This high-profile Fresno restaurant has a new bistro and bar — and there’s still wine

The former Vino Grille & Spirits may be gone, but a new restaurant has opened in its place in the familiar northeast Fresno building — and inside is a colorful new mix of flavors and people.

Oak Hill Wine + Bistro has been open for weeks now in the spot on Champlain Drive, just north of Shepherd Avenue.

Walk through the doors and you’ll find an “elevated, modern” menu that ranges from burgers to charred Spanish octopus. There are cocktails invented by a “mad scientist” who smokes olives with a handheld device. And a wine expert who wants to kick the snobbery out of the craft. Of course, there’s the chef, who grew up in southeast Fresno, and is infusing her Latin roots into the French bistro-style restaurant.

For the wine lovers who still mourn Vino Grille, there’s a wine shop. A much-requested wine club is coming later this summer.

Oak Hill is open for lunch and dinner, serving shareable small plates in the hours between meals.

It’s part French bistro with wine by the glass or the bottle. It also has Italian food, and that Latin influence, along with salads, burgers, and desserts made by the in-house pastry chef. And of course, that ultimate wine companion, a charcuterie board.

Though all that may sound fancy, the prices are moderate, ranging from $13 for a caprese sandwich to $49 for a 14-ounce Delmonico steak.

The restaurant

“We really want our establishment to be accessible for the everyday diner,” co-owner Raul Gutierrez Jr. said. “We’ve had people come in scrubs; young professionals coming right after work.”

The restaurant is owned by Gutierrez and his wife, Jovanie “Jo” Gutierrez. They also own Papi’s Mex Grill, both its Fresno and Madera locations. The couple has spent their careers in the restaurant industry and his parents founded the former Fajita Fiesta in downtown Fresno.

Vino Grille’s original owners, Chuck and Jen Van Fleet, sold the business to Chad Hurst in 2022. He fought to keep it alive, but the restaurant closed its doors almost exactly a year ago.

The Gutierrez couple always wanted to do something a little more modern, Jo Gutierrez said.

“You live once, you might as well take the risk,” she said.

The building, a prominent spot that was built for its predecessor a few years back, didn’t need many changes, she said.

They added new seating inside and out. There are new shade covers, misters and planters on the patio, some more plants and paint inside, but they kept the general vibe.

“We really didn’t want to change too much of it because it’s a really beautiful building,” she said. “We just ended up adding aesthetically.”

Dazia Higuera of Fresno and her cousin dined at the newly revamped bar on a recent afternoon. She ordered the steak sandwich and grilled chicken and peach salad with the fresh-baked focaccia bread.

“It’s a very down-tempo lounge kind of feel,” she said, also raving about the “light and airy” focaccia bread.

The food

Some popular menu options at Oak Hill?

The steak bites served with gorgonzola cheese are a top seller. The OH! burger (as in, Oak Hill) with caramelized onions and gruyere cheese is, too. As for fish, the seared branzino with salsa matcha drizzle is a favorite.

The ravioli is made from scratch, along with the focaccia.

Executive chef Ana Moreno is busy cooking a whole octopus on a recent afternoon. She who went to Roosevelt High School before getting culinary jobs in San Francisco, San Diego and Baja.

She marinated the octopus in a chipotle adobo sauce before grilling, an example of her own background and time in Baja influencing the menu.

Moreno tosses out the phrase “be bold” a lot, whether it’s when talking about her food or the number of women working in the kitchen.

“I want to go a little bit wild — wild but comforting,” she said.

Drinks

As for the wine, you’ll find a wide range on the menu and in the store.

“As complex as it can be, we want to make it approachable for everybody,” said manager Aron Marquardt, who oversees the wine program.

The wine club debuts later this summer with two tiers: $40 monthly for two bottles or $80 for one or two bottles.

And those cocktails? The mad scientist behind them is Ken Rogge, who helped create the cocktails at the popular Saizon restaurant.

One of his signature cocktails is Smoke on the Water. He cold smokes green olives for four hours — about 30 at a time — that are part of the garnish, using a small device that pumps smoke into a clear plastic dome. Parmesan cheese is also infused into the gin, and the whole cocktail gets a dusting of fresh-ground pepper.

“We’re trying to do delicate takes on some classics,” Rogge said.

So that espresso martini that’s really popular everywhere right now? Oak Hill’s version debuting soon is a blonde espresso martini that is almost clear. He infused coffee into sunflower oil used in the drink to get the flavor, but not the dark brown color.

The name of the drink? “Your espresso martini got dumped by her boyfriend and decided to go blonde,” he said.

Details: Oak Hill is at 1440 E. Champlain Drive. Reservations can be made online or by calling 559-228-9764. Hours: Check the website for exact hours, but the restaurant is generally open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. or later, with small plates served between lunch and dinner and the bar open late.