A new wine bar and bistro will open in Covent Garden this month, a homage to the regions of France and their culinary heritage. Bar du Champagne will specialise in a “concise but exciting wine and Champagne list” together with classic French comfort food.
The Standard was told the venue will offer a “concise but exciting” wine and champagne list — steered in part by Sarah Abbott, master of wine — with rare and cult champagnes such as the increasingly rare Champagne Pierre Peters Cuvée Rosé Alban and biodynamic numbers made by the acclaimed producer Hugues Godmé.
Elsewhere on the drinks list with be cavas, English sparkling wines, whites from Alsace and reds from Burgundy and Bordeaux. Unusual suspects, Georgian Saperavi and Armenian Areni Noir among them, will also be available.
The 60-cover restaurant is the work of the restaurateur Liana Kazaryan, perhaps best-known for the avocado-focused café Avobar, now closed, with a menu overseen by an unnamed group executive chef.
Diners should expect assorted cheeses, house marinated peppers, artichokes and courgettes, a truffled croque monsieur, steak tartare with lardo toast, duck rillettes, coq au vin, and roast cod with shallots.
The interiors in the Henrietta Street bolthole hark back to mid-century bistros, with vintage and reclaimed furniture, Venini chandeliers and 1950s bar stools.
“We are beyond excited to be opening Bar du Champagne and can’t wait to welcome our first guests through the doors in December,” said Kazaryan.
“Our aim in creating the bistro and Champagne bar was to create a space that felt like it had been in London forever, somewhere that people can visit on any occasion and indulge in a glass of sparkling and a light bite or while away the hours chatting with friends over dinner.
“When curating the wine list, it was really important for us to be able to offer delicious, sustainable and authentic wines at accessible prices and we hope Bar du Champagne will become a much-loved spot for everyone.”
