Vintage Cigar Lounge Review

Many visitors who come to Bridge Street Town Center are aware of the fine dining options, such as Texas de Brazil and Connor's Steakhouse. What people may not know is that there is a great option for an upscale, intimate dining experience that doesn't involve enormous portions of heavy food.

Vintage Cigar Lounge is located near the parking garage at Bridge Street and sits across from Pieology. At first glance, it looks like a speciality cigar shop. Although it has a cigar shop with over 2000 different varieties of high-quality cigars, it also has impressive drink and tapas menus.

All of the food at Vintage Cigar Lounge is Latin-inspired; meaning, that many of the dishes, while not explicitly Latin, have key flavors and spices that are unique to that culture.

The three dishes that we tried were the Chickpea Empanadas, the Charred Brussels, and the Chicken Nub.

The Chickpea Empanadas had a crispy yet doughy outside layer, which was surprising because nothing is fried at the Vintage Cigar Lounge; everything is baked in efforts to provide a healthier menu. I could taste the lime, cilantro, and variety of spices, and from the texture to the full-flavored taste, this was easily my favorite dish.

Chickpea Empanadas 

The Charred Brussels were barely baked; the edge were crispy while the insides of the leaves were still soft. We were given a grilled lemon half to squeeze over the sprouts. I have never seen brussel sprouts disappear so quickly from a table! They were not at all bitter, which is typically a popular reason why people steer clear of them.

Charred Brussels 

The Chicken Nub was made up of three chicken legs rubbed in Harissa (an Arabic spice). The spice was smoky with a late hitting heat, which was easily combated by the side of creamy pineapple salsa. The chicken was tender with a crisped flavorful outer layer.

Chicken Nub

As we enjoyed our family-style meal, we tried a couple of beverages from their Apothecary menu. The Vintage, their signature drink, is a blend of Bourbon, house-made bay leaf and orange bitters, tawny port, and celery water. The best part of the cocktail was the presentation; the drink was served on a wooden platter and a handful of tobacco leaves. The leaves were lit at our table, causing them to smoke slowly.

The Vintage 

We also tried La Gloria and the Santa Rosa. Both drinks were beautiful to look at, delicious to drink, and lovely to smell. La Gloria has lavender and citrus notes, while the Santa Rosa is predominately rose-flavored and scented with house-made rose water.

La Gloria

Santa Rosa

After dinner and cocktails, we were invited to tour the humidor and pick out cigars to try in the exclusive, members-only cigar lounge.

The lounge was probably my favorite spot in the restaurant; several leather chairs sat around a fireplace and Frank Sinatra serenaded us from the speakers.

Even if you don't smoke or drink, Vintage Cigar Lounge still has delicious food and extremely welcoming staff. No one will try to rush you out the door, but will instead welcome you in and ensure that you have a quality experience. I am glad that Vintage Cigar Lounge hosted Know Huntsville and that we have a chance to share this great local spot with Huntsville and beyond.