"Oēno Wine Bar" 

by Martin A. Rodriguez

location: 

330 N Mead St

Wichita, KS 67202

Moving from one location to another is difficult, but when you find yourself moving from one state to another it’s even more stressful.  The simple things you are used to, are removed and are now faced with the dilemma of, where do I go to chill or eat?  I just recently moved form Delaware where I was pretty much centralized to a lot of places (i.e. NYC, Philadelphia and DC) to Wichita, Kansas. 

Wasn’t too sure how I was going to take this new ambiance so I started to be optimistic about it and just give this new town a chance.  I found myself going to old town, which is right outside of downtown Wichita and came across this restaurant, Oēno. (In Greek mythology Oēno, daughter of Anius, was the goddess of wine, and she had the ability to turn anything into wine.)  I found my big city atmosphere in this little restaurant.  You can hear the live band from the parking lot, I can see them playing outside, nice smooth jazz music, and it was heaven to my ears.  I parked and walked in.  I was greeted by a very nice host, who recommended I sat outside to enjoy the music and the great weather.  Walking through the restaurant, the lights were dimmed to perfection, the suede and leather couches and seats were the right earth tone colors; very tasteful and luxurious feel. 

Once sited, waiting for a waiter to come to me, it just hit me; I felt like I had traveled back to NYC it was an out of body experience.  At first I had to look around to make sure I wasn’t’ in NYC, and believe me the surrounding confirmed I wasn’t.  I was getting into the groove of the music when I was asked what I wanted to drink.  I ordered a mojito and a glass of water.  After looking over the menu I noticed it had over 140 wine selection as well as cheese.  For a quick second I almost switched my drink but decided not too since I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I would come here.  When I saw the waitress coming to my table, I made up my mind and decided I would have the Chicken Carbonara flatbread, she agreed it was a great choice. 

As I sat there, listening to the smooth jazz and feeling everyone’s vibe, taking a few sips of my drink and just enjoying the cool breeze, Wichita was actually starting to look good.  My food was placed on my table and I couldn’t wait to taste it.  It looked like a flat crispy pizza, cut into a bunch of little squares.  I grabbed the first piece and it was delicious.  The Parmesan cream sauce and grilled chicken was delicious!  It was the right temperature and the cheese just melted from one slice to another.  The waitress was very attentive and made sure my glass of water was full and made sure I was doing well. 

While enjoying the band and the delicious food, I couldn’t wait to come out for dinner again and order something else from the menu and see what other fond memories would arise.  Overall I would recommend anyone to go out and visit an Oēno restaurant near you.