Selfridges’ “Wonder Bar” is one of London’s best wine showcases. Wrapped around the store’s wine shop with Muji-esque beige wood panelling rising high, it fills up rapidly. There’s a feeling – and a pleasant one – that people have come here to be educated.
The great attraction of “Wonder Bar” is the ingenious selfservice ‘wine juke box’ from which you can choose from no less than 52 different wines and vintages. People can buy a card, then run through a preserving machine on one wall with measures as low as 125ml – not as small as they once were, but at least not as headache-inducing as those in some bars. For those that prefer, there is also table service from a team of expert wine waiters, headed by Selfridges’ sommelier.
You can also choose a superb smorgasbord of charcuterie, crustacean and cheese to complement the chosen tipple you have poured.
Meat platters like flavoursome Spanish pata negra ham and celeriac remoulade go well with the carefully selected wines; new wave Spain is well represented via 2004 Alvaro Palacios’ Petalo del Bierzo, and there’s a taste of what passé Châteauneuf du Pape ought to be like in the rich, dense and spice-inflected Vieux Telegraphe’s 2003. There are some quality champagnes available by the glass too.
EXTRACT FROM THE WINE LIST
Champagne
NV Bollinger Rosé £ 75.99
Bollinger 1999 La Grande Année £ 85.99
NV Krug Grand Cuvée £ 130
Rosé
2006 Coeur de Grain, Château Romassan, Domaines Ott, Bandol, France
125 ml £ 6.95 / 175 ml £ 9.25 / Bottle £ 38.50
Red Wines
1999 Château Montrose 2ème Cru, St Estèphe, France
125 ml £ 13.50 / 175 ml £ 18.75 / Bottle £ 85.00
2001 Pommard, Clos des Epeneaux 1er Cru, Comte Armand, Burgundy, France
125 ml £ 10.65 / 175 ml £ 14.50 / Bottle £ 60.50
1999 Château Pavie, St Emillion, France
125 ml £ 15.75 / 175 ml £ 21.50 / Bottle £ 130.00
1995 Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emillion, France
125 ml £ 60.00 / 175 ml £ 83.00 / Bottle £ 340.00
White Wines
2006 Bacchus Reserve, Chapel Down England
125 ml £ 4.15 / 175 ml £ 5.55 / Bottle £ 22.99
2004 Roncus, Pinot Blanco, Venezia Giulia, Italy
125 ml £ 5.50 / 175 ml £ 7.50 / Bottle £ 30.99
2006 Cometa, Planeta, Sicily, Italy
125 ml £ 7.25 / 175 ml £ 9.95 / Bottle £ 41.50
2006 Chardonnay, M3, Shaw & Smith, Adelaide Hills, Australia
125 ml £ 5.75 / 175 ml £ 7.95 / Bottle £ 31.99
Wines are offered by the glass either 125 ml or 175 ml or by the bottle
SELFRIDGES WONDER BAR
ADDRESS: Selfridges, Ground Floor, 400 Oxford Street, London, W1A 1AB
TELEPHONE: 0800 123400
WEBSITE: www.selfridges.com
OPENING HOURS: Mon – Wed 9.30am – 8pm; Thu 9.30am – 9.30pm; Fri 9:30am – 9pm,
Sat 9am – 9pm; Sun 12pm – 6pm
PRICES: Main courses £7.50-£19.95House wine £18.99-£340, £3.25-£60 glass
TRANSPORT: Nearest Underground Stations:Bond Street or Marble Arch tube
Nearest Railway Stations: Marylebone Railway Station (17 minutes)
Paddington Railway Station (25 minutes)
