Chic Wine Bars In London To Visit Now
By
4 days ago
Wine not try them all?
While in the past, wine bars had a bit of a reputation for being stuffy and old-fashioned, these days they tend to be far more relaxed. You don’t have to be an oenophile to enjoy a visit: they’re simply a great place to sit and enjoy a glass or two, often over some nibbles. London is filled with great wine bars, from trendy Hackney gems focusing on natural wines to self serve-style spots tucked away in Balham – and even a spot helmed by Idris Elba. Read on to discover the very best wine bars in London.
London’s Best Wine Bars
At A Glance:
- Luna, Shad Thames
- Trullo Wine Bar, Islington
- Bottle & Rye, Brixton
- Lulu’s, Herne Hill
- Oak N4, Finsbury Park
- Porte Noir, King’s Cross
- Le Beaujolais, Soho
- La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, Seven Dials
- Gordon’s Wine Bar, Embankment
Luna, Shad Thames
Luna is, frankly, the platonic ideal of a date spot. The wine selection is current, interesting and geographically varied, the setting is atmospherically lit and in the cobbled backstreets of Shad Thames, and there’s a seasonal selection of European sharing plates courtesy of its acclaimed sister venue, Legare. The team hosts regular tastings for oenophiles, and – if a particular bottle is open from such an event – they’re happy for you to taste the weirder stuff on the menu, too.
Wharf Building SE1 2YR, lunawinebar.co.uk
Trullo Wine Bar, Islington
Trullo Wine Bar, Islington
This wine bar is the sister venue to Trullo, one of London’s most iconic pasta restaurants – and, as such, there’s a concise menu of small plates to accompany a whopper wine list. With daily specials scrawled out on the blackboard menu – including seafresh maldon rock oysters – and teeny tiny tables topped with weeping candles, it’s a fabulously romantic setting whether you’re headed onto the restaurant or this is your nightcap. The wine selection includes own-label bottles, and its in-house wine buyer, Will, is constantly on the scout for lesser known producers to add to the menu.
Open Weds to Sat, 300-302 St Paul’s Road, N1 2LH, trullorestaurant.com
Bottle & Rye, Brixton
Bottle & Rye, Brixton
Bottle & Rye transports a slice of Paris to the heart of south London. Located in Brixton’s Market Row, the wine list focuses on minimal intervention wine from across Europe, alongside a menu of twists on French classics: think Ogleshield Gougères with Pickled Walnut; Vichyssoise Oyster Tartare and Smoked Eel Brandade. Chef Robin Gill and his wife Sarah are the brains behind the operation; their restaurant portfolio includes Sorella and Darby’s, so it’s not a surprise that the food is firmly brilliant.
Ground Floor, 404-406 Market Row, London SW9 8LD, bottleandrye.com
Lulu’s, Herne Hill
Leafy Herne Hill in south east London boasts an impressive concentration of superb restaurants, pubs and bars. One of its very best is Llewelyn’s, and in 2022 the team behind this modern European dining room opened a wine door right next door. Lulu’s is a bakery until it gets dark; in the evening, you’ll find locals sat in the heated front-terrace poring over a wine list full of unconventional pours. Stay for a nibble, too – it does one of the best focaccias in town.
291 Railton Road, London, United Kingdom SE24 0JP, lulus.london
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OAK N4
This small, independent wine bar in Finsbury Park has been around since 2016, and offers a selection of wines available to drink by the glass or the bottle. You can enjoy your vino alongside cheese, charcuterie and vegan platters, plus olives, almonds and semi-sourdough baguettes from a local bakery. Head there on a Wednesday or Sunday to enjoy music from local musicians and DJs, with music spanning everything from blues to jazz and electric guitar.
Unit 2, 5-7 Wells Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JU, oakn4.co.uk
1857 at St James’s Hotel & Club
1857 The Bar
This is the very best place in London to try port. 1857 The Bar has the widest variety of the fortified stuff in any London bar, including rare and unusual wines, aged tawnies and vintage ports. There are also port cocktails and a selection of bar nibbles picked for their pairing qualities, such as stilton, foie gras, tuna belly and burrata. Non-port drinkers, meanwhile, will be catered for with spirits and classic cocktails.
7-8 Park Place, St. James’s, London SW1A 1LS, stjameshotelandclub.com
Porte Noire
Porte Noire, King’s Cross
He’s best known for his work on screen, but did you know that Idris Elba also has a wine bar? Porte Noir, created in partnership with founder of Connaught Wine Cellars, David Farber, is the cooler-than-cool bar in King’s Cross that’s perfect for oenophiles. Inside, you’ll find 800 wine bins and one of the capital’s largest fine wine tasting rooms. From exceptional rare bottles to ‘wines on tap’, an extensive selection curated by Farber is available to purchase and enjoy in-house – including Elba’s own label.
Gasholder 10, A 1, Lewis Cubitt Walk, London N1C 4BY, portenoire.co.uk
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Le Beaujolais, Soho
Situated in a uniquely charming and slightly chaotic space in Soho, Le Beaujolais is a member’s club and wine bar (although, if you ask the team behind the bar, they’ll sometimes describe it as ‘a French pub’). The list, naturally, leans on the Franco-side of things and you can order cheeses from an extensive selection to accompany your drinks – eight cheeses are £32, and they’re generous with bread, too.
25 Litchfield St, London WC2H 9NJ, lebeaujolais.london
Sager + Wilde
Sager + Wilde, Hackney
Sager + Wilde can be credited with putting wine bars back on the map for the East London cool kids. Located in Hackney, it offers fine wines by the glass, with great snacks and some tempting grilled cheese sandwiches. You’ll learn about new and different types of wine from their ever-changing wine list and regular fun-filled winemaker nights and events.
193 Hackney Rd, London E2 8JL, sagerandwilde.com
Humble Grape, Battersea
The good guys of the wine bar business, Humble Grape is on a mission to make wine socially inclusive and focus on importing wines from relatively unknown vineyards. Most are artisan wines which are sustainably produced, organic and biodynamic, and you can buy what you try directly from their website, too. Head to the Fleet Street branch for ‘take-away Mondays’, when some wines are sold at half price.
2 Battersea Rise, London SW11 1ED, humblegrape.co.uk
Gordon’s Wine Bar
Gordon’s Wine Bar, Embankment
Established in 1890, Gordon’s is the oldest wine bar in London and its original décor makes it a most unique (and romantic) watering hole. There’s nothing quite like sipping on excellent wine in the spot which once housed Rudyard Kipling, and was where he and Chesterton wrote some of their best works. And an old dog, it turns out, can learn new tricks: it does have a menu that spans more natural and lower intervention picks.
47 Villiers St, London WC2N 6NE, gordonswinebar.com
La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, Seven Dials
This French-inspired Covent Garden wine bar is at the forefront of promoting organic and natural wines. Over 400 wines have been hand-picked by experts to give visitors as varied and expansive an experience as possible – and more experienced wine lovers are invited to try the mystery wine and guess what it is to win a bottle.
8-10 Neal’s Yard, London WC2H 9DP, cvssevendials.com
