And so, we ordered. Great Champagne and wine by the glass, and not crazy, crazy expensive (Henriot Brut Souverain NV, £15; Château Cantenac, a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, for £22). The glassware was expensive (by which I mean thin, the kind of stuff you want to use in a restaurant but not at home, because you’d lose a small fortune breaking it all the time). There are also lots of cheaper wines by the glass, and a reasonably priced wine list; the kind where you don’t have to order the second cheapest bottle to try to not look like a cheapskate. Then we had some bits to start — a crispy ’nduja quail’s egg in tarragon mayo at £5, which is one of the best things I’ve put in my mouth so far this year, and some spider crab toast with lemon and fennel at £6, also delightful. Our starters were a ChalkStream trout pastrami with mustard and choucroute at £14, and tuna tartare with spring onion, sesame and chilli at £19, and neither could have been improved.
