Cork & Bottle (Jamies)

Well, in my efforts to find new locations and bars I took a few hours on the internet researching wine bars in London trying to find the next locations for our events.  I decided on Jamies St Martins Place as they had a substantial wine list, a central location and some good food options, also, the photos on the web looked promising.  Unfortunately, when I got there the place turned out to be an after work bar.  Loud music and very crowded.  I got a glass of extremely average Chardonnay (for £8) and waited for everyone to show.  After 5 minutes I knew we couldn’t stay as we couldn’t have the kind of social occasion we were after and decided a last minute venue change was called for.  As we were only a couple of minutes’ walk from one of my favourite wine bars, the solution was simple….Cork and Bottle (C&B).

There were 5 of us in total which doesn’t sound a lot, but if you know C&B, without a booking it was a tight squeeze.  Although busy as usual, the staff were hugely accommodating and the evening was a success.  Fortunately, none of the other WoW patrons had been to C&B before which meant everyone was very happy to learn of an amazing wine bar in the heartland of tourist and tack.

Thanks to Burnsy, my new-found love for Pinot Noir prompted me to choose a Burgundy to start, which we followed with Cote-du-Rhone, an obligatory Argentinian Malbec and finishing with something different, a Negroamaro from Puglia.  We accompanied these with a cheese selection from the cheese counter and a charcuterie board.

After the inauspicious start to the evening we had a great time and Cork & Bottle stays as one of the places to go for wine in London.  (On the way out a I bought a couple of my favourite La Crema Chardonnays).

Cheers,

John.