Harden's survey result
Summary
“Love it… I always feel like a spy when I drink there…” – London’s oldest wine bar (est. 1890), near Embankment tube, is worth a visit for its “great interior” alone, with ancient brick-lined vaults, but it also boasts one of the capital’s biggest outside terraces. You no longer queue for the cold cuts, cheese and pies – they bring them to you with waiter service. The “excellent selection of wines” is by far the greater attraction.
Summary
“Still a great place for a glass of wine, any time of day” – this ancient wine bar near Embankment tube (London’s oldest, dating from 1890) has a superb interior, including a cavern where it’s hard to stand vertically, and a huge outdoor terrace. Its buffet-style food offering of cold cuts, cheese, salad and dishes of the day is primitive but at least relatively cheap, and in summer there’s also a BBQ on the terrace. Just about every London office worker has visited it at some point… in many cases, though, recollections are hazy…
Summary
“An old favourite – but still the best place to meet friends in London” – this lovingly preserved, 1890s wine bar by Embankment station has a huge outside terrace and “atmospheric cellars” lit by candles. “This is not about the food (which is perfectly OK, just very limited) or the grumpy staff – it’s about the wine and the ambience, delivered here in spades”. “How wonderful to take someone who’s never been before, to experience the atmosphere”, either as a boozy hideaway in winter, or for a BBQ by the park in summer.
Summary
“An old favourite – but still the best place to meet friends in London” – this lovingly preserved, 1890s wine bar by Embankment station has a huge outside terrace and “atmospheric cellars” lit by candles. “This is not about the food (which is perfectly OK, just very limited) or the grumpy staff – it’s about the wine and the ambience, delivered here in spades”. “How wonderful to take someone who’s never been before, to experience the atmosphere”, either as a boozy hideaway in winter, or for a BBQ by the park in summer.
For 32 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Gordon’s Wine Bar?
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £29.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
47 Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6NE
Opening hours
| Monday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Friday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 11 am‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
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