Even though Los Angeles may be a large metropolitan area overall, after a short while, one does get to know one’s own neighborhood fairly well. After having dined at the same local restaurants several times over, one yearns for something new and adventurous. It has been a while since that sense of "what a good idea" has been in the Santa Monica area. We have our fair share of Italian and Asian cuisine restaurants but for years, the area has longed for a well-run and enjoyable wine bar.
Open now for about 3 months, Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar, at 104 Santa Monica Boulevard, is a welcome addition to that popular beach location. Just steps away from the ocean, the restaurant is in a key area for locals and tourists. They offer an outdoor patio with limited seating due to its sidewalk location. But the inside is more spacious with counters and comfortable bar stools for taking small bites of appetizers while wine tasting. Their theme is having the opportunity to taste many different wines in 1 oz. portions to which the customer helps himself via a loaded prepaid card. The card is inserted into one of their 4 wine tours and the customer is charged accordingly, depending on his selection. To accompany the wine selections, customers can order off the restaurant’s delicious appetizer menu. Today, I enjoyed their amazing Kobe beef sliders, garlic flat bread and hard cheeses. YUM!
The service and wine assistance is friendly and refreshingly un-stuffy. It’s a great way to taste wines with which one might otherwise never come into contact. My discovery today was a delightful Austrian wine called Nikolaihof Wachau. You can read more about them at their website.
The only detraction (which I personally witnessed) was the annoyance of vagrants disturbing customers sitting outdoors. It is most unfortunate that Santa Monica doesn’t have a stronger ordinance by which to control the homeless population. The customer was being visably disturbed and the store did its best to urge the person along. Until the city of Santa Monica starts to treat business owners more respectfully, I fear that sidewalk life in this lovely destination is "at your own risk". It’s a real shame! But don’t let it sway you from trying this fun and breath-of-fresh-air establishment!