Montague Cellars

Dark woods, Windsor chairs & wine paraphernalia create a resolutely traditional City wine bar ambience in this rather masculine basement, which is altogether more welcoming & informal than the somewhat forbidding entrance & careworn stairs might suggest. The food, too, is pretty traditional stuff: quails’ or Scotch eggs, potted Morecambe Bay shrimps & more substantial mains including steaks, Barnsley chop & burgers from the grill. The wine list kicks off with a brace of £13.95 vin de pays de l’Herault house offerings; more expensive offerings are also largely French, though even the Directors’ Bin Ends rise no higher than a 1997 Chateau Gazin Pomerol at £59. Service is friendly.