Where to drink fine wine by the carafe

A really customer-friendly idea from the much-heralded new Soho restaurant Arbutus - every wine is available in 250ml carafes. Not only that but they’re well-priced. We ordered a carafe of 2002 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay for just £11.75 which was perfect with both a chicken sot-l’y-laisse (chicken ‘oysters’, the nuggets of meat round the backbone), macaroni, broad beans and hazelnuts and, more surprisingly with a very garlicky warm cod brandade with squid and sea purslane.

A carafe of 2003 Shadowfax Pinot Noir (£11) was equally good with another delicately flavoured chicken dish (poached and roasted chicken, potato gnocchi, veloute of English peas and foie gras) and a more robust saddle of rabbit with its own cottage pie - an absolutely knock-out dish by the way.

Hopefully they can keep the policy up. Not everyone will go for carafes of 1996 Chateau Montrose, which at £30 for 250ml is one of the more expensive wines on the list and I think they had a couple of nervy first weeks while they waited for the reviews to come in. But it’s a great idea which involves less chopping and changing than wine by the glass and is perfect for mid week when you don’t want to drink too much but drink well.

For booking details check out www.arbutusrestaurant.co.uk