THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Vineyards

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Vineyards Restaurant Review:

It's worth the 30-minute drive from downtown San Antonio to The Vineyards, if only for the bucolic setting which includes a small but functioning vineyard. The owners are wine connoisseurs in their own right, and the list reflects their passion. Though the menu has never quite lived up to the wine and the atmosphere, some dishes bear a thoughtful food focus. Among the starters are roasted tomato basil soup and the Mini Beef Wellington, a creation of tenderloin medallions layered between puff pastry with mushroom duxelles and topped with hollandaise sauce. Entrée include a rack of lamb with a balsamic-shallot reduction served over mushroom risotto; seafood specials such as seared ahi with a wasabi mayonnaise have also begun to crop up alongside the time-tested grilled chicken marinated in chipotle-infused garlic oil. Variations on a chocolate theme seduce at dessert, with a molten chocolate cake served with a Chambord raspberry sauce among the selections. To carry its seductive potential to even greater ends, consider having the cake with someone special at a candlelit table set up in the vineyard. Whatever the question, yes should be the answer.