This appealing shop-cum-wine bar is part of the Italian Quarter in Blooms Lane, where you will also find Wallaces Italian Food Shop, Café Cagliostro (great coffees) and a juice café.
Food, while not exactly incidental, certainly plays second fiddle to the wines here, but they carry a good range of dried Italian meats, cheeses, panini etc, and you can wander around at your ease checking out the wines displayed, or sit at a sturdy wooden table and have something by the glass (or choose any bottle, plus 10%), and a bite from their limited but interesting selection of quality food.
You can have cold deli plates, for example, or plates of bruschetta (available in different sizes) with toppings like sundried tomato pesto, fresh tomato & sautéed courgettes, mortadella & black olive tapénade and perhaps a dessert of hazelnut biscuits with apricots & peaches in amaretto.
It's all very relaxed and sociable, prices are reasonable - and it's a very pleasant way to shop for wine.
Seats 50 (+outdoor 16-50, private room, 23); food served all day 12.30-11; L 12.30-3; D 4-11pm. House wine from €16. Closed Sun & Good Fri, 25 Dec.
