Ancestrel Wines

An absolute banger, a little gem of a place in Forest Hill. Really interesting wine selection by the glass, and some lovely stuff on the shelves. knowledgeable, friendly, staff. I only popped in for a bit but I would definitely go back. Don't normally go south of the river, but Ancestrel would tempt me back.

Random Thurs eve here with a friend. Really good service. Nice chill vibe. Guys behind bar play old CDs to soundtrack your evening..... Red wine with some Otis Redding? Please and thank you.

£16.50 for corkage is a scam. Every-time you buy a bottle they charge you another £16.50 !!! Insanity. How is that even a good business model? My friends and I would of bought more bar snacks and more wine if this had not been the case. The 1 star is for the service and the wine which was pretty nice.

I had an amazing time here. We were a big group and the staff managed excellently to cater to all of us. We had a tab running for a few of us and then when some others joined they were so smooth at serving them separately as a tab at that point would have been confusing. All in all a memorable evening in a beautifully curated space. We’ll be coming back time and time again. Fantastic staff and superb selection of wine at reasonable prices.

Lovely wines, small area to sit and enjoy the wine in the bar itself or out front. Pleasant service. Card reader doesn't show how much you are actually paying (you tap your card in good faith). Mirror displays wine list but doesn't say glass size or wine you are getting... Then when you enjoy the wine I feel there is opportunity for upselling us a bottle (as it was good wine) but we were not told what it was or offered a bottle to buy.

This place is excellent! Great wines at very good value, lovely staff every time, and their Sunday food offers amazing range from different chefs. I thoroughly recommend coming here.

I have had disappointing experiences here the last two times I’ve visited, because of the staff demeanour. Ethan is fantastic, but every other member of staff I’ve met has been cold and unfriendly, without showing interest in helping customers. It’s such a shame because Forest Hill so needs a great bar like this - the wine selection is great, the decor of the bar is stylish but the staff don’t make the atmosphere match. We decided to go elsewhere last time. Such a shame!

I won't be returning here. The wine is great, but customer service is really poor due to one member of staff being incredibly arrogant, and not being transparent about what we were offered to order, resulting in hidden costs. Specifically, the "platter" is very expensive and turned out to be a pile of crisps with meat chucked on top, and if you order a bottle of wine to share between you, you will be charged a significant corkage fee.