Gordons Wine Bar
It seems this could be the last night of our Indian summer. So, before wending my weary way home, what better place to stop off at than a small, crowded, candlelit, subterranean wine bar just a stone’s throw from Embankment Tube and Charing Cross Station?
The word institution is bandied around a lot when referring to any bar establishment that has been in business more than a couple of years. I do it myself quite regularly in fact. But Gordon’s is a real institution, proudly proclaiming itself as London oldest wine bar, having served generations of customers since 1890.
It has a fascinating history, with amongst others Rudyard Kipling living and writing in the same building. But a bar cannot exist on history alone and Gordon’s is a firm favourite with Londoners thanks to its extensive, award winning wine list and its equally impressive and renowned cheese board.
Both menus stretch almost as far as the tables that line Watergate Walk outside the bar. This is where the many, many patrons who don’t want to – or cannot – crowd into the tight space inside the bar – take their excellent wines to while away a few hours before either heading home or out for a night on the town.
Remember, this is not the place for lager, beer or spirits. If you want something with bubbles it will have to be champagne or sparkling wine. If you want something stronger then you can choose Port, Sherry or Madeira from the barrel or the bottle.
Gordons Wine bar
47 Villiers Street
London
WC2N 6NE