Clerkenwell’s Celebrated Modern British Restaurant to Launch Wine Bar Annex

The Quality Chop House restaurant and bar — a venue famous not just for mince on toast, but for being one of London’s finest examples of modern British cooking — has announced, via its head chef’s Instagram, that it will turn its next door wine shop and cafe into a bar serving “small plates” in the evenings. Shaun Searley wrote this morning that he was looking for an ambitious chef to lead the offering.

The new venue will use the same space which Eater announced as undergoing a change of use in February. Up until the beginning of the year it had been a wine retail space — operated by the owners of P. Franco and Bright, Noble Fine Liquor — but has since been trading as a daytime cafe, bakery, cook book and wine store. Typically it has been open until 7pm, but will now be adding a few more tables and chairs and serving what is working for so many across the city — from P Franco itself, 40 Maltby Street, to Leroy,

“Some exciting news... Plans are afoot to change the @qualitychop wine shop/cafe into a wine bar in the evening with a small plates menu,” Searley wrote.

Eater spoke with co-owner Will Lander this lunchtime, who said that the team has acquired a full license for the space to act as a wine bar as well as a shop.

Front-of-house, Gus Gluck — who ran two Vinoteca restaurants in London and who has been most recently working in Australia — will be in charge of the wine bar. Lander said he was expecting it to open on 2 or 3 July. A “reasonable” £15 corkage will be offered on anything from the shelf, which Lander described as “very competitive, especially at the higher end” where they are seeing more and more sales as customers become increasingly interested in wine.

At opening the space will principally act as a wine bar, with a few snacks, mainly cold dishes, and perhaps one hot option. From there, Lander says, the team will look to “evolve” the offering.

Check back next week for more news on Quality Chop House’s evolution.