no wait staff at this place. Just mingle with the other locals and enjoy the social neighborhood feel of a sophisticated but laid-back haunt.

I'm still working my way through the menu, but have not found a disappointing item yet.

NAME: JenO
SUBMITTED: 4/15/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: April 15, 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: My husband and I went here for the first time on a Saturday night for dinner and drinks.

The food was excellent. My husband had a pizza and I had the Mediterranean sampler. It was just as good as I could get anywhere else in town at that price. The wine and beer selection was great and prices were reasonable. The decor is very nice and you can tell a lot of money was spent on this place.

Only weak points - this place REALLY needs table wait service. You have to order everything at the bar. For as nice as this place is and with dinner menu items, it really needs wait service. And this is probably nitpicky, but when we came in country music was playing (in a wine bar??) and a lot of the music was loud. As someone else mentioned, they may want to reconsider music selection and volume.

NAME: Timbergrovefoodie
SUBMITTED: 2/21/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 02/10
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Nice decor and good selection of wines and beers. Very pleasant place to sit and have a drink. But they need to improve the level of service. As far as I could tell, you had to go to the bar to order and pick up drinks. Get some waiters!!!

NAME: Danield734
SUBMITTED: 1/24/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/10
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Plonk's idea of offering BOTH interesting, quality wines AND beers is a great one for my husband and me, and I would imagine for many couples whose taste for one libation is unsatisfied at an establishment that caters to the other. My husband ordered a 22 oz stout and I had glasses of South African and New Zealand sauvignon blanc that I hadn't tasted before. The prices were very reasonable and the pour sizes good. My wines were $5 and $8. We also ordered a tasty appetizer plate of mini pitas (warm) and five small dishes of tapenades, hummus, pestos.

The room is divided into three spaces. The main room has a bar on the left and many tables for 2-4. Two smaller front rooms offer a larger table in one and four comfortable leather chairs in the other. A patio is set up on the west side of the building. Overall, the decor is spare - cement and metal.

My only criticism was the music which was "young" and loud. When we were there, about 5 pm on a Saturday, there were maybe 8 people - all about in their 50s and all engaged in conversation with their date/friend/spouse. Perhaps this time of day attracts a different group, and warrants different music, than 9 pm on Saturday. If so, I'd suggest that the staff (at this or any restaurant) size up their current clientele and assess the music choice and volume. I'll return for wine and appetizers - and notice the music.

NAME: A woman's point of view
SUBMITTED: 11/3/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/09
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Husband and I rode our bikes to our newest neighborhood addition...PLONK. We have both been anxious to check it out. I was thrilled with Plonk...great wine selection and a tasty menu. Scott, the owner, took the time tell us all about Plonk and his future plans for the place. We ordered a cheese plate, which was made with all high-quality cheeses sourced from Houston Dairy Maids, exceptional meats and unique olives. I love the attention to quality here...finally we've got a proper wine bar in Oak Forest/Garden Oaks. I have a feeling Plonk is destined to be a hit!

NAME: KLA
SUBMITTED: 10/27/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My husband and I stopped by this new neighborhood wine bar for a light bite and glass of wine one weekday evening. The decor is very nice and they have a good wine list. We were disappointed that the kitchen was not open yet, although they were serving spaghetti that night. While the dinner was delicious, the price was outragous. $20 for a small portion of spaghetti, a caeser salad with 3 shrimp and piece of garlic bread.

The only other thing of note is that the place is counter service. This is not well indicated either on the menus or withing the establishement. While we do not have a problem with a counter service, we would like it to be more visible. In fact, there is not even a clearly defined spot at the bar for the patrons at the table for place orders. As such, they have to elbow their way through those that may be sitting at the bar enjoying conversation or their meal.

NAME: Gillian
SUBMITTED: 9/21/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/209
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Very nice beer menu. Was impressed with the wine menu but felt that for a neighborhood wine bar there should be some offerings in the $20-30 range. The night we visited there were only two reds in this price range. There were plenty $40 and over. I'm sure we will return when the kitchen opens.

NAME: qwerty
SUBMITTED: 9/13/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 09/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Like so many others, we are very excited to see a wine bar open in our secret enclave of Oak Forest -- or as advertised on Plonk's menus, "Beautiful Oak Forest." About three weeks ago, my husband and I were driving back from our weekly Kroger run and saw that Plonk was opened. We did a -- perfectly safe -- u-turn in the middle of 43rd Street and waltzed in. We were treated to the warmth and friendliness of the three goatee's bartenders who knew not only wine but beer. We recieved a grand tour and realized that this place was the owner's passion. I don't think single-minded dedication to detail exhibited here can miss in the bar/restaurant industry. With food coming, this will be our local choice where we can hang out with our friends. The menu and wine list will change seasonally as will the decor -- we have to see this. Oak Forest has been blessed with such a community minded establishment. It almost reminds me of my corner neighborhood pub in Chicago . . .

NAME: Gigi
SUBMITTED: 9/8/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: September 5
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: My fiancee & I live in Garden Oaks so we were super excited to see this place open up. They have a great wine selection (mid to high priced bottles) and also a good array of imported beers to choose from. The kitchen is not up & running yet, but we were told by management it would be within the next couple of months. They are also expanding with a large outdoor patio area which will be great. The ownners are really nice guys who are friendly and open with wine recommendations. We will definitely be back here & suggest others in the area to give it a shot- it's great!

NAME: Heather
SUBMITTED: 8/20/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

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