Pied a Terre London

Pied a Terre London

The Pied a Terre restaurant in London is a 2 Michelin star super stylish restaurant on London‘s Charlotte Street. Pied a Terre is the proud home of rising star chef Shane Osborn and appealed to me not just because of the excellent food on offer but the mammoth collection of fine wines for sale, Burgs, Bordeaux and some good new world vino. Stingy as I am, I decided against paying restaurant prices for fine wine and instead went with the tasting menu, a 10 course gastronomic fantasy where each meal came with a wine selected to suit.

Unfortunately, by the time myself and my date got to Pied a Terre we were already pretty well sloshed but not so sloshed as to forget the best wine of the night. Was it Italian? Well, er, no. So probably French then, for London’s most famous French restaurant right? Errr. At least Red then? No no, the wine of the evening was a New World, New Zealand Riesling upon which we both agreed had to be sourced immediately. As much as a wino as I am, even I couldn’t bring myself to make tasting notes on a date but I did mentally score a 91 for y’all (the wine, not the date).

The 10 courses of the degustation menu were worth the price tag and rather than write out the whole menu here, those interested can click here. This restaurant is by far the best French restaurant I’ve been to, I love to pick at food and drink and can think of nothing worse than a plate loaded with the same taste, so if you like variety and French cuisine you’ll love it here. The menu was a little shy on red wine but for the courses on offer the correct choices were made. The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly, there is no dress code and scruffs are embraced. If you eat out but once a year; Pied a Terre is the place to go.

All very well and good Newton but where have you been? Well, I’ve been sick, may I add not due to Pied a Terre but due to EasyJet and their ridiculous 22 hour delay to my 2 hour flight back to Venice from London. So today is my first post all week and I want to say thank you for the TWENTY (that a 2 and a 0) emails I’ve received telling me about all the fantastic Merlot on offer. So Merlot week becomes Merlot month as I explore the delights of a very tricky little grape to bring to perfection all by its lonesome. Next post will be about Merlot month and today I break with tradition, the best wine I’ve drunk all week was from New Zealand, and in fact, I haven’t had any Italian wine while I’ve been sick so…. variety is the spice of life right? A new world white… what the hell.

Where can I buy this wine? – QPR ALERT! (Felton Road Riesling, New Zealand!)
Europeans – Farr Vintners – €13
Americans – Wine Commune – $19
Brits – Farr Vintners – £9

Question of the Day
What is your favourite New World wine?