Mint Cafe & Wine Bar

There are so many places to eat in SV (please note sarcasm), that's when a good one is found, it's worth talking about. Mint is tucked away along SV Drive - don't blink or you might miss it!

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I had read some Yelp reviews about the lack of a hostess stand and not knowing if you should seat yourself. When we walked in, Ed, the owner behind the bar, came over and said to sit anywhere. Problem solved! There were several TVs, some high tables and a dining room with arts and crafts for sale around the perimeter.

There's a comfortable bar with beers on tap, but Mint is known for its wine selection. Ed brought us over food and wine menus. He offered to let us taste something before we ordered. Plus one star for that! The wines ranged from $5 to $14 a glass. You can also get a half or full bottle. A good selection of reds, whites and bubbly's.

To go with our wine, we decided to get the cheese plate ($14 for two cheeses) with Irish Cheddar and Spanish Manchego along with sliced apple, toast, salted almonds and cashews. For $4, the Rocco Plate was sliced hot links with a honey mustard. The spicy sausage and creamy cheeses were great together. I would have liked more fruit on the plate, but it was plenty for the two of us.

They have an extensive menu of lunch and dinner items too, but we were only here for wine and snacks. There's Tri Tip Sliders (shown above), Lots'o Meat Lasagna, Stuffed Shrimp Avocado Salad and more. We will be coming back for sure...

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Services: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Value for price: 7
Overall: 7.5

Mint is in the same location that the Scotts Valley Tree Circus was many years ago. Some of the trees were moved to the Gilroy Gardens Park, but there's still a little sign showing the history there.