Top 10 London wine lists by service

What does it take for a restaurant to score highly for its wine service? Top sommeliers, excellent stemware, staff who go above and beyond in the delivery of the whole wine experience in the restaurant – these elements can affect the enjoyment of wine in a big way.

Are all the staff as engaged about the wines they are pouring as the management? Do they offer to decant certain wines without prompting?

Expertise in the arts of presenting, pouring, decanting and telling the story of the juice you’re about to enjoy, while not always crucial, becomes an accepted standard once we start to walk on the Michelin starred side of life. Beautiful wine, presented beautifully, makes the experience more beautiful.

In the pages that follow, we present the top 10 London wines lists by service, as rated by Wine List Confidential contributors.

10. Gymkhana

Great selection put together by Sue Sethi, a member of the family that owns the restaurant. Sharp picks gleam throughout, and it’s a list with zero ‘flab’. A tightly honed, sleek racehorse.

Alsatian, Burgundian and German whites abound – if the Bonneau du Martra Corton-Charlemagne 2006 (£365) is too rich for your blood, the Bernard Defaix ‘Vaillons’ Chablis 2013 (£65) would not disappoint. Nice to see a couple of Rhône whites here too – Gangloff Condrieu and Domaine de la Solitude CNDP, while white picks from lesser known regions are bang on the money – Gaia’s Santorini WIld Ferment Assyrtiko and Croatian Krauthaker’s ‘Rosenberg’ Chardonnay 2008, for example.

Classic and cult reds are chosen from an interesting range of vintages, while value can be found among the Languedoc, Rhône and Spanish options – as well as the bin end selection at the end at the end of the list.

To view Gymkhana’s complete Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores, click here.

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9. Social Wine and Tapas

An inquisitive list at this split-level Marylebone bistro, bar and wine shop, led by sommelier Laure Patry.

Glass listings are particularly eclectic, taking in everything from Catalunya to Hungary, via the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Tempting wine flights are assembled with themes including ‘Skin Contact’, ‘Madeira’ and ‘Different Styles of Jura’.

The Loire leaning reflects the sommelier’s background, which includes her own bottling of white and red Anjou, ‘Clos de L’Elu’, and there are several wines by the glass that are exclusive to the company in the UK, such as JM Stephan Vine de France (a natural, carbonic maceration Syrah planted in Condrieu) and Cascina Tavijn’s Punk Crignolino from Asti. There’s also a substantial list on Coravin – which allows Patry to serve DRC by the glass.

To view Social Wine and Tapas’s complete Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

8. Gordon Ramsay Hospital Road

A daddy of a list, a daddy of a restaurant. Three Michelin stars are not awarded to restaurants lightly, and the quality of the wine list will have had to keep step with the food.

James Lloyd is in charge of proceedings following the departure of Jan Konetski, and 53 pages later, you’ll be wanting to drink a fair whack of this list.

Lots of large formats for added decadence. Spend as much as you dare – with someone you love very much.

To view the full Gordon Ramsay Hospital Road Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

7. 28-50 Fetter Lane

The expert sommelier team, led by Clement Robert MS, in their own words, like to keep things ‘simple’, offering ‘a range of 15 red and 15 white wines by the glass, carafe and bottle’, adhering to the philosophy to ‘only serve wines we like, that are interesting, drink well and offer good value’.

The subterranean City of London outpost is, as with the venues at Marylebone and Maddox Street, something of a wine embassy destination for wine obsessives.

Particularly interesting is the ‘Collectors’ list offering unusual and mature wines. Food, devised by Icelandic chef/patron owner, Agnar Sverrisson (who worked with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and also owns fine dining Texture restaurant) are cleanly-wrought with an eye to being wine-friendly, from the starter of salmon gravlax to Norfolk Horn lamb rump main and pudding of mild, yoghurt-like ‘Icelandic Skyr’ (with rhubarb, white chocolate and lemon sablé) – part of Icelandic cuisine for over 1,000 years.

Alternatively, soak up fine ferment with a selection of cheeses raised by La Fromagerie and a concise but well looked-after range of charcuterie.

To view the full 28-50 Fetter Lane Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

6. Galvin La Chapelle

Francophiles will be delighted with this list at the third restaurant from likeable and charitable chef brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin, with Burgundy and ready to drink Bordeaux being particularly strong.

There’s a great Rhône selection, including, perhaps unsurprisingly given the name of the restaurant, a Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ vertical selection reaching back to 1952 from Paul Jaboulet, if expense accounts or the mood to splash the cash takes a grip.

Devised by group wine buyer Andrea Briccarello, the landscape-format list, which begins with a quote from Paulo Coelho, boasts around 50 wines available by the glass, including Soave Classico ‘Calvarino’, Pieropan poured from magnum, as well as 14 available by the 475ml ‘Pot’ (475 ml).

To view the full Galvin La Chapelle Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

5. Goodman

A wine lovers playground, particularly for connoisseurs with a hankering for some of the finest Californian wines to be found in London.

The list at the Russian-backed Mayfair mothership showcases all the major wine-producing regions of the US, lingering on iconic producers and ‘must haves’.

Of particular note is the obsessive listing of ‘Californian Legends’, including Screaming Eagle, and an admirable list of large-format wines gleaned from serious wineries, ranging from Duckhorn to Sine Qua Non.

It’s not all about the US, though, and Argentina and Chile are covered in some depth, including toothsome European collaborations such as Almaviva (by Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton-Rothschild and Concha y Toro), which makes sense given the protein-centric environment.

The Bordeaux list is worth plundering too, with some worthy selections under £100. And, bargain hunters, be sure to leaf through to the back page ‘Bin Ends’ selection.

To view the full Goodman Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

4. Pied à Terre

The Pied à Terre list has been one of the best in town for a long time, led by head sommelier Mathieu Germond.

Whether it’s a deep-rooted love for the classic French regions, or gems from around the New World, the depth here is outstanding.

Service is among the best in town, complementing a beautiful list.

To view the full Pied à Terre Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

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3. Spring

A carefully constructed list that’s full of panache and, for the most part, very fairly priced.

The sparkling list is small but bedecked with gems and a cracking glass selection kicks off proceedings. Expect to see imaginative choices like Blaufränkisch from Moric, Oregon Pinot Noir from J Christopher in Dundee Hills and Müller-Thurgau from Castel Juval in Alto Adige.

Good sparkling selections include Agrapart Champagne and Gusbourne from Kent. Largely European in focus, Italy and France get the most attention, with a smattering from lesser-known regions around the world, including Cyprus.

To view the full Spring Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

2. The Ledbury

The wine experience at The Ledbury is one of the finest in London, befitting of one of the UK’s best restaurants.

Nigel Platts-Martin is one of the most meticulous restaurateurs around, and wine is always at the core of every one of his venues.

Sommeliers are at the top of their game, stemware is perfect, the selection is as deep as it is broad.

Wine has been bought religiously over 10 years and stored, allowing them to pull out older vintages across the whole group – as close to perfection as it’s possible to get.

To view the full Ledbury Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.

1. The River Cafe

Simply one of the most outstanding Italian restaurants in London, with an exceptional wine team leading proceedings. Always a treat.

A truly comprehensive list with wines from the tip to the toe of Italy. Regions such as Piemonte are given great coverage, with listings split into the main communes of the region.

There are wines here with some good bottle age too, like Massolino’s ‘Margheria’ 2005 and Bruno Giacosa’s ‘Falleto di Serralunga’ 2000.

Tuscany gets due reverence with extensive Chianti listings, wines from Bolgheri and Brunello from the likes of Fuligni.

The by-the-glass selection is consistently one of the most exciting in London, with wines like Tenuta San Guido’s ‘Guidalberto’ often featuring, or perhaps a 1990 Vernaccia Riserva from Contini.

The crack sommelier team is always engaging, enthusiastic and at the top of its game.

To view the full River Cafe Wine List Confidential entry, including individual category scores and wine recommendations, click here.

To view from all 350+ Wine List Confidential entries click here.