Arbutus (63-64 Frith Street, London, London, W1D 3JW) The food here is good; the wine list is a joke. So, says the reviews, it encompasses “the world's greatest producers.” Er, no it doesn't. Most of the bottles are cheapo lower-end producer wines ( perfectly nice to quaff ) ludicrously marked up. The Domaine d'Ouctric is a 6 quid bottle posted here at 32. Um, let's do the math shall we? That's a 400 per cent mark up for a nice, nondescrtipt wine. The Poggio Argientera is a mediocre 10 quid affair going for 30 plus ( they don't have the more serious Capostato from the same domaine obviously ). The Pichon Condrieu is a nice 18 quid bottle going for 80. The Les Vieux Murs is a pretty bad Pouilly-Fuisse ( about 9 quid in French supermarkets ) hiked up to 36. What a con. You would think in an age when anyone can google any wine in two seconds that restaurant managers would get their integrity together. This is a Michelin star place with a bargain basement wine list hiked up to lower end Michelin prices. Nice work, fellas. In London, it seems, this kind of bullshit is the norm and people just accept it. In New York, I can tell you, most of those wines would be in your local shit bistro for about $20 a pop and we'd be happy to drink them at that price point.
Link to this reviewDecember 2010 |