We have a fairly new tradition of rewarding ourselves after completing Christmas shopping in town with lunch at Vin Caffe - good food, accompanied by a splash-out bottle of wine. This year, however, work and prior engagements conspired against us and we completed most of our shopping on the internet, and had to forego our lunch. And then there's Valentines day: an excuse to go out for a meal in a good restaurant, which invariably turns into something of a conveyor belt experience which leaves us wanting somehting more ... So what better idea than to spurn an evening meal, and have a Valentines lunch at
Vin Caffe instead?
Wine List
I wonder what attracted us to Vin Caffe in the first place? Could it have been the wine list: a fantastic range of Italian wines (and more), at excellent prices - the markup is barely more than you would pay at the
Valvona & Crolla shop. Past experience had led me to expect my other half to order a special (read very expensive) bottle of wine now, so imagine my surprise when we had a stunning 2001 Barbaresco at only £33 - great value. Vin Caffe also make most wines available by the glass via some nifty wine preservation and dispensing kit from
Cruvinet.
Food
Vin Caffe always have fresh fish specials on the menu, although today we did not choose any. For starters my partner had calamari and I opted for cichetti - a selection of 5 small appetisers. Both dishes were delicious, and I especially liked the cichetti - a mixture of cold meats, chicken, bruschetta and mozarella with tomato. Starters were followed by mains of chicken with pancetta and sage, on a bed of cabbage and rump of lamb with potatoes. Both meals were very good, although not exceptional. With room for dessert it was time to order tiramasu and bread and butter pudding - lovely!!
Overall Rating
A great place to go for an enjoyable lunch, good atmosphere and service, and a fabulous wine list. Next time a visit to rival Centro Tre might be called for though, as its been a long time since we've eaten there.
I wonder what attracted us to Vin Caffe in the first place? Could it have been the wine list: a fantastic range of Italian wines (and more), at excellent prices - the markup is barely more than you would pay at the Valvona & Crolla shop. Past experience had led me to expect my other half to order a special (read very expensive) bottle of wine now, so imagine my surprise when we had a stunning 2001 Barbaresco at only £33 - great value. Vin Caffe also make most wines available by the glass via some nifty wine preservation and dispensing kit from Cruvinet.
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