Top 10 new restaurants on Wine List Confidential

With restaurants opening, and closing, in London at a faster rate than ever, it can be difficult to keep up, and even harder to pinpoint the restaurants most likely to offer wine lovers a reliable sip.

Wine List Confidential, brought to you by the drinks business, is the first platform to rank London’s restaurants on the strength of their wine list alone, providing a comprehensive guide to the best restaurants in the capital for wine lovers.

Restaurants are graded on a 100-point scale based on five criteria: size, value, service, range and originality. the drinks business published the inaugural 2017 Wine List Confidential: One to Sixty-One guide last year. We are currently working on a new 2018 edition and are busy re-reviewing top-scoring restaurants and adding new entries to the database.

Here, we round up the best wine-focused restaurants to have been rated and reviewed this year, so far, offering a slew of new hot spots for wine lovers to lap up.

Click through for a section of some of the highest-scoring new restaurants on Wine List Confidential’s radar.

N.B – All restaurants have been rated and reviewed by Wine List Confidential’s content editor, Douglas Blyde.

For a full guide to London’s best wine lists visit winelistconfidential.com

Westerns Laundry

The wine selection is determinedly European, despite the fact that at the last census, 24.5% of Londoners were born outside Europe. “We rarely list New World wines, instead choosing to focus on the wonderful minimal intervention wines of our neighbours of which I am most keen,” says general manager Francis Roberts.

Westerns Laundry, Holloway is the almost aesthetically monastic, stripped to the bones canteen sequel to Stoke Newington’s beautiful of former garage frontage, Primeur. Given the semiotics of the décor, it follows that ‘The Wine Book’, overseen by general manager, Francis Roberts, is natural in its bent.

“While the list is mainly natural, wines must be incredibly vibrant and well made,’ he says, before reassuring those who aren’t worshipping at the alter of minimal intervention that, ‘I’m very sensitive to ‘mousiness’ and refuse to list anything that doesn’t stay open well, or tastes a bit too much like the floor of a farmyard…”

Totalling 18, and, positively for guests, not exceeding £10 per pour, wines by the glass are chalked up on the blackboard along with the day’s dishes, and may include sparkling rosé Lambrusco, Sclavos ‘Robola’ – a light skin contact Greek wine, and Petit Domaine ‘Myrmidon’ (Carbonic maceration Syrah from Languedoc).

The wine selection overall is determinedly European, despite the fact that at the last census, 24.5% of Londoners were born outside Europe. ‘We rarely list New World wines, instead choosing to focus on the wonderful minimal intervention wines of our neighbours of which I am most keen,’ says Roberts.

This is a list celebrating the incisive and high in acidity rather than the voluptuous – indeed the word ‘hairshirt’ comes to mind on occasions on perusing the offer. Finding the suppliers of a number of these wines also requires serious detective work.

Wines could include a three quarter-sized bottle of, from the Loire, Chenin Blanc ‘Du Vin Dans Les Voiles’ (Les Sablonnettes), and several vintages going back to the late 1980s of ‘Bourgueil Perrières’ Cabernet Franc (C. & P. Breton). Also available is Frank Cornelissen’s ‘Magma’ (Nerello Mascalese), and Swiss ‘Disobedience’ (Fendant, Mythopia).

Charmingly hand written on lined paper, the daily food menu is previewed on Instagram (@westernslaundry). Dishes, realised by chef, David Gingell, often show a preference for fodder from the water, and may include starters of regal or Jersey oysters, mozzarella, turnip tops and olive oil, or ox tongue with bitter leaves and green sauce, while mains could include whole brill with pink fir potatoes, fennel and herbs, baked cuttlefish fideo pasta, and then the signature rum baba to share.

The core offer is supplemented by a Cellar List appendix, incidentally, wines of which “are sold to us on an allocation basis,” says Roberts.

OVERALL SCORE: 87
VALUE: 88
SIZE: 88
RANGE: 85
ORIGINALITY: 86
SERVICE: 88

Neo Bistro

Expect, within a bricky room with hints of stained glass and dangly filament lights, Orange Sekt from Moravia, Luxembourgeoise Riesling, Moroccan Syrah, German Dornfelder and a rendition of Alella which is one of Spain’s smallest wine regions – as well as late harvest Chardonnay from Austria – offered drink in or  take away. Beers, meanwhile, may include Burning Sky’s Session IPA from East Sussex and Railway Porter from Hackney as well as bold brews from Germany.

According to the charismatic, John Cannon, Neo’s wine buyer and operations manager (he formatively, also opened the original Roganic), the bravely concise (two page) list pulls strong focus on producers using minimum intervention, ‘making wine in a similar way to the way we work with our food – showcasing the produce, or in this case, terroir and grape.’ Cannon adds that he and his team endeavour to stay away from the word ‘organic’.

At the West End Modern British dining room, previously The Woodstock Tavern, ‘organic’ can sometimes bring a negative connotation within certain clientele, he says, ‘especially in Mayfair!’ Cannon instead prefers to say ‘if the juice is good, the juice is good, try with us something that you normally wouldn’t have tried before and let’s make new experiences.’

Expect, within the bricky room, with hints of stained glass and dangly filament lights, Orange Sekt from Moravia, Luxembourgeoise Riesling, Moroccan Syrah, German Dornfelder and a rendition of Alella which is one of Spain’s smallest wine regions – as well as late harvest Chardonnay from Austria – offered drink in or  take away. Beers, meanwhile, may include Burning Sky’s Session IPA from East Sussex and Railway Porter from Hackney as well as bold brews from Germany.

From the kitchen overseen by Mark Jarvis of Farringdon’s Anglo and Alex Harper, formerly of the Harwood Arms in Fulham, try a selection of snacks to share, including venison sausage and truffle custard tart with hazelnut before moving onto, ordered from the blackboard, a quail kebab with quince and chestnut, and duck with lentils and cranberry mustard, or bavette with ancho pepper and mole bone marrow (meaty fare is taken seriously here). Culminate with a sharply, mouth watering citrus tart with almond and mascarpone or expertly raised cheeses from La Fromagerie.

OVERALL SCORE: 87
VALUE: 92
SIZE: 80
RANGE: 85
ORIGINALITY: 88
SERVICE: 90

Parsons

With co-owner, Ian Campbell, Gus Pollard has created a list illuminated by “mineral, terroir-driven” white wines from coastal regions “which are in their most exciting place alongside fish and seafood”.

Parsons was born from a love of classic English fish restaurants according to Gus Pollard, GM and wine buyer for this and sister bistro, The 10 Cases (at which only 10 cases of the wines are bought to encourage a sense of freshness in selection). ‘Having noticed a frustrating lack of wine focus in such restaurants, we wanted to create something new and exciting where wine plays a central role in the experience,’ he adds.

With co-owner, Ian Campbell, Pollard has created a list illuminated by white wines. ‘We attempted to focus on coastal regions and mineral, terroir-driven whites which are in their most exciting place alongside fish and seafood’. Of 100 bins, only 10% are red, with a Trousseau from Jura and Galician Mencia, both with adhering to what Pollard describes as ‘the vibrancy and freshness to accompany the few richer menu items and meat options.’ Whites, meanwhile, are likely to include rested Muscadet (of course!), Clare Valley Sémillon (Mount Horrocks), and Rieslings from Central Otago (Prophets Rock) and the Mosel in late harvest form (J.J. Prum).

Pollard and his team pour eight whites by the glass, such as Vouvray, Vinho Verde, dry Santorini Assyrtiko and Sancerre, and two reds, including a Gamay, supplemented by a couple of sparkling wines including Cavas and quality sherries to begin, and Banyuls to finish.

In terms of fine formerly flapping fodder, guests can snack on brown crab pissaladière or potted shrimp croquettes, then paint the table with starters of sea trout tartare with Bloody Mary jelly, octopus with potatoes cooked in pork fat with paprika and parsley oil, or a fine steak tartare with miso egg yolk, apple and elderflower. For main courses and shellfish, consult the ‘tiles and mirrors’ for the day’s haul, which could include brill, John Dory, fish pie, and ‘beautiful langoustines’ as well as oysters.

“We don’t have a Sommelier as such,” says Pollard, “however all staff are wine savvy to various degrees.”

OVERALL SCORE: 88
VALUE: 92
SIZE: 85
RANGE: 85
ORIGINALITY: 88
SERVICE: 90

Rabbit

Rabbit’s carte is characterised by perky, aromatic whites, which might include Californian Vermentino, Etna Bianco and of course Bacchus from Nutbourne, the restaurant’s very own vineyard and family farm situated near Pulborough, West Sussex (also try their sparkling Sussex Reserve). Reds, meanwhile, range from lithe Pinot Noirs to more assertive Bierzos and rested Bordeaux.

Celebrating wild food, Rabbit is the cosy, rustic Chelsea eatery from the Gladwin, who also own and run The Shed, Notting Hill, and Nutbourne, Battersea (formerly Ransome’s Dock).

Farmer Gregory provides the restaurants with reared livestock while Richard, who previously worked in top New York and London restaurants, including notable project, Bunga Bunga, manages the sites and compiles the wine lists; Oliver, meanwhile, who trained at Oxo Tower, Launceston Place, Just St. James (RIP), and at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage at Park Farm, is executive chef.

Of the list at Rabbit, Richard Gladwin says: ‘having grown up on a vineyard in England as well as made wine in New Zealand, Napa and Champagne, I try my hardest to feature a worldly wine offering, each of which is consistent with my family vineyard, being small producers and caring towards the local environment.’

Rabbit’s carte is characterised by perky, aromatic whites, which might include Californian Vermentino, Etna Bianco and of course Bacchus from Nutbourne, the restaurant’s very own vineyard and family farm situated near Pulborough, West Sussex (also try their sparkling Sussex Reserve). Reds, meanwhile, range from lithe Pinot Noirs to more assertive Bierzos and rested Bordeaux. Gladwin comments: ‘My wine hobby is buying good Bordeaux such as Château Batailley 2007. This came about by emptying the cellar at home and has since become a buying game!’

But before the wine, guests should start their evening with seasonal aperitif, the ‘Rabbit Daily Loosener’ mixed entirely from British-produced spirits.

The depthful, super-savoury menu, which celebrates game in season, begins with ‘Mouthfuls’ such as mushroom marmite éclair with confit egg yolk, followed by starter of Wiltshire truffle ravioli, chanterelles, sage crumb and Camembert foam, then a pheasant schnitzel with capers and game sauce reduction for main. Rabbit, naturally, appears in various guises on the menu, too, such as rabbit ravioli, spatchcock rabbit, and rabbit ragu…

OVERALL SCORE: 89.2
VALUE: 90
SIZE: 89
RANGE: 89
ORIGINALITY: 89
SERVICE: 89

Som Saa

“Any previous lists or ‘go to’ wines get thrown out the window and you need to really work from the heart and what excites you,” says Som Saa’s co-founder and ‘Fixer’, Tom George. “Austere and delicate wines tend to get rattled by the acidity, spice and heat of Thai food so a good deal of the list has big aromas and generous residual sugar and textures.”

“Thai food is not renowned for pairing well with wine or drinks generally,” is how Som Saa’s wine list is unpromisingly introduced. “Only thing is, we like wine and we love Thai food! And after a lot of arduous tasting sessions, we’ve come to believe it can be matched brilliantly – it just requires a sense of adventure…”

Som Saa’s co-founder and ‘Fixer’, Tom George intends this list to be “hospitable and great value”. For guests who desire dry, easy drinking wines, he has “some brilliant value selections from classic value regions like Sicily, the Languedoc and South Africa’s Swartland”. However, for those wishing to explore further, George has put together what he describes as one of the more unusual lists in London when thinking towards achieving harmony betwixt fermented grape and exotic dishes such as red curry of cornish grey mullet with young ginger and holy basli, and palm sugar braised pork belly with caramel eggs and phrik nahm pla.

“Any previous lists or ‘go to’ wines get thrown out the window and you need to really work from the heart and what excites you,” he says. “Austere and delicate wines tend to get rattled by the acidity, spice and heat of Thai food so a good deal of the list has big aromas and generous residual sugar and textures.”

George dedicateds a page to Riesling “in a diverse range of styles – from archetypal J.J. Prüm Kabinett to a natural, unfiltered, skin contact version from the Eden Valley Australia”.

Reds, says George, also needed careful selection. ‘Refreshing or lighter reds like Refosco and Pinot Noir tend to be the order of the day. We’ve also found that classic red Lambrusco is a wonderful match with Thai food.’ That Lambrusco, like all bins, is accorded a tantalising tasting note – ‘an aromatic explosion of wild raspberies, wet forest, cherries, resin and balsamic.

George also furtively maintains a reserve list.

“For those who really get their kicks from wine and spend their weeks thinking about what they’re going to buy and drink next, our off menu list is always changing including bits and pieces from auctions. It’s not a secret per se – it’s for friends, regulars, ourselves, and any guests we meet who is truly into it. But anyone can ask to see what we’ve got. All the wines have the barest margin. But it’s what keeps us excited and allows us to taste some fantastic bottles. Domaine Foreau, Clos Naudin Vouvray 2011 was a particular favourite from auction. Some of Keller’s single vineyard wines have made appearance and are truly astonishing, and we have three different vintages of Peter Lauer’s remarkable Sekt – 1988, 1991 and 1992. Each vintage has its own personality but they are undoubtedly as fine as vintage Champagne and sublime to drink with our menu.”

Wine also makes its way onto the cocktail list, should you order the Schuster Cobbler (Riesling, creme de peche, Fino, lime and guanabana juice)…

OVERALL SCORE: 91
VALUE: 92
SIZE: 90
RANGE: 90
ORIGINALITY: 93
SERVICE: 90

Nuala

Wines at Nuala may include “funky” Garganega, “linear” Trousseau and Zweigelt, which the restaurant’s wine and communications manager Honey Spencer reveals “is our most popular wine”.

Aromas of embers, a pleasing playlist and a team employed on positivity of personality help make Nuala, so-called after co-founder, Niall Davidson’s sister, and located moments from Old Street’s rebranded ‘Silicon roundabout’, one of London’s most greeting restaurants.

Nuala caters to a disparate clientele, including, says wine and comms manager, Honey Spencer, ‘techies working in the rest of the White Collar Factory building which features a running track on the fifteenth floor,  City workers who deplete our classics list, and, at weekends, the Essex army.’

From comfy leather banquettes or ergonomic Thonet chairs, guests may watch ingredients with surefooted UK provenance being slow cooked over coals and finished on grills beyond an architectural concrete kitchen counter.

‘I wouldn’t call myself a sommelier,’ says Spencer, sharing a birthday bottle gifted by Champagne supplier to Noma and indeed Nuala, Charles Dufour. Seeing six months skin contact, the alarmingly hued fizz is named ‘Honolulu’ after the gateway to Hawaii – a deliberately different landscape to northerly, chalky France. ‘I just like translating wine,’ she adds. ‘And when guests ask if I’m the sommelier, I say, “I drink the most here!”’

Spencer’s career took flight close by at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. Wanting to further her international business and marketing degree, she sought a relevant role at Jamie Oliver Ltd. However, with no position available, she opted to work the restaurant floor where on her potential was spotted and nurtured by then manager and drinks expert, Alex Thorp (co-founder, 161 Food+Drink and Wines Under the Bonnet). When an opening in marketing later transpired, Spencer beat off 200 applicants while continuing to work at Fifteen on weekends. Compared to the mundanities of office life, it was ‘liberating’ to speak to the plethora of pleasure-seeking guests.

Later, Spencer became ‘obsessed’ by Hackney’s Sager + Wilde wine bar, ‘where you could work in your own clothes and use your own jargon.’ On the subject of argot, one aspect Spencer constantly evaluates during team training is what to convey to customers. ‘Do we talk about flavours and textures, or how a wine makes you feel?’

Noting the risk of millennials ‘drying up,’ Berkshire-born Spencer recalls how Sager + Wilde succeeded in teaching wine to a new generation. ‘Young people weren’t exposed to wine unless they grew up in west London with a cellar.’ While working under mentor, Michael Sager, Spencer met two customers from Denmark who were impressed by the instances of natural wine. ‘But to really understand natural they told me to come to Copenhagen.’ Thus a summer exeat turned into two and a half years, working as GM at harbour-side wine bar, Den Vandrette, run by merchants, Rosforth and Rosforth. ‘The Gods of natural wine with world famous musicians and artists as their disciples! I learnt a huge amount from Sune Rosforth.’ The experience fortified Spencer to take on the challenge of irrigating the guests of Noma, Mexico.

At Irish-accented Nuala, replete with flame-haired lady as logo, Spencer’s circa 100 bins are drawn from 21 suppliers with a sliding cash margin. The list itself is tied with treasury tag and features a duck egg blue cover emblazoned in red with nine graphics and legends celebrating regions, producers, grape varieties and arguably the best Guinness in London. ‘We’re a casual bistro with a semi-ambitious wine list focusing on the organic but not overly provocative,’ she says, ‘although my field is natural wines.’ Indeed, Spencer helped establish a natural wine school with Noma alumni.

Wines may include ‘funky’ Garganega, ‘linear’ Trousseau and Zweigelt which, testament to her beliefs and infectious enthusasm, Spencer reveals, ‘is our most popular wine, which works when a table wants just one bottle to see them through dinner. It even satisfies fussy Americans.’

Also of note are pours from Claus Preisinger’s ‘space ship-like winery nestled by Lake Neusiedlerse.’ And of Christian Tschida’s ‘Himmel Auf Erden’, Spencer likens it to ‘a grown-ups version of Um Bongo!’ Spencer is also surprised by the ‘staggering amount of young men liking Fleurie.’

Dishes, devised by co-owner and exec chef, Niall Davidson (whose father also realised the interior design) and head chef, Colin McSherry may include gently warmed, slightly smoked beef tartare from Torloisk Highland cows pepped with sauce of reduced extra stout Guinness, and veal sweetbreads with almost aesthetically identical cauliflower rarebit to start, followed by tender black leg chicken with anchovy purée and chanterelles, and fireplace pumpkin with Isle of Mull Cheddar and juicy baby artichoke hearts.  Also order bread and butter spun with dulse, a sea lettuce described on the menu as ‘traditionally used in Ireland as a cure against hangovers – and we should know’ and gratin dauphinois with lamb fat gravy…

Beneath the restaurant, with long counter, comfy alcoves, a spirits safe, and over 50 bottles of Irish whiskey, is the bar preserve of Spencer Large, former custodian of Bourbon at Barbecoa. Here Teeling 33 year old may be sampled close to retail price, while cocktails could include the ‘Veshper’, spelt as Sean Connery would pronounce it in Casino Royale.

Nuala’s team is selected on the generosity of their personalities. Indeed, Spencer’s husband, Charlie, took inspiration following a meeting with New York restaurateur, Danny Meyer to pose prospective recruits this question – ‘what is the last gift you gave someone and why?’ to tactfully gauge their dispositions.

Spencer recently visited Ancre Hill, Wales, and, of the future, plans a pilgrimage to the Jura, “which is by all accounts breathtaking,’ and hopes to gradually divert Londoners, ‘who can’t get past rosé from Provence,” into other territories for their next glass of pink…

OVERALL SCORE: 91.2
VALUE: 90
SIZE: 89
RANGE: 90
ORIGINALITY: 93
SERVICE: 94

Pitt Cue

Guests may begin with a glass of blotter dry sparkling Tasmanian Pepik Sekt (Josef Chromy), continue with a bottle of Crystallum from South Africa, then share a magnum of Ridge Montebello or, from the most inviting section, ‘Bits & Bobs – When They’re Gone, They’re Gone’, Inglenook 1882 Niebaum Estate.

Very nearly poetic given its balance, focus and charm, this flavour-driven, highly drinkable, seriously enjoyable list, is authored by chequered shirt wine lover, Crispin Sugden, Pitt Cue’s general manager. “I feel our role to the punters is to write a list that caters to all,” he says. “Crowd pleasing in a sense. Whilst I steer clear of the Natural Tsunami which has taken over many a list, I’ll still have something which qualifies as Natural to keep the Naturalists happy. But generally I aim to make sure there is a bottle for all, at all price points.”

Indeed, finding value has been Sugden’s foremost aim. “Gone are the days where people who work in the City throw money at lists. So you need to give them something grand which won’t cost a grand. Strong emphasis on USA due to the cooking we do.” Dishes may include lamb’s heart, cured and smoked jowl, and to share between three or four, crown of Aylesbury duck. “Spain also has a good chunk of the list with the value coming out of Iberia second to none. Good juice at a fair price and I’ll list it. Generally.”

To keep regular guests, his team and himself interested, Sugden updates his list monthly. “Thinking a little seasonally, despite the fact it’s almost permanently winter on this island! So summer will see a resurgence of Pinot Noir and super-fresh whites and a couple of rosés, while in winter we enjoy rich and rustic reds from Spain, France and the like. Syrah and Grenache often rear their spicy heads. If we are lucky enough to be taken on a trip, which I was with The Wine Treasury to Piedmont, we will always aim to list from each producer who shares their valuable time with us. A sort of doffing of the cap.”

Hospitality courses Sugden’s veins. “Despite being from London, my first wait job occurred in Australia when I was 18. I spent a lot of time away and used restaurants as a source of funds. And when I ran out of money, I either came home to work or found a restaurant to do whatever was going. I then sort of settled at Carluccio’s where I met my former boss and mentor, David Strauss.” The friends went on to open Goodman Steakhouse, Mayfair. “It all spiralled from there. I ended up with the responsibility of overseeing the wine programme for which there were 200 bins to manage, including 80 odd from the USA.”

Expertise has been organically accrued. “I never qualified in wine – but I remember every wine I’ve ever drunk. Which can either be a good or bad thing.” Sugden finished working at Goodman in 2015, “finding myself looking after Pittcue.”

Sugden always actively encourages wine suppliers to come and eat at the restaurant. “If they buy a round of beers or a bottle of something off the list, they can bring as much vino as they like, corkage-free. It’s a pleasure for me to have guys in enjoying rare and old school bottles, and I always tax them a sip. So it’s a win-win for me and the restaurant.”

OVERALL SCORE: 92.6
VALUE: 94
SIZE: 90
RANGE: 94
ORIGINALITY: 95

SERVICE: 90

The Club – Ten Trinity Square

Konetzki’s list features the iconic lion on tower logo of Latour on the first page of the beautifully minimalist document, which features no fewer than six pages dedicated to the château, linking, at a heavily loaded credit card’s swipe, to an array of dazzling bottles, magnums, double magnums, jeroboams and imperials ranging back to the 1930s. The 1959 rendition is ‘Le Big Mac’ advises Konetzki.

After rising in the glass lift, follow the ruby, red wine like ribbon running through the deep carpet to discover a number of clubby salons, including the Latour dining room, attended by the dapper former sommelier of Gordon Ramsay’s Royal Hospital Road turned Director of Wine and Château Latour and Artemis Domaines Ambassador, Jan Konetzki.

Konetzki’s list features the iconic lion on tower logo of Latour on the first page of the beautifully minimalist document which boasts no fewer than six pages dedicated to the château, linking, at a heavily loaded credit card’s swipe, to an array of dazzling bottles, magnums, double magnums, jeroboams and imperials ranging back to the 1930s. The 1959 rendition is ‘Le Big Mac’ advises Konetzki.

Also expect several venerable rare white Rhônes from Château Grillet, which Konetzki calls ‘liquid history’, Grands Echezeaux et al from Domaine d’Eugenie, ‘cult’ Californian varietals from Eisle Vineyards, and most recently, majestic instalments of the Clos du Tart, all overseen by Artemis Domaines. “Members can enjoy flights of wines which feature each estate, to experience them in a nutshell,” says Konetzki. In terms of Champagnes, Krug, Clos du Mesnil, Salon and Selosse are present, as are Konetzki’s personal favourite fizzes, Marguet Père & Fils Elements Grand Cru Extra Brut NV, and Clos de Goisses from Philipponnat.

“We do well with the classics of France, Europe and off-Europe,” says Konetzki, modestly. “The list is young, composed of some great bottles in the know and out of the sommeliers treasure box. A place to marvel at the past and the future while enjoying what drinks well at present. That was what I had in mind creating the list with the team of Château Latour, and Eric Baumard of George V, Paris.”

Cuisine is provided by Anne Sophie Pic’s team of Le Dame de Pic, the chic restaurant which is also open for civilians on the ground floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in this opulent complex, the former headquarters of the Port of London Authority, once one of London’s tallest buildings.

Incidentally, Voss (the water brand) appears throughout the hotel, which may seem odd a placement until one learns the whole site is owned by mind behind the brand, Reignwood.

OVERALL SCORE: 93.4
VALUE: 95
SIZE: 92
RANGE: 92<
ORIGINALITY: 92
SERVICE: 96

The Cinnamon Club

Wine consultant, Laurent Chaniac, has assuredly put together an appealing, ready-to-drink list, echoing the restaurant’s interest in sustainability. It is largely accessibly priced – and does not automatically feature an added service charge. In Chaniac’s words, “we focus on wines produced from strong ecosystems meaning the minimum use of chemicals. Careful viticulture helps keep soils alive and resulting wines tend to have a sense of place, being more mineral and complex.”

The flagship restaurant of the Bengal born, Oberoi luxury hotels and resorts trained chef, Vivek Singh occupies the atmospheric sedate Grade II-listed former Westminster Library.

Wine consultant, Laurent Chaniac has assuredly put together an appealing, ready to drink list echoing the restaurant’s interest in sustainability. This is largely accessibly priced, too, and notably for a restaurant of this stature, does not automatically feature an added service charge. In Chaniac’s words, “we focus on wines produced from strong ecosystems meaning minimum use of chemicals. Careful viticulture helps keep soils alive and the resulting wines tend to have a sense of place, being more mineral and complex.”

Chaniac’s list is dominated by Western Europe “with a good accent on Australia,” such as Pinot Noir from Victoria’s Dixon Vineyard, identified under the ‘matured red’ selection. Also expect ‘some really interesting wines from the USA’ including historical vintages of Opus One. Many wines are “interesting variations of the local norm, e.g. wines from hotter climates tending to be fresher than usual while retaining the rich character of the warmer sites, while wines from cooler climates tend to be riper and richer than the norm.”

By the glass, and carafe, expect a strong selection ranging from Istrian Malvasia, to opulent Meursault, Patagonian Malbec and Palo Cortado sherry (Lustau), as well as Blanc des Noirs from England and Lombardy pin up, Franciacorta (Contadi Castaldi).

Given the depthfully spiced nature of dishes by Singh and head chef, Rakesh Nair, there will be plenty of food-friendly Rieslings, Sauvignon Blancs (including Sula’s Maharashtra from India), and Pinot Gris to dovetail.

Starters may include tandoori octopus with chutney aloo, fennel salad and tomato lemongrass dressing, then tandoori loin of Oisin red deer with black stone flower reduction and fenugreek potatoes, or, to share, Old Delhi style butter chicken on the bone, black lentils, pilau rice and garlic naan. To finish, try the lemon and ginger brûlée with masala sable, perhaps paired with a succulent glass of Côteaux du Layon.

Singh also oversees Cinnamon Soho, Cinnamon Kitchen and Cinnamon Bazaar, the latter of which are set for a nationwide rollout.

OVERALL SCORE: 93.4
VALUE: 93
SIZE: 93
RANGE: 94
ORIGINALITY: 93
SERVICE: 94

Londrino

Londrino sommelier/manager Cameron Dewar’s belief in Portugal’s wines is clearly infectious. “The Portuguese section has the fastest moving wines – and I’m always hunting for new treats,” he says. “Some of the better known names – Dirk Niepoort and Raul Perez – will be found, though we prefer to look at the new wave of small producers.”

‘Londrino’ is Portuguese for ‘Londoner’, and represents a culmination of the culinary influences to have infused head chef, Leandro Carreira’s bare but beautiful, lofty and modern, Portuguese accented dining room and no reservations, all day wine bar. The venue optimistically absorbs daylight from beyond a wall of plate glass doors at the o

therwise residential Snowsfields Yard, 500 metres from the jagged Shard.

Carreira was born in Leiria, near Sintra to the south of Lisbon where he began working in restaurants before travelling as far as the Middle East, returning to cut his teeth at Mugaritz, before coming to London where he became head chef at Nuno Mendes’ Viajante, then Lyle’s, Koya, and the year long pop-up, Climpson’s Arch. Londrino is his first solo venture.

Pulling focus on Iberia, sommelier/manager, Cameron Dewar, who worked with Carreira at Viajante and Climpson’s Arch, has drafted a detailed list of “organically farmed, biodynamic or minimal intervention, low-to-no added sulphur” wines to bring added sapidity to Londrino’s impeccably fresh fare. Indeed, Carreira takes joy in working closely with the skippers of day fishing boats to realise dishes which often place strong emphasis on the sea, such as clams, bulhão pato with coriander.

Dewar’s belief in Portugal’s wines is clearly infectious. “The Portuguese section has the fastest moving wines – and I’m always hunting for new treats,” he says. “Some of the better known names – Dirk Niepoort and Raul Perez – will be found, though we prefer to look at the new wave of small producers.” Dewar mentions Vale da Capucha’s Alvarinho from Carvalhal to the North of Lisbon. “A progressive producer in his mid 30s  having great success taking grapes from across the country and making mineral, structured whites. A wonderfully balanced Alvarinho with refreshing citrus flavours and subtle saltiness: a great alternative to dry Riesling.” Another preferred produced is Vitor Claro. “Another favourite winemaker crafting wines with energy and heaps of character from a vineyard near Arruda, Lisboa. He only really got into winemaking full-time in the last couple of years, so we think there are big things to come. His Domino Las Vedras  is particularly delicate for a red Portuguese, made with five days maceration from primarily the local Castalao, a variety witnessing resurgence because of its low alcohol and light tannin.” Try this with teal and liver sauce, beetroot and thyme crisps.

Expect a rich seam in puddings, too, like the grilled soaked brioche with sour caramel and hazelnut, or novel ice creams such as whey and smoked honey. Of extra note is the regional Portuguese cheese trolley.

Dewar’s full wine list, which, making a statement, excludes the New World, is also available at the wine bar, too, as is a very decent P&T (white Port and tonic water) where small plates pack grande flavour, such as crab tarts with brown butter, or the Porto hot dog, alongside tannin friendly cured meats and a bewildering array of non alcoholic potions, including grapefruit drinking vinegars, black tea kombuchas and lemon virgin shandies…

OVERALL SCORE: 91
VALUE: 96
SIZE: 89
RANGE: 89
ORIGINALITY: 91
SERVICE: 90