Lupa Wine Bar

Last week I was looking for a cozy place for the BF and I to spend a crisp fall evening, and I wanted to try something new. So, I immediately dialed Jen for a TableTalkPortland "where should I go tonight" conference, and after going down the list we decided that the BF and I should head to Lupa Wine Bar and Cafe on N. Mississippi Avenue.

Lupa is located right on Mississippi and if you drive by quickly you would miss it, because it is a small cave-like place. The interior makes you feel warm, with the gold-toned lights all over and the dark wood. Their concept is like no other wine bar in Portland (that I know of)... you basically pick a bottle of wine off the wall and the prices are marked for resale (close to Freddy Meyer prices) and they charge you the price of wine and a small corkage fee ($5 for bottles less than $40 and $10 for bottles greater than $40). The great thing is the wines are from all over the world (local ones also) and every price tag has tasting notes.

The employees are so knowledgeable and don't make you feel like a wine idiot when you ask for recommendations or other lame questions. We wanted to try a new wine, but there were a ton of wines that I didn't recognize. So, we told the lady what we typically like in our wines and our price range ($20-$30) and she picked a Zwiegelt from Austria and it was wonderful.

Their food is reasonably priced (nothing over $10) small plates. We had the boquerones and pepper sandwich, meat plate (best pepperoni ever), and cheese plate. Everything was delicious. They also make an AMAZING chocolate chip cookie and will pair it with wine... we had it with port and a dessert wine from Russia.

Lupa was the perfect choice for a night out with great wine, great food, and great service.

-M

Lupa Wine Bar * 3955 N Missippi * 503.287.5872* Lupa is open from 3 p.m. to close Monday through Friday, and 12:30 p.m. to close Saturday and Sunday. Closing time is usually anywhere from 9:30 p.m. weekdays to 11:30 p.m. weekends