A Luxury London Meal to Remember
by Jean Knill

With a grand or more to spare, you could join London city slickers for an expensive treat. They are queuing up for the seven courses of the £1000 Bonus Tasting Menu at popular restaurant, Vivat Bacchus, in Farringdon Street. The price, of course, includes the wine.



The focus has always been on wine here. Vivat Bacchus has five wine cellars holding some 20,000 bottles with around 1000 labels. Although many of them are from South Africa, home of the owners and where this concept originated, France and the rest of the world are also well represented. On the restaurant wine list, the price for a bottle ranges from £17.90 for an Australian Coriole Chenin Blanc to £995.00 for a Petrùs (Pomerol, Bordeaux) 1978, or a La Tache 1982, Domaine Romanee Conti. Because the wine list can only cover about 5% of the stock available, wine waiters invite diners at their basement tables to join them behind the cellars’ glass screens and select their own wines.

The food, of course, has to match the brilliance of the wine options, and Head Chef, Robert Staegemann sees to that. The unfailing availability of springbok on the menu reflects the South African ownership. But, as with the wine, there is an eclectic variety of influences from around the world, and the menu is changed every few weeks, so customers can get a different experience when they come again.

For the £1000 menu, the early courses include such delicacies as sevruga caviar and lobster. The main course is a Wagyu steak – this is from a breed of cattle that originated in Japan and produces extremely fine beef – served with a bottle of Chateau Lafitte Rothschild. A 1963 Taylor’s Port accompanies a board of at least 15 different cheeses. And a Chateau d’Yquem comes along with the dessert.

But you don’t have to pay £1000 to eat and drink at Vivat Bacchus. An average three course meal will set you back about £35, before wine. They also offer good value set lunches of two or three courses at £15.50 and £17.50 respectively, with wine and cheese extra.

Alongside the restaurant is a wine bar and delicatessen, where a tapas selection that includes biltong is served throughout the day. Or you can just choose from the selection of 80 odd cheeses to go with your wine.

So, whatever your budget, if you’re passing through the City of London, this is an experience not to be missed.