Toast the City Finalists: El Vino Fleet Street
As the Toast the City Awards hurtle towards us, Libby Brodie checks out one of our Best Bar finalists El Vino Fleet Street
The Toast the City Awards are next month and, as one of the judges, I have to say I was absolutely bowled over by the spectrum of excellent hospitality options we enjoy in the Square Mile. Take finalist El Vino Fleet Street, for example.
A wine shop, bar and restaurant, it began life as part of Bower & Co wine merchants in 1879 before establishing itself as El Vino, where it has remained on this site since 1923.
It became a hangout for journalists, writers and political commentators and was a regular haunt of Ian Fleming, GK Chesterton, Nigel Dempster and Peregrine Worsthorne. It became so well known in literary circles it was immortalised as the inspiration behind ‘Pomeroy’s’, the favoured pub of fictional barrister Rumpole of the Bailey. El Vino has a Rumpole room to return the honour.
El Vino historically had certain rules and standards which now seem very old fashioned. Men had to wear a jacket, shirt and tie and women were not allowed to order their own drinks or stand in the main bar.
The El Vino court case
But El Vino found itself embroiled in a court case in the 1980s, when two women, Tess Gill and Anna Coote argued – successfully – that this violated the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975. Thankfully, we females can now swagger through the main bar and order a bottle of Rioja any time we wish.
A Rioja would go particularly well with the food on offer, which is mainly Spanish-style tapas and cheese and charcuterie platters designed to complement a session of wine drinking. Here, the ‘vino’ is the star attraction (that said, do not miss out on the Davy’s scotch egg with a dollop of piccalilli).
Journalists still frequent El Vino today – but it is also popular with lawyers and city types seeking a spot for a relaxed business lunch. With its dark mahogany bar and sherry casks, there is a classic charm to the interior, which retains the feel of an Edwardian wine merchant blended with an old-school gentleman’s club. El Vino is a little slice of history, a place to soak in ‘old’ London and enjoy a bottle of wine in a spot where political intrigue has been discussed, novels plotted and gossip columns written.