Eat & Drink
Originally published on Monday, 1st February 2010
Wine Chap: February
Benares, Polpo, L'Etranger
Fresh from his oenophilic meanderings across the pond, our very own Wine Chap Tom Harrow offers a few vinous insights and observations for the London wine scene this month.
Benares
Website: www.benaresrestaurant.com
Address: 12A Berkeley Square, W1J 6BS, London
Phone: 020 7629 8886
The smart re-fit of Atul Hochar’s Michelin-starred Berkeley Square Indian features a few new private rooms – one with the now obligatory one-way glass allowing you to see what is being dropped on the floor in the kitchen and an unaccountably long banqueting suite for 34 people. More usefully, however, the restaurant now features an attractive tasting room (used to be the chef’s dressing room) perfect for highlighting Benares’ earnest and sophisticated attempts to convincingly pair Indian cuisine and fine wines
WineMate: Polpo
Website: www.polpo.co.uk
Address: 41 Beak Street London W1F 9SB
Phone: 020 7734 4479
The current darling of the press and cost-conscious diners, WineChap’s pairing of the month is their Cotechino sausage and Pignolo ’03 Castello di Buttrio. Both are traditional delicacies from Friuli, Italy’s gastro-region of choice for the recondite foodie.
Drink Out: L’Etranger
Website: www.etranger.co.uk
Address: 36 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4QT
Phone: 020 7584 1118
Around for a while, serving its curious but not unsuccessful combination of classic French cuisine alongside Japanese dishes, the main draw to this favoured repository of Kensington’s Middle Eastern money must be it its extraordinary winelist – a veritable Aladdin’s cave of rare and precious vinous jewels. It’s a slightly mad list, fascinating and endearingly eccentric with a correspondingly Bohemian distain for avaricious mark-ups and a depth of older vintages unparalleled in London.
Vintellect Point #1
Great fun to be had with the Sommelier’s choice wine pairing options: Rich Foie gras Terrine cried out for a Sauternes or some other sticky, but instead a dry but older Mosel Riesling “Saarburger” Kabinett Zilliken 2002 was the surprisingly effective partner. Dry is evidently the new sweet. Yellow Tail Tuna with Ponzu Butter was served with glasses of Henri Milan’s sophisticated Provencal “Le Grand Blanc” 2006 and Daijingo Sake – both were diversely complimentary. Timothee, the impish sommelier insisted we taste blind the red chosen for the Charolais Fillet. It was earthy, rich, open-knit but well-weighted – Kayrah Imperial 2005 (Turkish Shiraz, naturally).
Vintellect Point #2
The Pre-Theatre wine menu. Is this not the best idea ever? A special assortment of wines offered at 30% off during lunch service and for sittings before 7pm – perfect for deadening the senses before tottering along to endure the Albert Hall’s muffled acoustics.
