Quality Wines
Nick Bramham cooks the whole room alone off a board he rewrites every week, and the Gildas cost 2 pounds each.1
Why go
This is the small sibling to Quality Chop House next door, and Time Out's five-star review describes Bramham working the artfully cluttered corner kitchen with all the chill and grace of a monk
.1 The card is Mediterranean and short, and the venue says plainly that the menus change every week
, which is why three fixtures matter: the Gildas, the focaccia and the pig-fat cannoli, all of which Time Out says are impossible to remove, such is their popularity
.21 Marcos Spyrou and Darragh Monnin buy and pour the wine, the by-the-glass list changes daily, and bottles come off the shelves.2 Once a month between April and October, Bramham hands the pass to another cook for a Sunday, a series now in its second year.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Gildas. Time Out:
At 2 pounds a pop, this perfect Basque pintxo is an alchemic combination of an olive, guindilla pepper and a single salted anchovy fillet... Order more than one: this is not the time to be stingy.
1 - Order: the focaccia,
bouncy, salty
, to drag through whatever is oozing.1 - Order: the pig-fat cannoli,
a crispy little powerhouse of a pud
, which came in salted peanut praline, Pump Street chocolate, and sour cherry and almond on the visit.1 - Order: the three-course set lunch at 30 pounds if you want this kitchen cheap.2
- Avoid: coming as a vegetarian who wants pudding. Time Out is explicit that vegetarians are among those who will be disappointed, and the only dessert has pig fat in it.1
What locals & experts say
- Time Out, 3 February 2023, five stars and Recommended:
Stunning Med-style plates in an atmospheric neighbourhood wine bar.
On the kitchen:If you're looking for a London chef to worship like a minor deity, then you'd do well to start genuflecting at the feet of Nick Bramham.
1 - Time Out, on what the room is for:
The vibe: Romantic and candlelit, but also totally appropriate for a night knocking back glasses of Barolo with mates. The food: A monthly changing menu of chic and indulgent Med plates. The drink: Wine, of course! You're in extremely good hands here.
1 - Time Out, on the truffle sandwich:
this was not a good-looking or sophisticated dish. It was thinly sliced truffle between a couple of rounds of standard white loaf. Its sexiness however was innate. Who needs to look flashy when you're packing the best truffs in town?
1
Good to know
- Booking: reservations for lunch and dinner. Walk-ins are possible at lunch, dinner is strongly advised to book, and bookings are
predominantly seated at bar stools
.2 - Groups: the Large Table seats 7 to 12 on a set menu drawn from that week's card, with private hire by email above that.2
- The wine: glasses change daily, bottles come off the shelf, and the buying is Spyrou and Monnin's.2
- Sunday collaborations run monthly, April to October.2
- Dish detail above is from February 2023 and the board has been rewritten many times since.
Verdict
should-visit — One cook works the corner kitchen and rewrites the board every week, which is the format that makes this room worth booking rather than dropping into. Time Out gave it five stars and described Nick Bramham working alone 'with all the chill and grace of a monk', and named the three things that never come off: Gildas at 2 pounds, focaccia, and a pig-fat cannoli that is also the only dessert. The wine is a real program rather than a list, with Marcos Spyrou and Darragh Monnin changing the by-the-glass daily and bottles sold straight off the shelves at the shop margin. Three courses at lunch runs 30 pounds, which for this cooking in Farringdon is a bargain, and there is a monthly Sunday series where Bramham hands the pass to somebody else. It stops short of the top rung because most seats are bar stools, the room is small, and the vegetarian offer is thin by the review's own account.