Go for the wine at Finch (and stay for the food)

We wrote a bit about the opening of Finch a few months back (you can find it here) and since then we’ve been counting down the days until we could head down ourselves and try it out. Finch is the third in a trio of bird related bars- Plume (Covent Garden) and Peregrine (Leadenhall Market) the others in the flock. It’s all about small wine brands, championing British vineyards and finding those boundary-pushing bottles to put on their menu.

We actually smelt Finch before we saw it. There was Mulled wine bubbling away and it completely saturated the place with a warm, Christmassy aroma. Because ’tis the season, we decided a glass of that would be the perfect way to start our time at Finch, along with some sweet and salty nuts to share as we settled in. It’s really easy to settle in here because the interior is nothing short of gorgeous. It’s comfortable, cosy and has a bit of a Tardis effect- when you step inside it’s surprisingly spacious with lots of counter and window space to pull up a seat at. If you’d rather soak up the buzzy atmosphere of the Village then they have some lovely exterior tables too, which are set under heat lamps to keep you comfortable in the cooler months. (These tables are cool too- they winch up to the side of the store front to reveal a rotating roster of artist’s work on the underside, which really adds to the colourful tapestry of the neighbourhood).

After draining the mulled wine we tried an orange wine, a 2020 Khakuri, which was lovely and tangy as well as a soul warming red. These accompanied our ‘All Aboard’, a generously filled charcuterie board which was a lovely combination of their local cheese board and their cured meats board. The perfect thing to share with someone over a couple of glasses and we really appreciated how thought out it was, the flavours of each element complimented the next and the amount of bang for your buck is impressive. We also tried their burrata with nduja and a healthy drizzle of olive oil which was as creamy and luxurious as you’d imagine, so we got the fresh heritage tomato salad with big, torn croutons and a salty olive tapenade to eat alongside it and they made for a deliciously well-paired duo.

The service here is also really worth shouting out. Fast and friendly and all of the staff were really well versed in the menus, they were ready to help us out with wine pairing recommendations and encouraged us to try out some newer flavours from all around the world. We’re already planning our 2nd visit to try some more of their wine list and we’ve got our eyes on the plate of roasted carrots, cheese, burnt honey and sourdough. Finch, you’ll be seeing us again soon.