Vinoteca Farringdon

Vinoteca opened its first site at 7 St John Street in Farringdon in 2005, around the corner from the old Smithfield meat market. It works three ways at once, as a wine bar, a kitchen, and a retail shop, so any bottle on the shelf can be opened at your table for a small corkage. The list runs deep and changes often, with a generous range available by the glass.

This is a wine bar for people who actually want to explore wine, not a scene. If you like being talked through a flight and matching it to modern European plates, it rewards you. If you want cocktails and a loud room, Farringdon has louder options.

A snug ground floor room lined with bottles, with the shop and bar sharing the same space. Square Meal describes it as relaxed and unfussy, more neighborhood favorite than special occasion. It gets warm and full at peak, so the early sitting is the calmer one.

The by the glass selection is the headline, with the staff happy to pour a taste before you commit. Buy any bottle off the shelf and drink it in for a small corkage, which is the move regulars recommend for the best value. The kitchen sends out modern European small plates and mains built to drink with rather than to upstage the wine.

A Farringdon and Clerkenwell after work crowd of media and finance regulars, plus locals who treat it as their cellar. Busiest Thursday and Friday from early evening. Saturdays run more relaxed and the kitchen stays open later than the area expects.

• Buy a bottle from the shop and pay corkage. Best value in the room.
• Staff know the list and will steer you well, per Square Meal and Maps reviews.
• A long standing local favorite since 2005, not a passing trend.

More wine in the city? Read our best wine bars in London and best natural wine bars in London guides. Browse more London wine bars or find bars near you.