Old news
Christmas closures 2010 [posted: 03dec2010]
Closing about 3pm on Christmas Eve
Closed Christmas Day 25th
Closed Boxing Day 26th
Reopen on 27th
Open New Year's Eve 5pm to 2am
Closed New Year's Day 1st Jan
NEW YEARS EVE 2010-11! [posted: 25oct2010]
On New Year's Eve we shall be opening pretty much as normal and will not be taking bookings. All you need to do is arrive as early as you can and grab a table as usual - however, this is important...
Please bring along a printout of the attached note
(CLICK TO VIEW AND PRINT) to show you are Gordon's customers and also to get you through the security for the event organisers if they ask where you are going! (we don't want any old Tom Dick or Harry coming in and spoiling the evening with thuggish behaviour!)
Click here for information from the Mayor of London about access and transport.
There will be extra special food and lots of champagne, all at our usual prices - it should be a great evening and you will get a wonderful view of the fireworks from our terrace without having to fight your way through crowds of onlookers (except our other customers hopefully!!). Inside we will be playing some music and you can dance to your heart's content.
So please do come along anytime from 5pm onwards until 2am(ish) and have a fabulous evening!
BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU DAY - 18TH NOVEMBER 2010 [posted: 26oct2010]
In keeping with tradition we are going to have our Beaujolais Nouveau all day breakfast on the third Thursday of November again this year (18th). We will start serving breakfast from 8am and it will continue from there. The menu will include pork sausages from Robinsons of Stockbridge, eggs, bacon, kedgeree etc.
We will be serving Le Chat as we have previously, which we have always found to be very good despite its youth.
The cost will be around £6 for breakfast and £17 for a bottle.
PLEASE NOTE: We are not taking bookings this year - just arrive early and grab a table!
Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2011 available now [posted: 22sep2010]
The new edition is now available from Amazon [CLICK HERE].
We are GIVING AWAY A FREE COPY with every fifth case of Fat Bastard wines we sell (while our stocks of the book last).
CLICK HERE to buy your wine!
Gordon's Wine Bar Fat Bastard annual BBQ - Thursday 2nd September... [posted: 07sep2010]
The Fat Bastard wine BBQ was a huge success, so thank you for everyone that came along! We were very lucky with the weather and everyone enjoyed themselves - I have excluded some photos out of my sensitivity to those involved!!!! [Click here to see photos]
Sherry and tapas tasting/tutorial event - 28th July 10am to 1pm (ish!) [updated: 29jul2010]
Wow!!! We had the most amazing sherry tasting morning on 28th July (which ended up being from 10.00am to 4.30pm before anyone even started moving!). Everyone absolutely loved it and couldn't believe the quality of food, the fabulous sherries and the fascinating interludes while Martin Abell from Barbadillo talked through the sherries (see attached menu). I joined the group for oysters with Manzanilla sherry at 10.30 and it was a brilliant way to start the day - I then had to go and do some work but kept coming back to join them for different courses. We ended with Pedro Ximenez with churros dipped in chocolate sauce and Manchego cheese. We now have a lot of sherry fans who want to do this every Wednesday!!! Click here for pictures. I will definitely be doing more tastings based on the feedback from this one so watch this space..... Simon
Fat Bastard wines win more awards [posted: 11jun2010]
We are very pleased to see that the Fat Bastard wines which are so popular with our customers both in the bar and from the online wine shop have won yet more awards in the IWSC (International Wine and Spirit Competition). The Chardonnay, Shiraz and Viognier all won GOLD medals and the Pinot Noir a bronze. Click here to buy online at great prices for home delivery.
Obituary: Michael Smith [posted: 20may2010]
 | I was very sad to hear recently from his long term partner Veronique that Michael Smith died last year. I worked with Michael when we first opened the bar in 1974 and we had a wonderful time together. He was a sweet, gentle man who was always thoughtful and kind - it was an honour to have known him. Veronique held a memorial at the bar for him in May 2010, and has kindly given me a photograph of him to display here. Simon |
Gordon's staff Christmas party (11jan2010)! [posted: 22jan2010]
VAT [posted: 04jan2010]
We are unfortunately having to increase our prices slightly on most wines due to the VAT increase, like everyone else - groan.
However, I am glad to say that for the Fat Bastard online sales we are absorbing the VAT increase and prices will stay the same. We have also managed to reduce the price of the Fat Bastard Pinot Noir on our bar winelist from £18.80 to £17.95 a bottle. How can we do this I hear you ask? Well, because we are now sole agents and our sales are much higher due to the popularity of it (you will see why if you try it) we have negotiated even better prices from the Fat Bastard himself!!
On a serious note and particularly relevant in the current climate, you will hopefully appreciate that we do try to keep all our prices well below our competitors, both on our fantastic wines, food and online shop items. My aim is to always try to give you the best value around because, although Gordon's is famous, we don't want to be like some places that charge the earth just because they are well known - I hate it when people do that!!
I hope you will continue to support us in 2010 and would just like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU for all your support in 2009.
Look who's back! [posted: 16dec2009]
After a long absence following her burns injury from a very hot bath accident, I am thrilled to say that Joan is back and from 22nd
December will be coming in by taxi to slowly get back into the swing of things - with all our customers where she belongs! We are still not sure how she will get on but she hated sitting in hospital doing nothing and is desperate to come back so of course we welcomed her with open arms. The pictures show her with friends the other day and her son (who has retired!!!).
Simon
NEW YEARS EVE 2009! [posted: 08dec2009]
Next year is 2010 - can you believe it's 10 years since the millennium parties?!
Now we have our lovely outside awnings and heaters we have decided to open pretty much as normal and will not be taking bookings. All you need to do is arrive as early as you can and grab a table as usual - however, this is important...
Please bring along a printout of the attached note (CLICK TO VIEW AND PRINT)
to show you are Gordon's customers and also to get you through the security for the event organisers if they ask where you are going! (we don't want any old Tom Dick or Harry coming in and spoiling the evening with thuggish behaviour!)
There will be extra special food (probably a whole hog roast as well) and lots of champagne, all at our usual prices - it should be a great evening and you will get a wonderful view of the fireworks from our terrace without having to fight your way through crowds of onlookers (except our other customers hopefully!!). Inside we will be playing some music and you can dance to your heart's content.
So please do come along anytime from 6pm onwards until 2am(ish) and have a fabulous evening!
Click here for more detailed information from the organisers about road closures etc.
CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS OF PREVIOUS NEW YEAR PARTY
Enhanced wine list [posted: 20nov2009]
We have now improved our wine list further by adding a "Special" list which consists of some really super wines at very good prices. This includes such wines as Puligny Montrachet, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Chateau Kirwan Margaux.
We have also added a 3rd wine (Chardonnay) from the very popular Fat Bastard range because demand for this lovely French range of wines made by Thierry and Guy seems to be increasing all the time. They can also be purchased online for home delivery on our wineshop page because we are the only agent in the UK for direct sales.
In what we also see as a major change in emphasis we have stopped calling our cheapest wines "house" because we have a number of fantastic wines at around the same price and we are trying to encourage customers to choose based on their own preferences rather than rely on choosing the good old house wine! The actual wine is the same, the price is the same but it is just a change of emphasis.
A few wines have been replaced where we feel we can provide better wines at better prices - the new entrants are:
Granfort Chardonnay changed to El Coto white Rioja
Description: Delicously fresh green fruit flavours with a zing when it hits your tongue.
Grapes: Viura
Country: Spain
Bottle £16.85 Glass £4.60
Indian Sauvignon blanc changed to Andes Peak Chardonnay
Description: Lovely oaked chardonnay but well balanced so retains it's freshness.
Country: Chile
Grape: Chardonnay
Bottle £15.95 Glass:£4.30
Stella red changed to Vista TR Tinto
Description: Rich, ripe dark and chewy fruit, good structure with no hard edges and good length.
Country: Portugal
Grape: Touriga
Bottle: £14.75 Glass: £4.00
We have also now changed the list so you can buy wine by the glass for nearly all our wines which are under £20 per bottle so you can get the chance to try out some different wines without having to buy a whole bottle.
Lastly, we have further split our wines into Old World and New World just to give you another way of selecting the broad preference you have. This is an experiment and if you think it is a rubbish idea please let me know! I have already been told by two wine experts that because Old World are now trying to copy New World techniques it would probably be better to split it into different major styles but we will keep this under review for next year because it's too late to change it now!
I hope you approve!
Christmas closing times [posted: 14nov2009]
Closed from 3pm on Christmas Eve, re-open Sunday 27th.
New Year's Eve open from 6pm to 2am; New Year's Day closed (with hangovers!)
BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU DAY - 19TH NOVEMBER 2009 [posted: 25sep2009]
In keeping with tradition we are going to have our Beaujolais Nouveau all day breakfast on the third Thursday of November again this year (19th). We will start serving breakfast from 8am and it will continue from there. The menu will include pork sausages from Robinsons of Stockbridge, eggs, bacon, kedgeree etc.
This year our suppliers say they expect the wine is the best vintage since 1949! We will be serving Le Chat as we have previously, which we have always found to be very good despite its youth.
The cost will be around £6 for breakfast and £17 for a bottle.
PLEASE NOTE: We are not taking bookings this year - just arrive early and grab a table!
24th August Fat bastard hogroast [posted: 31aug2009]
We celebrated the fact that we are now the sole UK agents for the Fat b... range of wines in the UK (other than for trade sales).
This is great news for us and we think great news for our customers because it is a very popular and well priced wine from the South of France. The Pinot Noir and Rosé are on our wine list but the whole range is available from our online wineshop if you want any for home.
The hogroast was a really great success, and, being a bit of a pig myself, I polished off quite a lot of the crackling single handedly! Perhaps we will start doing them more regularly in the future. Thanks to Oli (my boy!) and his friend Hugo for all their hard work in organising it. Click here for pictures
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USB wine [posted: 21jun2009]
Here's a new idea that might catch on - the USB wine tap...
Click to view the details full-size.
Our new wine list has arrived! (click here to view it) [posted: 20may2009]
After a lot of very hard work tasting wines we have finally got our new wine list out – isn’t life tough! This year has been really challenging, we obviously wanted to keep price rises to a minimum but we have already suffered a number of significant price rises from suppliers which we’ve absorbed - caused mainly by the weakness of the pound and some poor harvests in France.
The end result is good news though, most wines only went up by inflation, some went down and a just a few went up a lot due to poor harvests (eg Tourraine and Muscadet). For most of those where prices went up significantly we have looked around and replaced them with even better wines at keener prices so they are better value than ever.
If you are feeling adventurous you could try some new wines - we have introduced some great new grapes which are worth tasting – a lovely zesty/grapefruity white Torrontes from Argentina and delicious ripe red fruit Carmenere from Chile. We have also upgraded our top Rioja and Bordeaux wines which are fantastic and added a really smooth Chianti. The Palo Alto Sauvignon Blanc from Chile is also an amazingly good wine – we got a very special deal on this!
Our next idea is to re-order the wine lists in country order so that you can select from your favourite country rather than having the list in price order which is a bit commercial we feel – wine is an artistically produced product to be enjoyed and savoured without worrying too much about the price, we’ve done that side for you by making sure you get the best value at Gordon’s so just sit back and enjoy yourselves!
Simon
Ian's leaving party 23jan2009 [posted: 31jan2009]
As most of our regulars will know, Ian our assistant manager has now really left (again!) to write his book . The timing of his departure was poetically timed to co-incide with his 40th birthday. As it turned out we also had a 50th birthday (Shailen our supplier) and a 21st (David, a customer) that day too so it was quite a party in the end! There are lots of pictures to look at and we will keep you informed of Ian’s progress. He has promised to come back and do a book signing at Gordon’s when he hits the big time.
Click for pictures
Gordon’s Breakfasts from 8am (SPECIAL BOOKINGS ONLY)! [posted: 28jan2009]
If you want to arrange something really decadent and unusal you can contact us to arrange a special breakfast party for you by clicking here. An example menu is shown on our blackboard (right). We tried to do breakfasts daily but to be honest not many people came in at that time so it was hard for our staff to prepare the breakfast and do their other setting up work which is why we have decided to just do breakfast for special events.
The outside terrace area is lovely in the summer so if you ever want to set something up with your friends as a treat do contact us.
More storage at last! [posted: 19oct2008]
Finally, 22 years after my father received the first draft lease for the next door basement area it has actually happened! What a struggle it has been for both generations but at last we are moving in and it is going to be such a relief for us. Whilst not open to the public it will be used for wine storage and glass washing, there is even a staff loo (posh eh?). This means that the wine cage in the bar will now be availabe and can be used by customers, we will of course leave the bars up in case anyone misbehaves and it will be the one area that can be booked (after paying a bribe I'm afraid), seating about 8 (comfy) to 10 (squash) people. I've attached a picture showing where the new entrance to the cellar will be (on the right hand side of the bar) - please bear with us for a few days while the glue dries and we get everything organised again. Most people haven't even noticed the akro's or the removal of the wood from the wall or even the huge great hole which is now there - amazing what you can get away with in Gordon's! Click here for pictures
Girls - great news for you, we are going to put a new ladies loo on the ground floor on the right as you come into the bar so you won't have to queue for so long!
17th October 2008 – A little bit of history disappears [posted: 19oct2008]
The lovely 200 year old plane in Watergate Walk tree has had to be removed because it was pulling down the Watergate and also endangering the Northern line below it. We have taken some pictures to record this historic moment and hope to make some tables out of the fabulous remains of it – our idea is to show some of the historical events on the trunk, including the start of Gordon’s wine bar which is very near the centre. The good news is that another tree will be planted and that there is now more sun to light up our days.
Click here for pictures
Beaujolais Nouveau breakfast - THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER [posted: 03oct2008]
In accordance with tradition we will be commencing the BN breakfast from 8am on the third Thursday of November. It is usually a really good day and the wine the last few years has been very good and has sold out very quickly – but if you don’t like it you can move onto something else! Breakfast will be served from 8am to 10.30am and will include Hampshire sausages from Robinsons of Stockbridge and kedgeree, coffee etc.
Outside awnings [posted: 04sep2008]
Our umbrellas are looking a bit tatty outside but soon we are going to have some nice new awnings all the way along Watergate Walk (like the one just outside the bar). These will have 2 very efficient quartz heaters under each awning, which we have chosen because they are environmentally friendly – even if all the heaters are on (ie for 80 people outside) it will only cost about £2.30 per hour in total, unlike those horrid gas guzzling heaters which are so frowned upon!
The benefit of this is that, unless it is blowing a gale or bucketing down, you should be able to sit outside most of the year round and if you smoke you can do so to your heart’s content.
Hopefully this work will be done during late September and October but of course it depends partly on the weather. There will be some inconvenience while the work is going on but hopefully it won’t be too bad.
New cellar [posted: 04sep2008]
We are soon going to be breaking through from behind the bar to an old and unused cellar which continues on from Gordon’s – this is something I have been working on for 3 years and my father had tried to lease it many years before that, so it is the culmination of a lot of perseverance.
The new cellar will be for storage of wine which means we can use the current wine cellar as a seating area, and we intend to allow people to book it (for a small financial consideration of course!). Keep your eyes on the website for more news in about a month or so. This of course assumes all goes according to plan, which is pretty rare in Gordon’s.
The new cellar space will also allow us to put in another loo on the ground floor in what we laughingly call our "office".
Puss ... RIP ... April 2008
We are sad to report that dear old wine bar Puss, who had taken early retirement some years ago after some officious Health and Safety officer said she couldn't stay in the bar, has passed away. She lived with Berny then Carlos for many years and will be missed by all those who knew her and ask after her.
NEW YEAR'S EVE 2007-08!For the first time ever we opened to pre-booked guests only on NY Eve last year. What a huge success it was! Everyone had a fantastic time and best of all had a private viewing from Watergate Walk (the So we will definitely be doing the same in 2008 - make sure you register on the website so you hear about it when we send round the information [CLICK HERE].
To see some of the photos from the evening please CLICK HERE. |
Watergate itself) of the fantastic fireworks on the London Eye. Champagne was popping outside as the fireworks went off and there was no need to worry about jostling with the huge crowds on the Embankment. After the fireworks everyone returned to the bar for more fun and drinking until the early hours.Bin-end deals
Beaujolais Nouveau breakfast - THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER
We had our traditional Beaujolais Nouveau day as usual but this time the Beaujolais was from my cousin Sophie's vineyard. It was delicious and we will definitely do the same thing in future years - totally organic and from our very own family, what more could you ask?! Of course it wouldn't be Gordon's if there weren't some disasters and this was no exception: We were fully booked and on arrival the hot water tank had flooded all over the food area, then we found out that our breakfast chef had been locked up the previous night in the cells for drinking and driving!!! So our new chef Tibi stepped in and saved the day thank goodness. Overall it was a fantastic day and lots of fun had by all - thank you to those of you that came and supported us. See you all soon I hope.
Simon
2006 Beaujolais Nouveau breakfast
We had another very succesful Beaujolais Nouveau breakfast on 16th November starting at 8am and going through to mid-day. Thank you for all those who braved the elements to come along and try it. The wine was actually very good (for the second year running - how amazing) and we sold out pretty quickly that week which was a sign that it must have been good. Breakfast of kippers/kedgeree and excellent bangers helped keep energy levels up. I would like to thank all the staff members who came in very early to make sure everything was ready. There are some nice pictures taken with my new camera (which has a candlelight setting on it) although I am a useless photographer and find it hard to keep the camera still so don't expect anything too amazing!! Once again, thank you for your support and we hope to see you next year. [CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS]
Joan's 85th party 11feb2006
We had a wonderful party on Saturday 11th February to celebrate Joan's 85th birthday. Thank you so much to everyone who came and made Joan's day so special, she was completely overwhelmed. For those of you who don't know her, Joan is at the bar most lunchtimes helping at table and keeping everyone amused with her stories ranging over 50 years as customer and "glass collector" during that time. If you want to know any secrets she is
the one to talk to....
There are lots of pictures in the pictures section (click here) and if you have any you would like to add please send them to me. I have reproduced here the picture we gave her as a present for fun and I will put up a framed copy of it near the original one by the bar. Joan has always claimed the original lady in the picture was her great great grandmother and I have to admit that there is a likeness in the features - what do you think?
Thank you again for coming from so far and wide and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Kind regards
Simon
Beaujolais Nouveau breakfast - 17th November 2005
This year's Beaujolais Nouveau day was a lot of fun and very well supported - the wine was very drinkable and we were sold out by the end of the day which is a first! It was bottled in a traditional Beaujolais "pot" which is made of very thick glass and this Signe Vigneron wine won the Grand Or au Concors de Beaujolais Nouveau a Lyon bringing it within the top few wines out of 400 applicants.
Breakfast was delicious as usual (thank you Tony and Faiza) with kedgeree, sausages etc - we even had some keen people in by 7.30am!
Thank you to all those who came and made it such a good fun day.
[CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME PICTURES]
Proper Sunday lunches! (Jan 2005)
Tony our old chef is back (on Sundays only) for a few weeks to do good old roast lunches (£8.95) - do come in if you are in the area (bring the family too - all are welcome) and sample his great cooking. In the meantime our brilliant chef Faiza continues to produce all the usual delicious home made food, combined with a wide selection of cheeses and salads, during the week.
BBC choose Gordon's Wine Bar! (1st December 2004)
The BBC came in on 1st December and filmed for a slot in the 6.30 London news on port consumption and how it is becoming a much trendier drink, especially with young women - for some reason they thought of Gordon's when port was mentioned! It was a nice, well presented slot and quite a few customers saw it - certainly it was interesting to hear that port is increasing in popularity - we certainly know that it is one of our best selling drinks although it always has been very popular with our customers!
By kind permission of the BBC, you can watch the news item by clicking here.
If you do not already have RealPlayer installed on your PC, RealOne version 9 or above is available free by clicking here
Gordon's Beaujolais Nouveau Breakfast (18th November 2004)
We had a lot of fun on 18th when we were one of the few bars to celebrate the new Beaujolais with breakfast and we all agreed it was pretty drinkable despite the outrageous pink bottle (at least it seemed that way if you drank enough of it!). The producer is a company called Signe Vigneron, which is made up of a group of growers, who got together to showcase the best that Beaujolais can offer, with the well-reputed winemaker Olivier Ravier at the helm. Johann Cochut, director of sales and marketing of SV came with a large contingent from Michael Druitt Vintners (including Michael Druitt himself) and took a big table for breakfast in the cellar to show their support.
Thanks to all of you that turned up for the breakfast and especially those stalwarts who stayed all day - that's stamina!
Berny's leaving party (4th March 2004)
What a great day we all had on 4th March. For those of you that were able to join us I hope you would agree that we gave Berny a fitting send off after 10 happy years with the bar and it was lovely to see all the Gordon's staff together at the same time - a rarity due to the shift patterns they all work! There was plenty of wine drunk (my poor profit margins!) as well as lots of oysters and seafood as usual but with the welcome addition of Indian food and dancing girls kindly supplied by Shailen who provides our Indian wines. I would also like to thank Philip (Albion wine shippers) and of course Francis (Hallgartens wine shippers and Berny's other half) who kindly contributed wines for the party.
I have heard from Berny and she is settling down well in France. She is already looking round vineyards and has found some promising leads, so we will look forward to some tastings in due course!
Meanwhile back at the bar...............Gerard and Carlos are doing a fantastic job in their new managerial roles and Faiza is producing the most amazing food so I hope you will continue to enjoy it as much as ever, if not even more. I have added some more pictures of bar staff to the website (mostly in the pictures section which is also updated) because we were a bit short of them before and as our customers keep telling me, it is just as much the great staff as the bar itself that makes Gordon's what it is.
There are some lovely pictures of the party and I have pulled out a selection of them for the website (some editing had to take place in case people of a sensitive disposition looked at the site!). Please CLICK HERE to see them.
Thank you to all those who came along for making it such a memorable day (and behaving so well!) and to the staff for working so hard to make it all go smoothly.
India trip (January 2004)
We were kindly taken on a week's trip to India to visit the Grover estates
vineyards (as well as fit in some site-seeing and clubbing!) by Shailen Patel
who supplies us with the exclusive Indian wines we sell in the bar. The
trip kicked off on 12th January and during the week we stayed at the 5 Star
Marriot hotel in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), followed by a one hour flight to
Bangalore where we saw the vineyards and finally to Kerela in the South where we
stayed in a fantastic house on a coffee plantation. All in all it was a
brilliant week and we were treated really wonderfully by our hosts. The
Indian people are really friendly and love talking to us "Brits" (even
the poorest children seem to speak perfect English!). Whilst in the
vineyard we tasted the 2003 Sauvignon Blanc which we will be selling in the bar
- a really excellent wine which is well worth a taste.
CLICK HERE to see photographs from the trip.
Simon, Berny and Gerard
Don's memorial party (September 2003)
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Thursday 4 September 2003 |
Lunch-time OYSTERS in memory of Don. | |
| Don's oyster lunchtime was a great success and Joan was really happy to see so many friends at the bar - many thanks for all turning up and for those that couldn't make it, don't worry she is already talking about her 85th birthday in 3 years!!!! |
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