Strawberries and cream, Simon and Garfunkel, gin and tonic, Jedward and a deep, steep-sided, water-filled quarry...
Some things in life are just destined to go together. Cheese and wine are one such pairing. And we're not talking Dairylea triangles and a glass of Isla Negra here... this is cheese and wine for the gourmand.
So put your trust in the best fromagers and sommeliers of London as they guide your senses through one of life's most magnificent pairings...
Although Crusting Pipe is slap bang in the middle of Covent Garden’s Market Building, it’s not as widely known about as it should be. They have a selection of award-winning British cheeses including Stinking Bishop, the Camembert-like Waterloo and semi-hard goat’s cheese Rachel; wines are mostly French or from the New World, and have been chosen by independent winery Davy’s.
This is London’s only restaurant devoted to cheese, and it is turophile heaven. The menu has tartiflettes, fondue and tartes flambées as well as cheese flavoured ice cream for dessert. The wine list is French, with plenty from the Alsace region to complement the food.
The bistro of <a href="http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1924/151705.php">French Bubbles</a> offers grower champagnes instead of wine, with an expert selection of vintage and non-vintage varieties. To eat there is charcuterie, cheeseboards, tartines and a highly delectable chocolate fondue with tangy blue cheese.
Most of the wines at <a href="http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants.php?type=name&rest=Vivat+Bacchus">Vivat Bacchus</a> are South African, but the cheese platters are British, French, Italian or Swiss. They also host regular cheese and wine tastings.
London’s oldest wine bar (and one of the capital’s most romantic) has wine to suit all budgets, as well as cheese platters with smoked Raclette, taleggio, Manchego, Saint Nectaire and many more.
Both La Fromagerie shops have a fantastic variety of cheeses, but their Marylebone branch also has a “tasting café”. You can start the day with a breakfast cheese platter with fruit, later on have a plate of Reblochon, Tomme de corse and Savoie, or choose dishes from the cheese and wine pairing menu.
This Swiss restaurant (the one with the nightclub next door) specialises in fondue as well as bratwurst, rosti and raclette. Switzerland may not be renowned for its vineyards, but all the wine here is Swiss, so it’s a good place to find out more about them.
This shop in Old Spitalfields Market has a restaurant where you can make up your own cheeseboard from a good choice of French and British cheeses, along with extras like charcuterie, cornichons and quince jelly. The wine list is largely French, with many wines available by the glass and carafe.
This venue has its very own cheese maturing room in-house, so there’s a wide choice of cow’s, sheep’s, blue, hard, soft, etc. There’s an enomatic dispenser so there are more wines available by the glass than usual, allowing you to try a different wine with each cheese.
While the food is highly recommended, the fantastic wine list alone makes Terroirs worthy of a visit. The cheese is supplied by Androuet in Spitalfields, and although there is a strong bias towards French wines there are plenty of other European options.