If London were a ghost town, the City of London over the weekend couldn’t illustrate this better. Attempting to draw in anyone who may be in the local area over the weekend, Vinoteca City – the Square Mile’s newest wine bar in Bloomberg Arcade, has launched a new weekend brunch and Sunday roast with half price wines.
An attractive setting complete with high ceilings and large windows, Vinoteca City is undoubtedly an attractive magnet for city goers in the weekdays but on a rainy Sunday morning its handsome walls echo. Letting diners pick and choose whatever they may fancy, their easy going menu ranges from a seasonal weekend brunch to the ‘Jazzy Weekend Roast’.
Available every Saturday and Sunday from 10am – 4pm, Vinoteca City’s new brunch menu includes leek, ricotta and pine nut filo pie, cured var salmon with fine herbs and Riesling essence and poached Norfolk kipper with new potatoes and lemon and parsley butter. If you’re however looking for some eggs to fuel your day, classic dishes also play a part. We shared rich and generous eggs Benedict and eggs Royal, however other traditional favourites include toast with blackberries and avocado or sumac baked ricotta on sourdough.
Vinoteca City’s real USP however is made apparent to us with its impressive selection of wines. The brunch menu allows diners to sip a selection of breakfast wines including a Pink Moscato 2014 by Innocent Bystander, Prosecco Treviso from Italy and a Vin Doux 2012 Samos from Greece. For cocktails: a Venetian Spritz, Vinoteca’s spin on Aperol Spritz made with Campari, Prosecco, sparkling water and orange, a Sherry Mary or a classic Bloody Mary.
As we ate our eggs, dining neighbours dug into one of Vinoteca City’s ‘jazzy’ Sunday roasts. With all the trimmings and with wine at half price from the expansive collection of more than 200 from around the world; roasts include Tamworth pork belly and apple sauce or slow roast rump of tender beef with horseradish served with gravy, potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and seasonal vegetables. The menu also indulges itself with a sharing plate of Himalayan salt-age cote de boeuf with chips, spinach and béarnaise sauce for two.
Keeping the tables filled as the evening sets in, talented musician Lizzie Bradley also takes to the decks, performing soulful melodies of jazz, electronic and chill, reminiscent of Billie Holiday and Bjork, every Sunday from 6 – 8pm.
Vinoteca City: 21 Bloomberg Arcade, London EC4N 8AR, www.vinoteca.co.uk/city , 020 3150 1292, city@vinoteca.co.uk
