db Eats: Vinoteca Chiswick

My ears pricked up on hearing that Brett Woonton, Charlie Young and Elena Ares were opening a fourth branch of their popular wine-focused bistro Vinoteca in leafy Chiswick, as I lay my hat in W4.

Opening their first site in Farringdon in 2005, the trio have since expanded to Marylebone, Soho and, most recently, Chiswick, opening directly opposite Michelin-starred stalwart La Trompette on Devonshire Road in early October. It’s easy to take Vinoteca for granted, but its friendly, laid-back approach has become the model for the modern wine bar, inspiring the likes of Xavier Rousset’s three-strong mini chain 28-50, and Hackney newcomer Sager + Wilde, run by husband and wife duo Charlotte and Michael Sager-Wilde.

The Vinoteca business model is simple and effective: find a killer site, hire fired-up up young staff, serve an extensive selection of quirky wines by the glass and seasonally focused small plates crafted (in the main) from British ingredients and whack on a small shop at the back where punters can buy their newly discovered favourite drops to take home. To keep things fresh, Vinoteca’s wine list changes frequently, with 25 offered by the glass at any one time and each of the dishes carrying a wine recommendation, which you can go for or totally ignore, depending on how far you choose to tow to line.

At the Chiswick branch, breads are made on site each morning and an impressive 285 wines are offered by the bottle to drink in or buy at the shop to take home. Starting at £15.95 a bottle, countries like Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and England are all well represented alongside the more traditional winemaking nations of France, Italy and Spain, with each bottle earning its place on the list by having a point or interest or a story to tell.

Dexter beef fillet, parmesan and lemon

Steering the ship at Chiswick is James Robsen, who has stints at L’Office in Paris, the now defunct Artisan & Vine in Battersea, and, most recently, the Michelin-starred River Café in Hammersmith under his apron. Boasting a racing green exterior prettified with hanging baskets overflowing with white and purple pansies, inside, the space is cosy and intimate.

Walls are a soothing mint green, floors are polished blond wood and small square tables stand inches apart. Spanning the main wall is a liquid library of droolworthy drops, from Viña Tondonia Reserva to Thabilk Marsanne, designed to get the pulses of cork sniffers and bottle fondlers (to quote Andrew Jefford) racing. Despite its newness, there’s a reassuring familiarity about Vinoteca Chiswick, as if it’s been around for years.

The 45-cover restaurant resides upfront, with a no-bookings bar at the back next to the open kitchen. Settling into an olive green leather banquette, proceedings kick off with a lightly chilled glass of Goyesco Amontillado from Rodriguez La-Cave. A steal at £5, it whets the appetite with its salty tang and notes of wind-whipped shores, almonds and hazelnuts. To pair comes a small bowl of parmesan and pancetta risotto balls. Piping hot with crispy coats flecked with fennel seeds and an umami-rich interior, I would have been happy to munch a mountain of them.

Whole diver caught place with anchovy, rainbow chard and marjoram

Proving their seasonally focused credentials, the menu at Chiswick changes daily. My starter – Dexter beef fillet, parmesan and lemon – was recommended by general manager Augustus Gluck, who sounds like he’s sprung from the pages of a Roald Dahl book, but in reality is the charmingly disheveled, angelic-looking young son of acerbic wine writer Malcolm Gluck – the Luke Skywalker to his Darth Vader as Gluck junior puts it.

The ruby hued slivers of meat delivered a fresh, clean, carpaccio-like meaty hit, lifted by the lemon and given added depth by the salty shards of parmesan into a moreish ensemble that left me craving for lashings of it. The accompanying wine, Serafini & Vidotto Pato Recantina 2012, was like drinking the juice from a fistful of crushed strawberries. Sprightly and vibrant, it sang with Gamay-like red fruit notes of strawberry, raspberry and cherry, and offered a nostalgic nod to childhood birthday parties, with added layers of earth and spice.

Hazelnut and salted caramel semifreddo

My main event: whole diver caught place with anchovy, rainbow chard and marjoram, was as soft as silk, the white meat moist, glistening and falling off the fork, enhanced rather than overpowered by the salty kick of the anchovies. The sweet pine and citrus flavours of the dried marjoram meanwhile, transported me to some Italian herb garden in midsummer.

Sticking to the script, I chose to pair it with the recommended Loire-based, J. Mourat Moulin Blanc, Blanc de Noirs 2012 – my first taste of white Pinot Noir. Chardonnay-like in its citrus and apple character, the rich and mouthfilling drop intrigued rather than charmed.

Things ended sweetly with a hunk of hazelnut and salted caramel semifreddo, which I devoured with an Oloroso-like Curalolo Marsala Riserva Superiore destined for the apple and almond tart, but pairing perfectly with the caramel and nutty notes in the creamy, indulgent pud.

Bubbling with enthusiasm and clearly keen to show off some of his more esoteric offerings, before my fellow feaster and I head out into the chilly autumn night, Gluck glides over with two glasses, one filled with clear and one golden liquid, and asks us to try and guess what they are.

The former turns out to be a warming white rum and the latter, an English Calvados packed with autumnal stewed apple aromas. Both, it seems, stir Gluck on a physical and emotional level, which is kind of how I feel about the restaurant. You leave feeling warm and fuzzy, and it’s not just from the Calvados. The folk at Vinoteca have struck gold again with this cool and cosy neighbourhood gem. I’m already looking forward to going back.

Vinoteca Chiswick, 18, Devonshire Road, London W4 2HD; Tel: +44 (0)20 3701 8822