Humble Grape Battersea

Humble Grape’s origin story is the thing of entrepreneurial folklore: James Dawson, disillusioned corporate type, discovers a love of wine (and a distaste for wine-world pomposity), and begins zipping through London on a motorbike delivering bottles and hosting tastings. A bar follows. Then another. Five sites later, the original Battersea outpost is still going strong, flying the flag for sustainable, small-scale producers without a hint of ego or stuffiness.

Interiors signal this intent: easy going and worn in (though never careless), with corkboard walls and 500+ bottles nestled in vintage crates, clustered by region, all available to buy. Happily, the by-the-glass list is more compact, offering roughly 30 options, most of them sitting comfortably in the £7-£10 ballpark, each accompanied by a few jargon-free introductory lines.

The food is built to play a supporting role - thoughtful, unfussy, and primed for grazing. There are padron peppers, croquettes, crispy cauliflower and more. Struck with indecision, we settle on creamy burrata with slivers of charred nectarine. It’s simple stuff, but there’s a swipe of something floral and sweet beneath it all, nicely cut by a glass of dry Prosecco. There’s a neat choice of mains too, including rump steak with herb butter and crispy onions. To pair, the recommendation is a smooth and fruity Californian Cabernet Sauvignon, all intense savoury notes finished with a little spice.

Still, the joy of the Humble Grape menu lies with the shareables. Think customisable boards of cured meat and cheese, and oozing baked camembert, capped with honey and hazelnut or, if you’re bolder, a chilli marmalade. We opt instead for confit garlic and rosemary, and it arrives with a mountain of toasted sourdough, which we compulsively swipe into melting cheese.

Humble Grape knows its food is there to amplify, rather than compete. Wine is the star, though not in an intimidating encyclopaedic way. There are deals worth knowing too: a £20 ‘Burger & Bordeaux’ offer on Saturdays, up to 30% off food during off-peak hours, plus a friendly four-glass Tuesday wine flight. By night, it must be an ideal date spot; by day, it’s the place for catch-ups with the parents or chats with friends. Whatever the hour, Humble Grape invites judgement-free discovery.

The Humble Grape group’s wine bar restaurants can be found scattered across London, and this branch, on Battersea Rise, is a welcome space of calm in a bustling neighbourhood. Humble Grape Battersea has so much to offer, from a selection of over 400 delicious wines sourced from across the world to great food and monthly wine tastings and masterclasses, and of course, you can bring your four legged best friend along with you when visiting.

This wine bar is located just across the road from Clapham Common, and is easy to reach from the Clapham Junction, so you’ll always have somewhere great to head after a stroll around the park or when you don’t want the summer picnic to end. If you're just popping in to split a bottle of wine, then order a selection of cheese croquettes, gordal olives and Snapery Bakery sourdough. But, if you plan on staying for food, then begin with a selection of small plates as starters of sharing dishes. Choose from blistered padron peppers with whipped tahini, cured trout mosaic with a lemon and parsley sauce and lamb carpaccio with a smoked maple dressing and mint yoghurt. Other options include the ham hock terrine with pickled seasonal vegetables, a carrot and butter bean dip and baked camembert with a honey and hazelnut coating.

Main dishes on the Humble Grape Battersea menu include a mushroom melanzane with tomato ragu, pan-seared plaice fillet with sauteed cabbage and red wine sauce and cote de boeuf. The curds and cured section offers you the chance to try beautiful cheeses and cured meats that are great with a glass (or three) of wine. You can choose three or six from the selection with cheeses like Fat Cow, Ragstone, and Hendrix on offer, all of them served with seasonal chutney and sourdough.