The path of documenting London’s top wine lists is well-trodden but here my recommendations focus on value, the food offerings alongside, a few regional specialities and a wholly positive and personal attitude to wine selection and service.
There are, of course, treasures to be found amongst 200-page tomes in Michelin starred dining rooms, but you will not find them documented here, instead lists compiled, and often served, by the restaurant owners themselves.
Best London restaurant wine lists
Blandford Comptoir
Part of a larger restaurant group owned by two Master Sommeliers, Gearoid Devaney and Xavier Rousset, Blandford Comptoir was chosen above the others for its particular focus on the Rhône Valley. A quick glance through the list would lead you to believe this is the finest Rhône list in London, and you wouldn’t be wrong. A whole page devoted each to Côte Rotie, Hermitage, Cornas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape with references over forty years of age, even in Crozes-Hermitage. With more Condrieu and Saint-Péray than you could drink in a year, there is something for every Rhône lover to accompany the short but perfectly formed food menu. An absolute treasure trove.
Cloth
New to the scene in 2024, Cloth is a restaurant by wine lovers, for wine lovers. The food here is classic and exceptional, but the wine list is the real point of difference. It is incredibly rare for such a young restaurant to have such an extensive, broad and mature wine offering. Each subsection of the list has not only value picks but something to offer the drinker craving serious bottle age and the prices are more than fair.
Credit: @thefraserjames
Dorian
The myth and legend that surrounds ‘local bistro’ Dorian in Notting Hill is palpable. It goes without saying that not only is this the hottest ticket in town, but chef Max Coen is turning out some of the finest dishes in London. In addition to that, owner Chris D’Sylva is making more than a concerted effort across the whole group to make the wine offering as good as anywhere in the capital. For those looking for the upper echelons of classic fine wine you can find them here with cash margins applied, but it will also more than quench the thirst of those seeking anything from entry level wines from the coolest Burgundy growers to the uber trendy La Bota Florpower.
Credit: David Loftus
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High Timber
High Timber is unquestionably one of the finest places to drink South African wine outside the Cape. Owned by Gary and Kathy Jordan of Jordan Wine Estate alongside the wonderful Neleen Strauss, there is a limited wine offering on the surface. That is, I have come to believe, only because there is too much to catalogue including gems that, truthfully, Neleen would rather not sell. A dive down through the two private dining rooms to the cellar will reveal hundreds of Cape Winemakers Guild Auction bottlings, mature vintages and some of the rarest wines South Africa has produced. You will find old world classics at great prices here too, but it’s not the primary focus for most of the clientele. If you are looking for an extensive steak offering with mature examples of Sadie, Alheit and dozens more then this is for you.
Hunan
Opened in 1982 on the Pimlico Road by ‘Mr Peng’, Hunan has been one of London’s finest Chinese restaurants for over four decades. Now run by his son, Michael, this iconic establishment has one of the very best wine lists in the capital. If you think the food only pairs well with off-dry whites then think again, there is as much fine Burgundy imbibed here than as anywhere else. Michael’s cataloguing is occasional haphazard which only adds to the charm. A scrap of paper with new arrivals yet to hit the list often circulates and before the ink dries there is occasionally a deal to be done. This is truly one of London’s great wine hotspots.
Credit: Anton Rodriguez
Le Colombier
For over twenty-five years, Le Colombier, a Parisian style brasserie in the heart of Chelsea, has been serving French classics under the watchful eye of Didier Garnier, one of the capital’s most revered restaurateurs. In that time the wine list has remained one of the undiscovered gems of the city, where pricing wine for local regulars has been the primary focus. The list is strictly French, although there was, for a while, a section entitled ‘vins étrangers’ that was composed of a lone listing of Opus One. Here you can expect mature class growth Bordeaux starting well under £100, first growths at retail price, the cheapest Guigal ‘LaLas’ in London and an incredibly broad selection of half bottles with wonderful Brasserie style food
Noble Rot
It would be impossible to compile a list of this nature without the inclusion of Noble Rot which, started by Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew, has become a global icon for wine. The food is overseen by Stephen Harris of The Sportsman in Kent, which is reason enough to go, but the wine lists at all three venues are legendary. For the purposes of nostalgia, I would recommend the original Lambs Conduit Street site, but you will not be disappointed by Mayfair or Soho either. The list here caters for all tastes and all budgets and is surely the most iconic restaurant in the capital for wine lovers.
Noble Rot, Mayfair. Credit: Tom Cockram and Juan Trujillo Andrades
Quality Wines
Under the guise of the Woodhead Group, Will Lander has furnished the capital with five phenomenal restaurants all worthy of this list. However, given that only one could make the cut, it must be Quality Wines in uber trendy Farringdon. The food is more simple than Michelin star Portland or 64 Goodge Street, but the wine list is as eclectic as it is deep, with mature by-the-glass offerings changing daily. There are big names at fair prices alongside undiscovered gems from the Loire to Lebanon and everything in between.
Credit: Anton Rodriguez
The Arches
Once a regular wine trade haunt, owned by the late, great Harry Gill, the reputation of Arches was legendary in the pre-social media and influencer era. Harry built one of the finest wine collections in the UK and would be regularly found walking the dining room sharing anonymous bottles with his regulars, taking huge pleasure in realising they had, once again, misidentified Henri Jayer for something far less impressive.
The restaurant is adorned with thousands of trophies in the form of bottles long since departed and every inch of the walls is dedicated to the good life. Now run by his partner, Ivana, this vinous treasure flies under the radar and has more than a few classics at astonishing prices to pair with your perfectly cooked sirloin.
