Restaurant Review - Wonder Bar

First posted on myspace blog- August 2007

Friday night. 8 p.m. Wonder Bar on E. 4th in downtown Cleveland
The first thing you notice is the street. E. 4th has a certain charm. You feel you're in a neighborhood in maybe New York City or Cuernavaca, Mexico. With the cobblestone street, strings of lights and various eating and drinking establishments, it draws you in.
Wonder Bar is right in the middle of the street and a new establishment. The draw of restaurant week inspired us to try a new, unknown (to anyone) place.
The valet is midway down the block; the workers are attentive and quick. We walk into the restaurant, only to notice it is not packed, at all. Our dinner reservation was unnecessary and we decided to sit at the bar as opposed to taking a table towards the back.
The menu was standard Americana with flair. Because of restaurant week, they had a tasting menu, three appetizers for $20 or six for $40. We elected to do six. I am a recent vegetarian convert which left me slightly worried; often restaurants do not cater well to the vegetarian crowds. I was not disappointed. There were about twelve items on the tasting list, six of which were meatless—we chose those along with a bottle of red.
The food was prompt and tasted great, for the most part. The macaroni and cheese had an amazing crust but a little more cheese would have made it perfect. The shrimp on pita with maybe hummus(?) was by far the worst, but even that wasn't horrible, just kind of weird. There was a flatbread pizza that was amazing and the gnocchi, oh the gnocchi was so very good. The other two dishes escape me, unmemorable which wasn't good or bad.
9 p.m. brought live jazz. There was a solo bass player, or at least he is the only one I remember. The music was good, a little loud, but enjoyable.
Overall, I recommend Wonder Bar. The ambiance is good the food is better and the music is great. Definitely go on a Friday or Saturday night when there are more people out and about.
Try to avoid the valet if there is a sporting event. We had to wait for quite a while to get my car, due to the game ending around the same time we finished dinner. On a warm spring or summer evening, it wouldn't be bad, but a winter evening made it a bit miserable.