The Heavenly Vineyards of Wood Lane

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Albertine is a wine lover's paradise

Lunch at the Albertine Wine Bar and the place is buzzing. So buzzing, in fact, that we can hardly hear ourselves talk. This well-established French bistro on Wood Lane is a local favourite and, just a short walk away from Television Centre, this is where the BBC crowd do lunch.

As you would expect, wine is a big thing at Albertine. There are wine bottles stacked up behind the pub-style counter and the wine list itself stretches to eight pages. Wines from all over the world are on offer, including dessert wines, sparkling wines, fine wines, as well as champagne, sherry and beer. A veritable paradise for anyone who appreciates a good vintage.

But, even if you are no connoisseur, this is still a good venue for some thoroughly decent food. On the day we visited, the menu, which is chalked up on a blackboard and changes daily, included offerings such as Normandy pork casserole, smoked chicken, spinach and blue cheese salad, and mixed Spanish charcuterie. And although Albertine is mainly French in character, there were several more exotic-sounding dishes on offer, such as chilli chicken coriander.

We tried the Creole sausages and mash, and fishcakes with salsa – both of which were well spiced. The sausages were meaty and good quality.

One of the more intriguing things about Albertine is the furniture. At first glance, the tables, chairs and benches are all simply designed and made of wood. But look a little closer, and you notice crucifixes carved into the backs of the chairs and compartments to put your hymn books into. These are holy seats. The furniture – bought from a warehouse that sells church cast-offs – even includes pews with the pew numbers still stamped on the sides.

There were slim pickings on the dessert menu: the ubiquitous banoffee pie, apple and sultana crumble, and blackberry ice coupe. We tried the last of the three, which tasted like pure cream with blackberries mixed in and then chilled. It was served, appropriately, in a wine glass.

As well as the varied wine menu, what makes Albertine really special is the huge variety of cheeses on offer. For £5.30, you can select three different types from the list, which comprises French, Swiss, Italian, Spanish and English cheeses. For connoisseurs, or those with allergies, the cheeses are flagged up as being cow, goat, ewe or blue. We tried some Reblochon, Tomme de Savoie and Appenzeller – a real treat as none of these is easy to find in a regular supermarket. The cheese was served with crusty French bread and biscuits.

The bistro was doing a brisk trade on the day that we visited and, while most people stayed for lunch, some just popped in for a drink or for a very civilised table of cheese and wine. Regulars had already reserved their tables, to be sure of a seat, but there is also an upstairs in case space becomes tight on the ground floor. 

Our bill came to just under £35 for two main courses, one dessert, one plate of cheese and two glasses of red wine. Not bad for a brief sojourn in France.

Yasmine Estaphanos

16 June 2008