There’s a place in Maginhawa where the lights are low, the music is soft, and the wine flows with the kind of ease that feels like an old friend. The building looks like any other in the area—a quiet house, weathered, unpretentious, with a small sign outside that says: Wine Store Manila. If you blink, you might miss it. But don’t.

Inside, there is no velvet rope, no crystal chandeliers, and certainly no sommeliers in tuxedos reciting the year and rainfall of a French vineyard. No, this is not that kind of wine bar. This is a wine store that serves food. That’s it. That’s the charm.

Situated in the ever-evolving culinary landscape of Maginhawa Street, this place feels like a second home. And for most of its patrons, students from UP and Ateneo, residents of nearby villages, quiet couples, and tired workers looking for something warm to end their week, it is home.

You walk in, and the shelves are lined with bottles, not overpriced, not ostentatious, just good wine. The kind you could open on a random Tuesday. We tried the Piccini Toscana Rosso at a very drinkable ₱730. Bold, full-bodied, and crisp, it was everything a red wine should be, without needing to say it out loud.

The food? It doesn’t try to be anything other than good. Shrimp and Chorizo, smoky, spicy, with that firm bite of shrimp that tells you someone in the kitchen knows what they’re doing. The WSM Signature Fried Chicken was comfort in golden brown, crisp skin, juicy meat, fried just enough to make you pause and smile.

The Hand-Cut Potato Chips came with a creamy boursin dip—salty, crunchy, sharp, a snack made sacred. And the Fried Potato Wedges were what you wish all wedges tasted like, served with a hot honey mayo that disappeared fast. But the one that hit deepest was the Bagna Cauda and House Baguette. A Piedmont classic, tweaked with tinapa and native garlic. Salty, smoky, warm.

We sat under the dim glow of warm lights. The space was cozy. Small tables. Low chatter. A few bottles open. A barkada in the corner sharing laughs. A quiet date at the bar. No pretensions. Just people and wine.

That’s the magic of Wine Store Manila. It strips the formality off wine, makes it accessible, makes it human. It’s wine without ceremony. It’s food without fuss. It is, in every way, what Maginhawa food culture has always aspired to be: cozy, welcoming, affordable, and sincere.

We’ll come back. We always do.