Wine Bar in Brixton
The wine list at The Laundry begins in much the same place as the restaurant itself: with one foot in a traditional European bistro and the other somewhere considerably closer to New Zealand.
Founder Melanie Brown is a Chef Sommelier, so wine has never been an afterthought here. It shapes the menu, the way we think about dinner and the rhythm of the restaurant as it moves from daytime café to evening bistro.
For anyone looking for a wine bar in Brixton, that means there is considerably more to explore than a house red and white.
Parisian bistro, New Zealand breeze
Our current drinks list describes the idea rather neatly. The foundations come from the rhythm of a traditional Parisian bistro, with New Zealand quietly influencing what we pour alongside it.
That means classic European regions sit alongside wines from home for Mel.
Current New Zealand bottles include Neudorf Tiritiri Chardonnay from Nelson, Te Kano Blanc de Noir from Central Otago and Loveblock Pinot Noir from Central Otago. Elsewhere on the list you will find Loire Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin, Soave, Albariño, Rioja, Chianti, Malbec and Barolo.
It is a list built to drink, rather than simply admire.
Have a glass or make dinner of it
Being a restaurant as well as a Brixton wine bar has one obvious advantage.
There is proper food available with the bottle.
The autumn menu moves through chicken liver parfait with feijoa chutney, burrata, prawns in miso garlic butter, Wagyu beef and black olive pie, Steak Frites, trout puttanesca and duck confit, giving the wine list plenty to work with.
Ask the team what they would drink with your order or choose the bottle you came for.
Both approaches are encouraged.
Free corkage on Tuesdays
Tuesday is when you get to bring your own contribution.
Corkage is free every Tuesday, while BYO is £25 on other days.
Bring something you have been saving, a bottle you picked up on holiday or something you simply want to drink with dinner. We will supply the glassware, food and somewhere much nicer to open it than your kitchen.
L’Apéro
From Monday to Friday between 5pm and 7pm, L’Apéro brings £6 house wine and pints alongside £10 cocktails.
It is an easy way into the evening whether you are staying for dinner or simply meeting for a glass after work.
Take a bottle home
The wine does not necessarily have to finish at the restaurant.
Wines from the list are also available to take away at retail prices, which means finding a bottle you like over dinner can very easily result in another one leaving with you.
Wine in Brixton, without the ceremony
Mel knows wine extremely well. You are not required to.
Tell the team what you normally drink, what you are eating or what you want to spend and they can take it from there.
That is how a neighbourhood wine bar in Brixton should work.