Planet of the Grapes in City of London, Westminster

Looking forward to a pie but disappointing. Constantly being reminded that kitchen closed at 9 pm. Long wait for food which was poor. Cold, sloppy mash, pie had tough pastry case and minimal filling, watery gravy. Waited so long for new mash the pie was cold when it arrived.

I’ve been several times over the years, but not for a year or so. I’d forgotten just how good PotG is! Gorgeous weather so we were able to sit outside, just tucked off Watling Street, rather than in the winter-appropriate basement. Fantastic range of tapas - and all sublime. Excellent value, and clearly a great range of wines both by the bottle and the glass. Highly recommended!

I love this place. Excellent wines, cosy atmosphere and outside tables great for warm evenings. The manager and staff have true passion for wine and really know their stuff. Their events are highly recommended too - I was at a dinner with tasting the other night, with the vineyard owner from Tuscany talking about all the ( many many ) different wines we tasted with each course. The food was wonderful too. All in all an excellent wine bar.

Have had fab experiences at PoG Leadenhall. Thought Bow Lane would be similar. It’s not. When I arrived this afternoon to meet a colleague the place was deserted apart from two tables finishing up. I was directed to a table in between. On asking if I could sit at one of the very many other non-dining tables, I got a barked, agressive retort that they were all reserved. The place was absolutely empty, 4pm, nothing going on - so at the very least I could have been asked if I wanted drinks, food or both, but there was none of that. An appallingly rude, unwelcoming, irritated reception from this lady. To be avoided at all costs, quite apart from the fact that the place is cold, dark and dreary. A shame, lets down an otherwise great brand.

I have been here a few times and the one thing that you can be assured of is consistency. The staff are always really friendly and knowledgeable (with a specific call out to Sara) and the food is amazing (which a callout to Stef). The concept is straightforward and represents great value for money when you look at what you would spend for comparable wine in other places. I would definitely recommend a visit!

I am a regular here after work ad have loved the place for years. The best place about this restaurant is that you can peruse the multiple shelves of wines to find that perfect bottle for your enjoyment that evening. The staff will not leave you high and dry and will often try and coach you through your purchase. The food here is also great. The tapas style nibbles are fantastic and they also do larger sharing boards for the hungrier customers. I would recommend the chorizo sweet potato dish and also the croquettes. So mouth-waveringly delicious. If you have the joy of meeting the owner Matt, you are in for a treat. He is full of fun and has endless wine knowledge, a great person to share a glass with and he will always open something very unique to try a glass of. Also look out for their events on their website, they are always a boozy, fantastic time!

I have always walked passed and being down in the dungeon is not the best. However invited to a meeting with work collegues and a potential client so give it a go. First to arrive and greeted by a lady who was both rude and demanding on who had booked the table and for how many? Were we here for a drink or food...being polite could not answer as I was one of the guests.. Next thing the guy who booked the table turned up to explain we need one more place..again food or wine? Removed all glasses from the table except water...this must of happened 3 times before we decided to order. Kept coming to the table every five mins to ask time and time again...rude lady who does not deserve to be in this business....I can go on however no point as she appeared to hug the manager at one point. Simple keep walking on its not worth a visit full stop.

Although I had booked this restaurant online two weeks prior and received an email confirming this reservation, it appears they had apparently had closed for the Xmas period. We were meeting a friend's son who had moved to London recently and thought we would treat him for a nice meal and some wine but ended up frantically trying to find another place to eat. Apart from being a little embarrased as it was our suggestion, it was frustrating and disappointing. With the avenues of social media opportunities or even a sign on the door, there really is no excuse for communication these days.

We went in for a glass of wine, there were another couple in the bar, so it wasn't crowded so to speak. We had to wait quite some time before they arrived with our wines and there should be 12,5 cl in the glasses. Well, in my glass yes, in my husbands glass no, in husbands glass maybe 6 or 7 cl. My wine felt like if it has water in it. Very bad.

I think if your drunk you may enjoy the food ! I was amazed how bad it was ! Huge wine selection but ranging from £50 a bottle upwards for average wine In average surroundings. The food was poor. Over cooked and dry and tasteless! I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone! You can do a lot lot better in the immediate area.

A pleasant find in busy London, great selection of wines and lite bites - reasonably priced, friendly staff and nice atmosphere, even as a solo visitor. Worth a visit

we had been out for the evening in holborn and happened across the Sicilian Avenue branch ( currently not showing in search) there was a table outside so we stopped and had what i must say is one of the best Malbecs ever. atmosphere and service amazing definitely added to our go to places.

Nice choice of wines. Reasonably priced. You can order chesse and charcuterie to eat with your wine. The place has a very nice vibe and is usually full during the week.

Lové thé idea that you can choose a really tip top wine for great prices. Alongside the wine you can get some decent enough tapas. The wine concept is really à gréât concept and the food is good enough to compliment the wine, but perhaps without knocking your socks off. 5 stars anyway

I went there with my partner, having popped in a few times over the last 2-3 years. They serve exceptional wine although this time I opted for prosecco, my other half drank beer. I ordered roasted nuts to accompany my drink. For £5 I received a jar of salted nuts, mostly peanuts and was rather disappointed. I ordered the deep fried Brie and pardon peppers. The peppers were fine but the brie came as two small crumbed and fried slices served on pickled beetroot cubes. I really didn’t feel like I was getting £8 worth. It was a bit disappointing all in all.

This is a lovely little gem, relatively quiet given it was a Friday lunchtime in the city, and they served a great burger. We will be going back soon!

My trip to the City are few these days, but it was much quieter than I remembered and that was everywhere. This restaurant was known to our friends, for us the first time. The decor is a mix of old school like furniture, and bottles. Table tad small for six, especially as we ate tapas style, so several dishes crammed in.

I popped by on a Friday lunchtime for a business lunch and the experience was pleasant but not especially memorable. The wine was really good, the tapas was ok, not bad, but not great and the choice was a little limited. The service was ok but nothing more. In my view there are better places in both the City and London generally.

I have been to a few of the Planet of the Grape venues and they are all really good. Being able to get a great bottle of wine off the shelf and lay just £10 corkage is great. Alongside this the choice and quality of food is as good as any restaurant.

This bar is so lovely. Every time I visit one of the venues, there is a great atmosphere and brilliant service!

This is a very good wine bar. They have a good selection of wines by the bottle, with very knowledgeable...

He estado en PoTG unas cuantas veces y el concepto es fantástico - vinos de la más alta calidad sin una etiqueta de precio desorbitado. Sólo tienes que pagar una tasa por (10 libras) en la parte superior de la estantería que precio una botella...

En el pasado, este ha sido uno de mis favoritos en la ciudad, especialmente si uno puede comer afuera. Dicho esto, los precios de los vinos, y de algunos precios medida, se han convertido en difíciles en los últimos meses. En esta visita, los precios...

Estábamos atraídos por este lugar debido a el nombre de la diversión, pero fue mucho más! Tiene un nuevo enfoque de la selección de vinos, todo está en estantes y estás libre para examinar a placer. Todos los vinos fueron claramente razonable para beber y tomar distancia (no tanto).

This is a basement wine bar with a difference! It has a vast choice of wine to choose from off license style. You browse the shelves and only pay £10 per bottle more to drink in than to take away, with many restaurants marking wine up by three hundred percent or more this is very good value. The menu is small, but perfectly adequate, you can choose from various platters or a selection of pies. And in my view the best chips in London! Oh and really lovey staff too.

Great place, top quality food and wine, super bit of lunch. Pies are awesome, nice atmosphere. Wasn't great being a windowless basement but knew that beforehand.

Amazing night out with friends. Wine on tap! Awesome service! Fabulous surroundings and we possibly couldn't fault this place. Cannot wait to return. I would recommend this place any day!!

This wine bar lets you browse the bottles on the shelves before making your selection, the staff are really knowledgeable and we found a great Barbera d'Asti (with some friendly help). Prices range from £20 - £100+ for a bottle. A nice mix of tapas style plates, cheese and charcuterie sharing boards (we went for one of these - was excellent), breads and main courses if you prefer. Cozy, underground atmosphere - a perfect place to meet colleagues and friends.

I order an salmon with sweet potatoes... Just perfect !!! You must to try it ... if you prefer a white wine I suggest you the "fume".... a French one ...Sure I will be back for another wine and food tasting ...

Good food and good wine, took over an hour to get served a few tapas dishes. In fairness was lovely and I think they had forgotten us. Nice staff and good atmosphere, will be back.

Cute, cozy wine bar in the heart of Holborn. Nice wine and food and staff are extremely friendly. Will definitely be returning!

Was here last weekend at a private party..Food was exquisite as was the champagne and wine. Staff were incredible and very attentive. Can't wait to go back.

Encontramos el restaurante justo al salir del metro y la verdad tuvimos mucha suerte! La comida muy original y muy buena. El servicio muy agradable. Los platos que nos recomendó la camarera estaban muy bien y además en español!

Excellent attention and excellent food. We are having a good time eating here.Good prices for being London.

A rainy day in the day in the City and my dinner booking not for another hour - what to do - the sun was presumably over the yardarm - hard to tell in the rain - a small drink perhaps - this is a wine bar with a difference - didn't try the food as I was eating shortly - apart from a small but nice collection of wines by the glass you can buy any bottle from their wine merchants and drink it inside for only £10 corkage - what a good idea

First visit to Planet at Sicilian Avenue - Wednesday lunch - we had Lugana white wine recommended by the lovely Manager Ali - and a meat and cheese platter - all delicious. Will certainly make a return visit - thank you Ali

This wine bar is near our work and while not cheap, is a great place to have a glass or two.However, we went in today to buy a bottle and received the worst service ever.The scene was as follows:Us to the manager behind the till: "Hello, we'd like to buy a bottle of wine."Manager: "I'm doing my job."Us: "Um, we'd just like some advice."Manager: "Yes, but I am doing my job."Us: "..."Manager: "What?"Us: "...um. Is this a shop too?"Manager: "Yes, but I am doing my job. I will be with you in a few minutes."Waitress: "Hello."Us: "We'd like to buy a bottle of wine.""Waitress: "Yes, but I am making coffee."Utterly, utterly strange and the worst service we have ever had.

Had a fantastic night of wine tasting. The wines were delicious, the sommelier very knowledgeable and the wine tasting was both fun and interesting. We ordered some delicious platters and had a fantastic night.

A really great menu with some lovely wines to be accompany it. We found the service to be a little relaxed but apart from that, an absolutely fantastic little spot and well worth a visit.

Whether it's for a casual drink, or a more elaborate meal, it is hard to beat POTG. Exquisite selection of wines at very reasonable prices (we had a Meursault Clos de la Barre, Comte Lafon - I couldn't afford THAT anywhere else...), and genuine friendly service coupled with expert advice. Check out their wine tasting/dinners, too, they are th best of the best you'll ever find.

Been here a number of times, excellent wine and tapas menu.Brilliant for dates/friends. Excellent service and understandably strong and well priced wine list

The bar is situated down stairs (no lift) in a large open basement. There are small and medium sized tables (good for groups up to about 6/8). The staff were very friendly and I'd arrived earlier than those I was meeting up with so I was shown to a table. We were just there for drink but I think that's a real shame as looking at the food that was being deposited around the room we were missing out.The wine list was not massive but plenty on their for budget and taste, unless you want a Rose bottle (Pink as it was labelled) in which case you can order any of the one bottle I could see on the menu.Red wine is decanted for you and the white is served in a cooler to keep it chilled. It's not in a location that I am in very often but I look forward to an opportunity to be back there. Next time I'm staying for the food.

Not a bad place for a quick lunch. Planet sports a small menu of tapas-like snacks and little treats, with a generally Spanish flavour. Good and fun to share around the table, although the samples I tried lacked the flavouring or lightness you would expect from a proper tapas place. Quite a decent wine selection, but you pay City prices for an average experience at best. what it offers.

It's about a year since I last visited this Wine Bar. We ate Tapas off the Lunch menu and shared a bottle of excellent Spanish Red. Just to explain, you purchase the wine by selecting your bottle from the shelves at retail price and the corkage is added. The food and service were excellent, I will return.

A lovely evening was spent at Planet of the Grapes with friends. The concept of having a large range of wine to choose from, with advice is great and made even better that the shop price is available with a £10 supplement. The food is great - delicious chicken croquettes, fabulous paté and chorizo and sweet potato in addition to a couple of veggie treats. It's pretty expensive and was strangely quiet for a Thursday evening which resulted in a lack of atmosphere although it lent itself to a a good catch up!

Always a very nice venue for a long lunch with friends. Excellent reasonably priced interesting food, and a great wine list.

Great place and a great concept.Good food meets great varied wine at reasonable prices. You pay the corkage.Ok so people here moan about 10 a bottle corkage but... When you go to a restaurant they normally double the price of the wine. Here they are transparent! The wine is reasonably priced much like an off liscence but you get to choose from a smorgasbord of aged and great wines... Then they ask you to pay 10 corkage. Seems reasonable.Add in great food and friendly service and you have a great night! Even if the next day is a bit rough..I love this place

I went there for a catch-up drinks with my ex-colleagues and found it very pleasant. The place was on the queit side on Tue eve but that's perfect for those who want to converse. The shared meat/cheese platter that we ordered was quite generous and well presented. The basic Riesling that we tried was a decent bottle of wine, so happy with the choice. Didn't try anything from their fine wine list, so will have to come back for that and test out their Coravin system!

Excellent concept with a wine shop selling some lovely tapa style dishes as you sip your way through a myriad of wines

Food is nice and wine is good selection. But on a £300 bill between 4 they charged £50 in corkage. It's a joke. A bad one. Get a grip London

Went with two wine enthusiasts who loved the choices available. A good selection of small plates which were all good including good vegetarian options. Only criticism is it gets pretty loud.

Very simple, tapas-style food which worked well complimented by some excellent wine and good service. The "wines by the glass" list is interesting and provides some unusual alternatives.

Planet of the grapes is my new favourite wine bar in the City. The selection of wine is fantastic and the tapas selection is excellent. Definitely a regular spot for some good wine and good company.

The wine is excellent, the service good too. When we visited, halfway through the evening a live &#039;jazz band&#039; began to play. The music was terrible but more disappointingly, was so loud that it completely filled the room and made it impossible to hold conversation. The music managed to clear the venue within 30 mins, which is a shame because the venue and atmosphere is otherwise great. We asked for the music to be turned down a little, as did other tables, to no avail. I know this sounds like &#039;old man chat&#039; but it really isn&#039;t, it was such a shame. <br /><br />We visited on Monday 23 March 2015 as four people for business drinks and nibbles. We left before eating.

Sommelier was very friendly as always and great at introducing new wines. Nibbles/platters were outstanding and complemented the wine and the evening

Plant of the Grapes has definitely become my favourite wine bar in London. Excellent choice of wine and amazing sharing plates.

Planet of the Grapes has 2 fantastically quirky winebars (both in the City) and a brilliant Holborn wine shop. The atmosphere is cosy, they have a great range is hard to find wines and tasty bin-ends, and the gourmet scotch eggs are a great snack while quaffing! Expensive wine, but really good. £10 a glass. Take-outs available too.

This was a business meeting and I expected that given the range of wines and price points that we would expect a professional and excellent service, which was not the case. Service was indifferent, plates were not cleared, coffee was not offered and the 2 staff on service (it wasn&#039;t busy) just chatted behind the service area with no awareness of customers.

Excellent evening sampling Brunello wine with an Italian menu. First of these events visited - will be back!

I bought here a nice Malbec for my husband (his birthday).The customer service is fantastic, they helped me a lot, they immediately understood what I needed and suggested me the best choice for my husband!GREAT!

Ho avuto qui una cena di lavoro, bellissima carta dei vini (hanno anche un'enoteca) e ottima cucina, personale giovane e cordiale.

the tapas were very different and very tasty great value for money<br /><br />the pinot noir was lovely

I have visited Planet of the Grapes (Bow Lane) several times this year leaving a positive experience however at my latest visit there - having ordered 2 bottles of wine at £36 each, not to take away, to drink whilst eating olives &amp; nibbles etc, we were presented with a bill which included £13 service &amp; £20 corkage!! The bar staff &amp; manager had a bad, arrogant &amp; aggressive attitude towards us saying it was explained to us (it was not) that we have to pay corkage yet last time we were there, a bottle of wine was brought to our table &amp; not charged for this complete rip-off 'service'. They clearly do not care about their customers &amp; we shall continue to frequent their far superior competitor VINOTECA who do not add on these disgraceful charges &amp; never visit Planet of the Grapes ever again!!

Great food, laid back atmosphere but not too much so suitable for a business lunch

Went with some ex work colleagues and was very good. My third time and just as good. Staff very friendly and knowledgeable on wine to help guide choices. Good tapas style food and good service. I particularly like the fact you can buy a good bottle of wine and pay their reasonable corkage fee to drink there. Overall very good and will definitely return.

This is a great spot especially if your focus is on the wine.The dining, or should that be wining room, is downstairs away from the bustle of Bow Lane. The tables are well set apart so the noise levels are good but you can old conversations without raising your voice in any way.The menu is well thought out as the food is high quality, simple choices to accompany your wine. Remember its about the wine.Now the good bit. You can then choose from their huge selection of wines for your meal to go with.Staff were great. Cool and unstuffy.Would I suggest any changes. Maybe a wider choice by the glass.

Great wine selecion as you would expect, but with limit food options. The onglet was a little tough, but tasted very good, and the chips were excellent.

Great wine, Superb food and brilliant service from the assistant manager Kit!

I had a casual business dinner (well wine with food) a few weeks back and was so impressed with staff and wine that am going back this week with my wife and a friend for lunch! Not many city places I would feel comfortable doing that since so many are just not suitable for normal people, if you know what I mean. This is. Great wine but not pretentious or anything.

Have been here quite a few times, even had a birthday at this hidden wine bar. Menu is tiny but with nicely prepared dishes. The big star is the amazing selection of wines from all over the world. Very good indeed! All the attention goes to the wine so food choices are limited but this is a wine bar not restaurant. I love the fact that you can just browse all the wines available and have it there for an extra £10

Went for lunch, and as two older ladies we were in the minority - it was largely male business diners. However, we were made most welcome and enjoyed good service. The food was plentiful with some interesting choices ....we had a toptable offer which was excellent value and included a glass of very nice wine. Try the onglet steak- very tasty!

We went here for a small company event, never been before, but what an excellent venue. Excellent range of wines, I really liked the idea of picking your wine from the shelf, much better than just looking at a wine list! Prices were about typical as you would expect to pay in a central London restaurant, not excessive! Food was excellent, most of the party had the Tapas menu and shared dished, a couple had steaks for a main course and they were good also.Staff were friendly, attentive and helpful, will definitely be going back again.

Brilliant little place to enjoy good quality wine and some tapas. Tapas was delicious and excellent quality. Very friendly staff who were extremely helpful and it's cool in the cellar.

I met a girlfriend for lunch at Planet of the Grapes. To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect from the name of the restaurant, but in the end they exceeded my expectations.Food: We took advantage of the OpenTable lunch special where you receive a starter/tapas, a main course and a glass of wine for 20.00 GBP. We ordered the Sardinian fregola, peppers, crayfish, baby spinach and the Bruchetta, burrata pugliese and caponata for our tapas. For our mains we ordered the pan fried pollack, grilled artichokes, fennel and lemon butter and the fresh tagliatelle, courgette, board beans, parmesan and summer truffle. All of the portions were good size and the food was delicious. The serving was so big I couldn’t even finish it which made me sad because it was really tasty and fresh.Drinks: We ordered a white and a rose wine.Price: 20.00 GBP per person for the lunch special plus VAT and 12.5 service. Great deal!Ambiance: They have a few tables outside, but the main restaurant is downstairs. It’s a cozy space.Service: The service was welcoming, friendly and attentive.Would I go back? Yes, I would go back again if I was in the area. The food and service was great.

Cause my wife works in the city most place have loud, half drunk city workers, so far this is one of 3 that doesn't great friendly staff, good quality wine, and always enjoy a platter of food, come the end of summer make sure you book!

We had a reservation for 8:15pm and when we got seated, we were told we had to choose our menu immediately, as the kitchen closed at 8:30 .... Been there before and then that definitely wasn't the case. But staff looked straight through us and didn't give any explanation. So we left ....

This is a winebar and brasserie worth the hunt - downstairs in a characterful vaulted basement which feels like it stored barrells of alcohol before being put to use serving it.The menu is pleasant and the staff friendly - despite being in London it has a mediteranean feel of family style welcome and advice and the choice of wines sherries ports etc is impressive. You could spend a long afternoon here very happily and leave nicely tipsy but with a joy of flavours in the mouth and plenty to digest in the stomach.

If you are looking for extremely good food, people with genuine love of wine and a non-pretentious manner, go here. It is the correct way to clink glasses in a "cheers" moment. Everyone looks you in the eye, tries very hard to supply your wants and needs in a friendly way. Could not fault the staff or food on the recent Two Paddocks/Felton Road wine dinner. Well done.

Planet of the Grapes has a great selection of wines, solidly good food, and fabulous staff. They also have fun wine dinners focusing on particular producers whose wines are expertly paired with great food. A great place to unwind with a glass of wine after work.

Headed down to Planet of the Grapes on a good recommendation. It was clearly a popular little place and had a nice cosy feel. I had high expectations on the staff’s wine knowledge as I like to be told about the wine as opposed to choosing from a list. Unfortunately I was bitterly disappointed when we were opened an average bottle of wine without much to say about it. For somewhere that prides itself on selling such variety, the staff could do with a bit of homework. It was a Friday night after work so we weren’t looking for anything too heavy to eat and therefore decided on the sharing platter. This was lovely and there was plenty of meat and cheese, in fact too much for 2people.The shocker was the bill to be honest. 2 average bottles of red wine and one platter came in at £85…..beware…Corkage was £10 per bottleService Charge was 12% (for not much)And the platter per person was £12.On the upside you get a free sweet on exit.

Tried this place for something different, well worth a look. In the heart of the square mile, well patronized, terrific stock of wine for all price ranges and tastes. we arrived quite late &amp; the kitchen was about to close, but they made us welcome and didn't rush us to order. Food was excellent quality, well cooked and presented - and good value. The service was very good indeed, better than I'm used to in wine bars and increasingly rare in London these days. Only minor niggle was the acoustics aren't so good (noisy) but the side alcove was pleasant enough.

Awesome tapas, nice wines (specially from close France), a selected staff always smiling and helping you choosing the rit glass.A very good experience to be hopefully repeated soon.

Perfect end of week is this basement wine and food try tapas 4 for £30 and use wine app vivino and you will be in for a treat

Went here for a wine tasting which was well organised. The staff were very attentive although the price at the end of the evening seemed a little high per head. It's quite small but had a lively atmosphere. We had sharing platters of food which were good, although very simple, and the quantity was perfect for our number. A nice alternative to some of the other establishments around Bow Lane.

Attended for a work event of wine tasting. The staff were very friendly, helpful and good fun. The wine was good and the knowledge of them for the tasting part of the evening was good....detailed but still fun. Food was ok. For a large party brining out Steak and Chips in one go was good, I'd have preferred mine a little less rare but was still ok. Will definitely come back as a smaller group.

Steak, chips and good wine. Nice and straight forward. Never too busy so easy to get a table. They sell wine to take away too....

Cozy, basement wine bar + shop. Excellent selection of international + fun attitude all around. The staff made wonderful recommendations therefore I discovered some new tastes.