Gordon's Wine Bar
Wine bar · Strand
47 Villiers St, London WC2N 6NE, United Kingdom
Highlights
Candlelit vaulted cellars with Dickensian decor and cheese
Candlelit vaulted cellars with Dickensian decor and cheese
"Supposedly the oldest wine bar in the city, this Charing Cross cave feels like the scene of a never-to-be-solved crime from the 1800s. The atmosphere is creaking and it should be somewhere an old thesp will regale you, but you’ll more likely overhear someone from Canary Wharf talking about their optimum number of reps." - jake missing
"What To Get: Wine, then cheese. More wine, more cheese. And repeat. Time Capsule Factor: This Dickensian wine bar on the Strand is a vaulted cellar. Do we know what that means? No. But it does involve candlelight, a near-death experience every time you climb the rickety staircase to the toilets, and a broody, clandestine air that lends itself to hot affairs and overthrowing governments. If that’s not your thing, there are newspaper clippings of HRH Lizzy in her 20s." - jake missing, sinead cranna, heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak
"Nice try Tim Berners-Lee, but the internet can’t find us at Gordon’s Wine Bar. This subterranean wine vault on the Strand has been open since 1890 and it’s exactly the kind of cavernous, candlelit bunker we picture ourselves hiding out in with our comrade camembert when everything gets a bit weird and the Alexas rise up. Its romance factor makes it permanently popular so you’ll need to make a booking online (OK, sure, thanks Tim) and know that the best things here are the cheeseboards, complete with freshly baked bread and quince jelly." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna
"Fire hazard status: grab your extinguisher, babe. It’s inevitable Long before every bar with a pinot on its menu discovered Earl Of East, Gordon’s was making flirting by open flames sexy. This clandestine open secret on the Strand has maintained its original Dickens decor and hypnotic scent of Cologne de Crypt for more than 130 years, which last time we checked, is significantly longer than the burn time of even the most obnoxiously large Yankee candle. Between the Bordeaux-forward bottles, hearty cheeseboards, and low vaulted ceilings in the cave area, Gordon’s always delivers on romance and memorable nights dripping in Victoriana nostalgia." - heidi lauth beasley, sinead cranna
"During a particularly lonesome hangover last week you extended the search radius on your Tinder and now you’ve found yourself meeting up with someone from the mythical land of Bow. Luckily that chariot of love the District line will bring you both to Gordon’s. This wine bar / underground vault of candles has a changing daily menu of British classics, cheese platters, and, somewhat predictably, a pretty good wine list. If you should decide that you’re better off as pals, (Bow is very far away, it never could have worked) then that’s fine, this classic establishment is a lovely place to spend an evening with anyone from family to friends." - heidi lauth beasley
