The Cheese Bar

The Cheese Bar at Camden Stables represents a category London does better than almost any city — the wine-and-cheese room as a serious drinking format rather than a wedding-buffet cliché. The Mathew Carver list runs deeper into British cider, English sparkling and small-grower European whites than most equivalents anywhere in Europe.

The by-the-glass programme is built to map onto the cheese counter rather than to flatter the menu. That sounds like a small distinction; it is the whole point. Ask the staff what to drink with a particular cheese and you get a precise answer, not a wave at the chalkboard. The cheese knowledge of the floor team is unusually high.

The room is informal, the pours are generous, and the prices are honest. It is the bar most likely to surprise a reader who thinks they already know what they like. Come for lunch, build a board, drink your way across British cider and English sparkling, and you will leave with two new recommendations you would never have found alone.

For the full ranking, see our editorial round-up of the 10 best wine bars in London 2026, the broader London wine bar guide, and our category index of wine bars worldwide.