Cork & Bottle

Cork & Bottle is a basement wine bar on Cranbourn Street, at the Leicester Square end of Covent Garden, that has been trading since 1971. It was founded by Don Hewitson, a New Zealander whose writing and palate made him one of the best-known wine personalities in London, and it remains one of the capital's longest-running wine bars.

Hewitson's reputation opened doors with growers who would not normally sell to a bar, which is how bottles usually reserved for a few lucky locals ended up on a list below Cranbourn Street. The bar is now run by Will Clayton, who keeps to the same philosophy under Don's watch, and Don's articles still appear on the website. The room itself is a warren of low ceilings, wooden tables and walls hung with framed prints and posters, with the bottle shelves on show behind the bar.

A wine bar off Leicester Square with a list built on relationships

Wine is sold by the glass and by the bottle, and the same bottles can be bought to take home through the wine shop, which also sells gift vouchers. The kitchen runs an all-day menu alongside a weekday set lunch, with charcuterie boards, duck liver pate, ceviche, schnitzel and fish stew among the dishes photographed at the bar. Tasting evenings and winemaker visits are a regular fixture, with growers occasionally standing at the bar to talk through their own wines, and the website offers a 3D tour of the room.

What to expect on a visit

Doors open at noon every day, closing at 11.30pm from Monday to Saturday and 10.30pm on Sunday. Tables can be booked online, and larger groups are asked to phone ahead. For more places to drink well nearby, browse our guide to wine bars in Covent Garden, or head east to Dalla Terra in St Martin's Courtyard for an Italian list of several hundred bottles.