Which London restaurants have good American wine lists?

I have been asked this several times and I should feel equipped, given my love of US wine, heritage and that I work with American wine A LOT!

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that there is a dearth of good American wine offerings in most London restaurants.

Possible arguments could be that the exchange/ shipping rate is expensive, Brexit has caused admin, alcohol duty has gone up….

But if it is a pricing issue – then I think that is partly due to wine lists sticking only to well known grapes, regions and brands. Why not include wines from the East Coast, chardonnay and cabernet alternatives, lesser well known California regions etc…

That’s why it was a delight to discover @theparklondon – an all day American/ slight Italian ‘Grand Café’ in Bayswater from lauded restaurateur Jeremy King.

I went for brunch with an American friend who I knew could taste test the chopped salad, pancakes, Chicago hot dogs, tater tots, shrimp cocktails and ice cream sundaes to perfection. And the food is fantastic if crave true Americana! They even serve starter portions of pancakes!

However what elevated the brunch experience for me, aside from the 1960s feel and flourishes of Art Deco, was the wine list.  I appreciated how most of the wines were available by the glass, carafe or bottle and that it features heavily on producers from California (and Italy), but also other States Stalwarts. My favourite Rosé from Long Island was on the list as well as dry and sweet Riesling from the Finger Lakes.

And they do a feature on a Californian producer on a regular basis. Now it is  @clendenenfamilyvineyards and I loved how their lesser known Nebbiolo and Grenache Gris made the list.

Back to price. The cheapest glass of US wine is around £13.50 which is pricey but for 175ml and to have the opportunity to taste all around California and enjoy fantastic East Coast producers – then this wine list is pretty special. Paired with Chicago hot dogs and tater tots – this was a brunch which I will remember for a long time.

Where do you go to drink US wine?

watch the video here!