The other day, we were sat in the local Chinese waiting for our food to be put together, wondering how great it would be if we could get that kind of service in more places. Not everywhere, mind. You couldn’t go to the cinema and leave with the movie, or go to the club and take the DJ’s discs - that would be insane.
We’ve noticed a bit of a trend spreading across London Town. Bars are starting to realise that, rather than putting customers off eating and drinking in house, offering some of their ingredients and bottles at low, take-home prices is actually attracting business.
Sound crazy? We thought so, too, but it’s working like a gem at Green and Blue. This cool concept bar is part-shop, part-bar and they’re out to create a place for wine lovers to come to drink in the bar and then source their own bottles to complement a quiet meal at home. With A Green and Blue in Dulwich and Clapham, this has proven a huge hit with locals, and word is starting to get out. They even have deals where you can have wine in the bar - at takeaway prices - to try to raise awareness of recommended bottles. And with incredible olives and hummus also on sale then you can recreate the whole Green and Blue experience in the comfort of your own home. Now that’s what we like to hear!
It‘s no surprise then that other bars are following suit. We’re also a big fan of Barcelona - a Mediterranean themed chain bar that does wine tasting events every month, consisting of traditional Spanish tapas coupled with a different, carefully selected wine for each of its courses. Best of all, you can then buy the wine and some of the ingredients to take home. With the owner talking with passion about his homeland, and specially chosen bottles from his family’s own vineyard, you can have a taste of Spain in your own London home. Plus we thought it was nice, on a cold, blustery Winter’s night, to feel a part of a Spanish family dinner.
But if you’re panicking that this is the beginning of the end for the bar experience then don’t. Somehow, we don’t think that they’ll be deserted anytime soon, with everyone preferring to cosy up in front of Eastenders with a glass of wine in hand. Instead, initiatives like this only help to enrich the drinking experience.
Another bottle over here, please!
I really love that concept sample-here-first-then-buy-to-take-home, Carluccio's style! And it should spread to some pubs too. I know Nicholson's already sell they chutneys in all their pubs (I wonder how long they have been doing that for...) but that does not seem too remarkable: they should sell their pies and sausages instead! Letting dreams of an hopefully near future aside, my bar/pub/cafe-to-go of choice is The Troubadour!