Vinoteca

Went back again today. Wasn’t that hungry but still had the urge to eat something — Vinoteca is just across the street and it seemed very handy to go there for a single glass of wine.
Well… I’ve got more than just one glas.
Had the almonds, bread, olives and cured meats and startet with a glas of rose wine from England for me and a glas of pinot noir for my hubby. Then we had an Italian wine from piedmonte.
Ended up ordered dessert, which was OK. Chocolate cake with dulce de leche and ice-​cream. Had the rhubarb dessert earlier this week and it was better.
Sat at the bar which was kindda cosy and informal for me — just what I wanted.

Excellent and affordable wine list! Recommend the bruschetta!

We come here every time we are in London. The bavette and chips dinner is outstanding. The mussels appetizer is delicious. The wine list is approachable and reasonably priced. Cute atmosphere. Friendly staff. What more could you ask for in a neighborhood restaurant?

Really quaint wine bar with 2 outdoor tables. My friend and I were up for a mommys night out, leaving our little ones at home with their dads and were very happy to discover this lovely restaurant and wine bar.
It was a cool crisp fall evening and we were very happy to fine outdoor seating available! We might have needed reservations to sit inside as it was pretty full on a Friday night but outside was wide open. It is on a nice street across from two bars, prime for people watching!
The bottle of wine recommended to us was sadly discovered to be sold out after it was talked up by our waiter but the bottle we ended up drinking was very good as well.
My friend ordered the butternut squash gnocchi and it was delicious! I would definitely go back for this dish on a cool night out! I had the arancini which was stereotypically yummy.
There is also take away wine for half off of the dine in price!

Great wine list, excellent service and top notch food. In particular I thought the lamb shank and sticky toffee pudding were outstanding.

My boyfriend and I were staying near Marble Arch and wanted a dinner near the hotel one night. We happened upon this place and it ended up being one of our favorite meals in London! We were constantly noticing that in London, as opposed to America, the service was a little lacking at the restaurants — but this one proved us wrong! They were so kind and attentive and engaging and made our meal a great experience. The food itself was amazing — I had risotto and my boyfriend had a pie of some sort. It was all very good, and the wine selection was great. The atmosphere is cozy and romantic as well. I would absolutely recommend it!

Food was good, service adequate. However, we did book for dinner and were told we could not have a table by the window as they were for larger parties. We were seated at a table for two by a column. Shortly after we ordered two parties were seated at the coveted window tables. A young couple and a couple of lovely young ladies. Ageism at its worst?

While in London looked for a place near our hotel on Unilocal and found this as a highly recommended place. Not disappointed!
We were there a little late but were seated promptly and ordered our food as the kitchen was closing… and it is great policy to not delay the closing of the kitchen.
Our appetizers were the shrimp with toast and salad as well as the cured beef with beets and salad. Both were perfectly cooked and presented. The beef consisted of 5 or six slices and was accompanied by yellow beets and pickled carrots along with some greens. Delicious. The shrimp was more of a ramoulade with toast and green salad. Nice combination of taste and texture. Both dishes were tasty and hit the spot.
Entrees consisted of stuffed pepper and lamb. The stuffed pepper was served on asparagus with a tomato marinara type topping. It was very nice. The lamb was cooked medium rare and was on a bed of green peas in their pod along with fingerling potatoes. The crunch of the peas and softness of the potatoes was an awesome combination with the lamb and the sauce which had capers in it really drew out the taste of the lamb. A super dish.
Service was attentive and the overall experience was super. Will be back.

If you like wine and cheese, Vinoteca is a place you should know.
Vinoteca in Marylebone — wine shop, wine bar and restaurant — is just a few steps from Marble Arch. With its warm wooden colours, Vinoteca is welcoming with a great, lively and down-​to-​earth atmosphere.
I popped in on my way home on a Monday evening to make the most of London Wine Week, and the place was buzzing. One of their offerings was a sparkling white from England — an opportunity I could not miss to finally try English wine.
While sitting there and eating a delicious Caerphilly cheese board, I was offered a taster of an English wine called Element 20. The English sparkling wine wine was nice, but this white, mineralic and with a strong taste, was a much better match for the cheese. The Element 20 and the cheese was a perfect combination that I should keep in mind for my next visit.
I got the impression that the people at Vinoteca know a fair bit about their wines and their food. No question, I will be back for a full dinner!

My fourth time frequenting Vinoteca with work colleagues. Quite a way out from where I stay in Southwark, but wow… this place is well worth the ²⁵⁄₃₀ minute journey door to door.
Tucked away a wee side road from Marble Arch (5 – 8 minute walk from Bond Street station) It can be confusing to find. Persevere though & book in advance, it’s not a big place.
Once you enter, staff are always friendly. The wine selection is impressive & their knowledge is equally so.
Menu is not expansive, but as a small covers restaurant, thats what you want. A few dishes cooked really well, compared to a large menu cooked average. No specials were on this night, so went for the usual Steak Bavette… absolutely devastatingly beautiful marinated steak. This dish has never let me down!
Tried a dessert for a change of Cheesecake with honey and pistachio, matched with a Greek dessert wine. WOW! Tasted like a baked cheesecake and simply, the best I’ve ever had in ANY RESTAURANT. I don’t say that lightly, given I am the cheesecake making master lol.
You can waste away hours in here. It really is so relaxed and easy going. Don’t pass up an opportunity to visit this place.
You Gotta Eat Here — JUST EAT HERE NOW! :-D

Had the sommelier cook up a couple of flights for us based on the fall offerings, and was delighted at his choices.

Popped in here for vino and a meal, left after enjoying the absolutely delicious Mersea Island plaice, brown shrimp & caper butter. The wines are organic (I’m not a good wines’ connoisseur) but the staff seemed knowledgeable about what wine goes with what meal. Like any other London dining establishment though, access for the disabled isn’t exactly guaranteed. Otherwise this is a great restaurant in a great city.

Really nice wine bar/​restaurant. The staff are all so knowledgeable and seem to be from the same countries where the wines are from. They (staff) know a lot about wines. All the wines are organic and are bought from co-​ops as opposed to the mega vineries. The little, tapas style, dishes are a good complement to the wine. Didn’t try the full blown meal. Interestingly enough, the cost per glass was no more then what I paid for in the pub across the street from this place, but here the quality was SO much better.
The actual place reminded me of wine bars in the city of yesteryear (15 years ago) when I frequented those places. it is very clean and is way bigger then it seems. They have regular wine tasting sessions where (on avg) 15 – 20 wines are presented. They also have a full blown meal and wine pairing sessions. Here only about 3 – 6 wines are presented.
Only downside is that bathrooms are down stairs and not easily accessible for disabled people. You’re not in the USA, as my Brit friends keep reminding me.
Enjoy the really awesome, organic, wines.

This establishment can be one of 3 things, depending on your mood:
— A wine shop
— A wine bar
— A restaurant
It works pretty well in all 3 functions, with a pleasant ambience, a good selection of wine by the glass, and a good menu for dining.
Service has always been good and friendly, and its sufficiently far from Oxford Street /​Edgware Road to not be over-​busy.

Dinner
I had Grilled marinated bavette, watercress, horseradish & triple cooked chips.
I couldn’t remember what wine I had.
Simple but well cooked. I liked it very much. The atmosphere was so down to earth.

I very much liked it here… especially the fact that they have Prosecco running from the tap ;-)
Just like the Vinoteca in Farringdon, this is a place where you just feel comfortable the moment you walk in: it’s warm interiore, friendly chatter and happy people. When I was here, I first sat at the bar, while waiting for a few friends to arrive. I ordered a glass of wine and the guy behind the bar was really friendly and took the time to recommend something nice for me.
Later we sat down and enjoyed a lovely meal — I ate the steak which came with double-​cooked fries… what an indulgence!
Attention though: they only take reservations for lunch. So if you want to come with a group of friends here in the evening, I recommend to send someone ahead and put your name on the waiting list. This place gets busy!

For photos and more please refer to:

I have to start by saying that I absolutely love the original Vinoteca in Farringdon (you can read my laudatory review here), so I was more than intrigued when its sister restaurant opened on Seymour Place in Marylebone about 6 months ago. In short my expectations on my first visit to Vinoteca Seymour Place were high and were not fully met, at least not food-​wise.
But let me start with the general concept of Vinoteca (applies to Vinoteca in Farringdon and Seymour Place) which is great. Firstly, you can’t book. One is almost not used anymore to having no reservation and it gives a little of spontaneity back. Even if there is no table available for you straight away (it is useful, even though already slightly less spontaneous, to call 20 min before you are planning to go to check out the general situation/​supposed waiting time), you can wait at the bar, enjoying their wonderful wines.
This brings me to the second formidable thing about Vinoteca, which you might have guessed is the wine. They have a wonderful selection (at least as far as I can tell) and always give you the take away price as well as the mark-​up when you drink the bottle in.
The ambiance at Vinoteca Seymour Place is extremely pleasant the rustic furniture made out of dark wood and the relaxed waiting staff are as far away from pretentious as possible. It is a good place just to hang out and have a glass of wine with friends. Even though I promise you it’s not going to stay one glass
But now the food. At my visit to Vinoteca Seymour Place it was nothing special, in fact some of the dishes were not particularly enjoyable actually.
I really liked the starter of Golden beetroot & goats cheese salad with russet apples and walnut (7.50) as I am a big fan of the combination of sweet, sour and goat’s cheese. However, I leave you to judge whether this portion might be slightly overpriced.
The Roast brill with cime di rappa, anchocy and chili oil (16.50) was really not very successful. The predominating taste was salt and the fish was overcooked and dry.
The grilled marinated bavette 15.00 was good, with nicely cooked chips, tender meat and a rather lovely sauce. It came with horseradish which worked quite well with the meat. It did not, however, reach the exceptional levels of the bavette with smoked tomato ketchup that I tremendously enjoyed at the Vinoteca Farringdon.
I can’t remember anything about the dessert, Chocolate Torte Sainte Emilion (6.00). If this is because it was unremarkable or because I had a glass of this amazing red wine (I sadly forgot the name) too many, I don’t know
I would still go back and to this restaurant and give the food another try because I like most about it and I could imagine that I was just unlucky at my (one and only) visit. I really hope I was, as there are few places in London that manage to be relaxed, inviting and cutting edge at the same time. And this to relatively reasonable prices.

For photos see Greedy Diva @

I love the original, and now I love the new one. Vinoteca has opened a new branch in Marylebone.
It’s just off Edgeware Road near where, incidentally, I recently discovered the gastronomic joy that is shopping at Lebanese grocer, Green Valley. Everything you could ever need to work your way through the Ottolenghi cookbook is right there or, like me, you could buy lots of things you don’t need (like a large jar of preserved lemons for just over £1) just because they look pretty. There’s also a busy bakery for sweet pastries and cakes. Anyhoo…
The concept at Vinoteca Marylebone is the same as at Farringdon. Part wine bar, part restaurant, there’s a great selection of wines at reasonable prices, and — if you have to wait for a table — you can browse the floor to ceiling shelves laden with temptation to drink in or take home.
The food is rustic and simple, but with a hearty oomph. Each course is matched to one of the 25 wines available by the glass, or you can choose from one of over 280 bottles. We stopped by for a bottle of wine and a one course meal, so we bypassed the tempting sounding starters (like smoked eel with celeriac and apple remoulade and wheaten toast (£8)) and got stuck into a big spicy South African (the Cape Chamonix Rouge for £19.75), while soaking up the buzz.
My whole roasted partridge with a wintry lentil stew was meaty and heartwarming, although I found the generous splodge of garlicky, herby green sauce just a little too overpowering (other minds might differ on this).
TPG almost went for the lamb pie — a billowing pastry case packed full with finely minced lamb and vegetables. However, in the end he wavered in favour of the bavette steak, pink and juicy at medium rare, with thick cut, crispy chips and salad — a favourite from our visits to the Farringdon branch. The accompanying bread sauce was also excellent.
Vinoteca Marylebone is already busy. We had a short wait (about 10 minutes) for a table, but the friendly waiting staff (who still seem excited to be there) looked after us well. We simply sat by the window (or you can sit at the bar) and made a head start on the wine.
Main courses generally cost between £11 — £15 and our meal for 2 including wine and service was good value at £56.
The menu changes daily, so you’re likely to see something new every time you go. Oh, yes — you will go again.

Came to Vinoteca for a slightly late lunch, not really expecting that much. I had glanced at the menu a few days earlier and it sounded ok. I was pleasantly surprised.
Overall the dishes seemed slightly pricey to me, especially when adding a glass of wine to the meal, but I found there was the dish of the day. Adding a glass of wine to the dish of the day, which was herb crusted lamb with root vegetables, was only £1 extra and it still ended up under a tenner. Win.
The lamb was excellent. Juicy and with all the herb flavours from the crust coming through. Also, it was enormous, as in covering the whole plate. A clear plus in my book.
I was going to give it three stars but the service, the wine and the MASSIVE portion forced me to add an extra one.

This place is crackin’ — to use some local vernacular. The location is superb — it only could have been better, if it’d opened on Baker Street! The wine list is as extensive and well priced as the original location. But as the website suggests, food tends to be an afterthought. The hubs ordered the pâté, which he said tasted a little too much of blood. He also had the haddock, which had no flavour whatsoever. All in all, a rough night for him.
My selections, on the other hand, were pretty spot on. I had the sardines on toasted rye, that were very well done. I also had the special, which was a slow-​roasted beef with triple-​fried chips, ya know, all the rage now. The chips were good, but not as good as Hawksmoor’s. Of course, nothing can compare to a potato cooked in animal fat…
The ambiance was nice. The lighting a bit too bright for sure. Toward the beginning of the evening, the place to be was the bar. But as things picked up, the tables began to fill with diners. All in all a pleasant experience and a great addition to the area. I’ll definitely be back, but will likely sit at the bar and nibble, rather than eat a full meal.