Restaurants that serve English Wines

Time for another outing into the world of restaurants that serve English wines… I’d first heard of Greenberry Café when owner Morfudd Richards was interviewed on tv about wines from Ancre Hill a couple of months back. It looked interesting, so the trusty Sarah and I set off for the short walk up Primrose Hill from Chalk Farm tube. We arrived early evening and took a while to choose between the bright table by the window and the cosy tables further inside, finally settling for the window.

We started with a glass of Gusbourne 2009 Blanc de Blanc (100% chardonnay), quite pale with beautiful tiny bubbles, balanced acidity and a nice substantial weight for a fizz. Chatting away with interesting nibbles, we did manage to stop before the end and order the Gusbourne NV Rosé (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay) to do a bit of a comparison. A definite pink fruit aroma and flavour with a little more acidity and a bit lighter in weight. We found both delicious – “I could happily quaff either” opined Sarah (don’t worry, her thoughts do get more profound later!) We decided perfection would be a glass of the rosé as aperitif and the Blanc de Blanc with food.

First glance of the menu was impressive – you’ve just got to love a restaurant that serves breakfast until 3pm (4pm on Sundays). When we finally got around to ordering, I went for the risotto from the Prix Fixe menu and Sarah chose the Moroccan lamb burger. The risotto was delicately delicious and while I’m not usually a fan of extraneous leaves with hot food, the French dressing was the best I’ve ever tasted and made the rocket actually seem like it was there for a reason. Sarah’s burger was equally delicious with spices adding interesting flavour, not just there to provide heat. We were reminded of the quality of food from The Shed and Sarah wondered whether perhaps those restaurants that choose to serve English wines have confidence in their palates and an integrity in their sourcing that spreads into the food. From what we’ve seen so far, even if you don’t have the slightest interest in English wines, choosing restaurants that serves them is a fine way to get a great meal. I had a birthday lunch at Tate Modern last year, which fits the model too.

Obviously three restaurants don’t prove a theory and maybe we’ve just been lucky, but as a Statistician, I can say that we definitely have a hypothesis worth testing. We’re open for suggestions if anyone has another one for us to try.

Shared by Elisabeth Else