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Wine List Confidential: Volta do Mar

19 August 2024 By Douglas Blyde

Douglas Blyde gets a taste of Portugal in SW3, heading to Volta do Mar to find piri piri chips, pastel de nata, Port, and, somewhat surprisingly, English sparkling.

Volta do Mar restaurant and wine shop, is brought to you by “Salt Yard group founder Simon Mullins and his Portuguese-born wife, Isabel Almeida da Silva,” said Hardens. Established in 2019 in Covent Garden, the business relocated to Draycott Avenue in 2023, “taking over the old Bottles Chelsea site” reported Hot Dinners, a location “which gives them a new private dining room as well as a small outside terrace.”

Design

Located a few doors from the haven that is Daphne’s, Volta do Mar appropriated what was Bottles Chelsea. Indeed, in the vicinity of the dolls house of scale unisex loos you will encounter the former sign of that business. Beyond a marine of palette frontage, décor, by Mullins, includes a mottled mirrored ceiling replicating the chandelier, and a herringbone patterned brick floor, with works exhibited by Ad Lib gallery in Wimbledon Village being “theoretically for sale”, he says. Our favourite pieces are from Mullins’ private collection, which comprises three not-so-little Iberico piggies. The soundtrack includes Favelado (Ze Keti), and Casuarina’s Canto de Ossanha.

Drinks

Compared to the list of the previous incumbent whose vinous selection ran to 170 options, including hallowed Bordeaux from the 1990s, grand Riojas from the 1980s, venerable Rhônes from the 1970s, and even a couple of Portuguese by the glass, at almost 40 bottles, Volta do Mar’s micro list of unfortified wines, is relatively meek. Encapsulated in wine fridges which face eachother within an arch near the bar counter, and on sparse shelving this work in progress is maintained by Mullins.

Having got “fed up” with a career in advertising, he segued to hospitality, beginning as a commis at The Stonemasons Arms, Hammersmith “around the time The Eagle was founded in Farringdon,” Mullins progressed to Brindisa, later co-founding Salt Yard and its sister sites. During that time, he wrote the “Salt Yard, Food and Wine of Spain and Italy” book with alumni, Ben Tish, and Sanja Morris. Mullins remains a shareholder in the Francophile Blanchette. He has also judged Decanter World Wine Awards.

Unsurprisingly, given the nature of Volta do Mar’s cuisine, Mullins’ list is all Portuguese, with one unlikely exception: English fizz. As Mullins notes, “we work closely with JE Fells, and will be listing their latest Symington Family Estates/Berry’s joint acquisition – Hambledon – an English sparking of note.” We cannot help but hope it will be offered by the glass, given the only other effervescent option on pour is the slim of profile, cringeworthy of name, Aplauso Bruto at £10/125ml, which features a label evoking a screen grab from Space Invaders.

Still options by the nursery slopes Riedel Vinum glass range from Altana 2021 Douro red (£8.50/175ml), a version of which may be familiar to Waitrose shoppers, to the Azores Wine Company 2021 Vulcanico Branco, reaped from volcanic vineyards evocative of the foundations of a long forsaken civilisation (£16). Partaking of multiple drops by the glass, we noted better care might be taken with both service temperatures, and in the case of one wine in particular, preservation against oxidation.

By the bottle, highlights include the indefatigable Colares Tinto 2015 (50cl) at a respectable £90, reaped from ungrafted, ocean-proximate vines sown in the Sintra-Cascais National Park, Dirk Niepoort’s cult of status and indeed Burgundian, Coche 2022 close to retail at £130, Chryseia, the Bordeaux-Portugal entente between Bruno Prats and Symington Family Estates, in this case harking from 2008 (£175), and at the very top end, the famous Barca-Velha Cassa Ferreirinha 2011 at below retail (£535)

Meanwhile, the selection of vintage Port reaches from Graham’s from the outstanding 1980 to Warre’s 2000. Sadly, none of these are available by the glass, which strikes us as a missed opportunity given we suspect it might be easy to entice guests into culminating their meal with a taste from their birth year rather than having to deep dive into an entire bottle. By contrast, almost ten Madeiras are served by the 75ml portion, including D’Oliveira Malvasia 2000 at a gutsy £32; there are also rums from the island for the strong of constitution, while at £9 for a shot, Aguardente Adega Velha is a brandy aged for twelve years in Limousin oak. Interestingly, double measures of spirits are priced exactly twice that of singles, again, missing a trick to encourage guests to trade up.

Trusty Super Bock and Sagres beers are supplemented by Coral from Madeira, best enjoyed on summery afternoons from frozen glasses on the Graham’s branded terrace. This is also the best location for Mullins enhancement of a Spritz. “In a large stemmed goblet garnished with juliennes of fresh ginger, we combine shaken Graham’s Blend Nº5, ginger-infused lemon and elderflower with Aplauso spumate from Bairrada and soda,” he notes.

Dishes

Dishes are realised by Isabel Almeida da Silva. Formerly of The Wolseley, the long gone Mirabelle “in its heyday” said Mullins, The Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols which she helped open, and Joël Antunes in Atlanta, da Silva previously worked front of house at Volta do Mar in Covent Garden, switching roles at this incarnation. The couple met at Salt Yard group’s Opera Tavern. From her semi-open kitchen she celebrates Portugal, with influences from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Goa, Macau, Mozambique, and Japan. Mullins hinted that, “though sacrosanct”, the recipes of da Silva’s grandmother, meticulously recorded during her time catering for the Portuguese ambassador to Goa, may ultimately reach Volta do Mar’s menu.

Opening the appetite, lunch began with a quartet of flawlessly cooked quails eggs served with coral coloured paprika pepped Maldon salt, then starters of firm boned Macanese African chicken which thankfully gained seasoning from a satay like sauce, and excellent home smoked, spherical Iberico croquettes. Beyond a skilfully thin crust, these were acceptably devoid of bechamel – to Mullins’ liking – and elevated by a welcome tingle of spice. With these, Mullins poured the easy-going Dócil, a humble, organic, granite-grown, Vinho Verde by Dirk Nieport, a winemaker once described by Wanderlust Wine as a “mischievous instigator”.

This being a “Graham’s Official Ambassador” partner site according to the plaque by the entrance, wines from Certified B Corporation, Symington Family Estates, dominate the list, reaped from some 26 quintas spanning 2,462 hectares. These include the rosé from Quinta da Fonte Souto Serra de São Mamede, being the family’s first property outside of the Douro, in the cooler Portalegre subregion of Alto Alentejo. Representing their fourth vintage, the 2022 aped the popular Provence onion skin hue, though delivered an intriguing, white pepper stained palate, pairing with, advertised on the A-board, catch of the day of whole sardines on charred bread. Unexpectedly, the sides of Mozambique green rice spun in coriander and spinach outshone the slightly soft fishes and indeed the albeit silky moqueca of slightly tense unnamed fish and tiger prawns, with the winner of the meal being addictive, greaseless, nearly translucent chips seasoned with house piri piri.

Finally, a pastel de nata, reasonably priced at just £3.50, worked best with Blandy’s trusty old labrador, a 15-year-old Malmsey.

Last word

While a tighter focus on wine service temperatures, preservation, and more expressive glassware is needed, which is not much to ask from such a seasoned restaurateur as Simon Mullins, Volta do Mar offers a personal and friendly venue which transports guests to Portugal and beyond for an afternoon. With deft spicing running through dishes, and a hopefully growing wine list, it provides an intriguing dining experience, particularly for those seeking Portugal’s liquid assets at close to retail prices.