Cork and Bottle

[howardlong]

Anyone any comments on this establishment?

Meeting some very good friends of mine tonight and they've suggested this one. Never been, although looking at some reviews (eg London Eating) I don't know why.

Cheers, Howard

[Suzi Edwards]

i like it but i have failed to get a table on several vists here. it gets mobbed.

[Winot]

I've been once about 6 years ago. I remember it was good for wine; we didn't eat there. It was very crowded and I remember thinking it was in a rather surprising location so close to Leicester Sq.

[tony h]

great location & decent wine list

foods not too hot 'though

[Scott]

Nice, fun place.

wine is not as good value as it used to be.

[howardlong]

Well I went there last Thursday and I have mostly good feelings.

It's the most unassuming place from the outside, located on the short pedestrianised street between the Hippodrome and Leicester Square proper. Once one's descended to the basement premises down the spiral stairs, there's a small ante room with perhaps four small tables, leading to the main bar area with a further eight or so small tables. I arrived at 18:00, just in time to get the last table.

There is a pretty good selection on the food front, and although it was OK, I have to say I wasn't blown over on the taste, but then I did settle for a burger (after being recommended by one of my fellow diners). I need to go again and try something less boring. My better half had the risotto which she did enjoy.

There was a selection of about ten cheeses at the bar ordering area, and we chose three for a shared cheese plate - a nice way to do it. There were too many cheeses bastardised with bits of fruit and nuts and things for my liking, but there were just enough left for me to leave us a nice selection.

Scott's right that the wine list is not cheap. But it has to be commended as it casts one of the broadest nets possible, with several selections in each genre. It substantially covers both New and Old Worlds, although from memory for the Old it concentrates on France. For the New it includes a very large selection from the US, Australia and New Zealand. There's definitely not much here that could be construed as being 'samey' - four of the five different bottles we had were first-timers for me.

Wine of the night for me was a 2000 Stonyridge Larose at £80, which makes most Bordeaux appear positively dainty in comparison. A huge wine made on Waiheke Island just a short hop from Auckland, this was recommended to me while on vacation there earlier this year and finally I had a chance to try it.

Before this we'd had two different NZ Sauv Blanc (£15 & £20), a Californian Chardonnay (£30), and a Chateau Kirwan 1997 (£50).

This 2000 Stonyridge Larose is massive

What I did like was the ordering method - you order like you would in a pub, but then I never had to wait at the bar for very long at all. (When you get to my age, the concept of queueing becomes quite alien).

Will return very soon, but next time I will be more adventurous on the food ordering.

Cheers, Howard

* editted for typo's, spello's and more typo's

Edited September 8, 2004 by howardlong (log)

[jeremysco]

Thats good going by anyones standards. Five bottles and going up in value as the the tastebuds get used it!

What did you eat with the Stonyridge, cheese I presume?

[howardlong]

Thats good going by anyones standards. Five bottles and going up in value as the the tastebuds get used it!

What did you eat with the Stonyridge, cheese I presume?

←

Well, there were four of us. I was only mildly wobbly on my push bike on the way home.

Stonyridge was with a little cheese, but mostly on its own. It's a meal in itself.

Cheers, Howard