Try a selection of England’s finest wines on an evening out at one of these venues
The Coral Room, Bloomsbury
Situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, at The Bloomsbury Hotel, the aptly-named Coral Room (main picture) is a vibrant grand salon bar designed by the acclaimed Martin Brudnizki interior design studio. As well as bringing a country house vibe to the city through its elegant décor, The Coral Room has an extensive English sparkling wine menu curated by Master of Wine Anne McHale. The 35 English sparkling wines on offer are arranged by county so whether you fancy something from Buckinghamshire, Devon or Surrey, they’ve got you covered.
Etch, Hove
When Masterchef the Professionals winner Steven Edwards opened his first restaurant, Etch in Hove, he decided that he wanted to showcase the best of what his home county had to offer and that, of course included its sparkling wines. Therefore, the only sparkling wines he offers by the glass are from Sussex Sparkling wines and even his sparklings by the bottle are only from English producers. The wine list currently features 23 English wines from 10 different vineyards in the South East.
The Wine Bar at Fortnum and Mason, Piccadilly
The Wine Bar at Fortnum and Mason serves its own branded English sparkling white, made by Cornwall’s Camel Valley, sparkling rose, made by Gusbourne and still white, a Bacchus made by Laneberg in Gateshead, which are all available by the glass and also as part of tasting flights. The also showcase a different English sparkling wine producer each month, and serves a selection of their wines by the glass.
The Gallivant, Rye
With one of the largest English wine lists in the UK, this stylish beach house-style hotel and restaurant by the sea champions English wines with its daily ‘English wine at five’ sessions, where guests are treated to a different English wine on the house each evening. The hotel, which refuses to serve French champagne because English ‘champagne’ is ‘every bit as good’, also hosts weekly English wine tasting experiences for guests free of charge and can organise visits to local vineyards.
Isaac At, Brighton
Isaac At is the first restaurant in the UK to have an exclusively English wine list. The intimate restaurant near Brighton’s famous lanes, is famed for ‘serving Sussex on a plate’ and stocks plenty of the county’s wines, beers, ciders and spirits to pair the local produce with, along with other English drinks from only slightly further afield. Sommelier Alex Preston, who was recently named one of Harpers Wine & Spirits magazine’s top 25 sommeliers in the UK, is on hand to make those pairings the best they can be. Listen to his episode of The English Wine Diaries here.
Noble Rott, Soho and Conduit Street
Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew, the duo behind Noble Rott wine magazine have two wine bars in London, having opened Noble Rott Soho in September 2020 as a sister restaurant to their award-winning Lamb’s Conduit Street venue. The wine list ranges from deliciously undervalued wines by the glass to hard-to-find gems from the world’s leading winemakers including a range of English sparkling wines from Digby, Hambledon, Tillingham and Wiston Estate vineyards.
The Oxo Tower Restaurant and Bar, South Bank
The Harvey Nichols-run Oxo Tower Restaurant and Bar has 24 English wines on the current wine list, including 12 sparkling, nine still whites and three still reds from producers, such as Digby (including the Harvey Nichols own brand), Gusbourne, Wiston, Hambledon, Hattingley Valley, Rathfinny, Litmus and London Cru. And with a prime position overlooking the Thames, you can enjoy some of England’s most iconic wines while enjoying some of the capital’s most iconic views.
Plume, Covent Garden
Plume is the wine bar from Grays & Feather, a London-based wine merchant and events company that explores the experimental side of food and drink. The speakeasy bar, which sits across two-storeys of Charles Dickens’ former 1860s publishing house in Covent Garden, specialises in wines from smaller, lesser-known winemakers and has 11 English sparkling wines on its list from Doe Eyed Queen, made at Hundreds Hill in Oxfordshire, to Native Grace from Henners in Herstmonceux – a small 7-acre vineyard in East Sussex created by ex-Formula One engineer, Lawrence Warr.
Upstairs at The George, Fitzrovia
The George in Fitzrovia champions all things local and British with one of London’s first dedicated English Sparkling Wine bars. The small, elegant bar has more than 150 different English wines on the menu, including wines from certain estates not available anywhere else in the UK. They regularly partner with English vineyards to offer a special set lunch menu, which is available from Wednesdays to Saturdays between 12pm and 3pm and costs £30 for two courses and £35 for three courses with a glass of English sparkling wine.
