Vinoteca - 'best wine bar in London'- boasts its website. Not far off. My friend Helen raves about this place in Farringdon so I was eager to try it out for dinner with Robert, Leah and her boyfriend Guy on Saturday. On a weekday in London one is always in a rush- rushing to catch the tube, rushing to meet deadlines or rushing to escape the gym- so waiting for a table to free up isn't viable. But at the weekend there's no such urgency and so it was sadly liberating to rock up to Vintoeca without a booking (they don't take them) and wait for a table while dipping into a pot of olives and a really smooth glass of Malbec. As it happens, we were seated very quickly, despite talk of an hour and a half wait from the bespectacled barman who greeted us. I say greeted, he had a fairly nonchalant attitude actually but he was harmless enough and anyhow I was more bothered by the menu.
There were several dishes that caught my eye which is always a good sign and we all shared so there was no serious food envy to sour the experience! I started with burrata, grilled aubergine and preserved lemon. Burrata is made from mozzarella and cream and this was rich and buttery as its name suggests. It married well with the charred aubergine which was not at all greasy as it tends to be when I griddle it despite being sparing with the oil.
Robert and Leah had old spot pork belly which was given an Asian kick with chilli, ginger and coriander and melted in the mouth. I didn't try Guy's butterbean and chorizo soup but it quickly dispelled the hunger brought on by his marathon training. Next was juicy lamb rump, stewed pepperonata, nutty ratte potatoes and a generous helping of Sicilian olives- they tasted just like the big green Puglian ones at Borough - my favourites.
Leah had sauteed squid (minus the red mullet as they were out) with fregola sarda. I've seen this described as 'giant' or 'Israeli' couscous but it's actually a Sardinian pasta. I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with it at the moment as it has a really satisfying bite but haven't managed to find it in the usual places. I had rice-shaped Orzo pasta for dinner this evening which was almost as good but not quite so I'm going to raid the Italian delis and upload a recipe on here within the next month!
Guy wasn't drinking as he was designated driver so it was left to Robert, Leah and me to see away the second bottle of red. My attempt was feeble so I couldn't really justify a pudding and picked at Rob's champagne rhubarb and hazelnut crumble instead. The fruit was stewed to perfection and not eye-wincingly tart as it can be. They were out of custard but ice-cream would have been my preference anyway so it went down a little too easily, unfortunately for R! As expected the sweet wine list was also fairly exhaustive but again I was all boozed out so I'll have to test this out on my next visit.
The dishes were fresh, colourful and exciting, the atmosphere buzzing. Our waitress was very attentive and though it wasn't service with a smile throughout the establishment, Vinoteca's no nonsense approach to food and its seemingly endless choice of high quality wines are well worth the wait.
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