Apparently everyone loves the mirror in the bar. I think it looks like something out of DFS. But don’t let that put you off, because everything else about the White Horse in Mayfair is simply stunning. It’s the work of Hedonism Wines, the owners of Hide restaurant with its beautiful staircase.
The group bought it to use as office space during the pandemic and then attempted a pub last year. It is now a two-storey wine bar. Etchings of its previous guise remain: board games, a dart board, menu items which were pored over and discussed during the transition but which, thankfully, have stayed.
I had a Scotch egg and a spiced lamb kebab and you can tell they’re the work of Ollie Dabbous, of Hide, who is a master of comfort (and might be the last star chef not on Instagram).
As far as the wine bar is concerned, it’s fairly bonkers, if understated. There is a sense of accident about it, of frippery and whateverness. I’m not sure Hedonism needs to make any money out of the place. Which only serves to benefit us. Take the ceramic horse heads dotted on sideboards, or, in the basement, the dilapidated, incredibly out of tune piano. I would like there to be a pool table.
Even if there isn’t, the White Horse is charming. And it’s unpretentious, not to mention staffed by people who know wine and adore it. A word here too for approachability: glasses start at £6.50 and few bottles shift past £200 a go. Pocket change for Mayfair suits and welcoming for outsiders.
Best of all, there’s the option to take on a “blind wine” test for £2.50 a pop: a daily offering, come one, come all. Get it right and you win a bottle. Sadly, I guessed a Bavarian riesling was a pinot blanc, my current obsession. I love pinot blanc, much as I love playing Scrabble next to the remedial grace of a well-stocked ice bucket.
I settled down with a Greek number. My xinomavro rosé came from the island of Paros in the Cyclades: fresh but dry; a reminder of paradise. £54 a bottle. Buy one and have it with lamb kebabs.
