Another extremely poor shot grabbed on the camera phone as I went in. I almost hesitate to mention this place. It's so wonderful. In Villiers Street the institution which since the 1890s has been Gordon's Wine bar never fails to provide a haven for the weary ad man. An unprepossessing entrance takes you down into, well, a cellar, or series of them. In some parts it's barely posssible to stand upright - and that's before you've imbibed. It's quite gloomy down there as indeed it should be with candles providing much of the illumination, and the flaking walls carry an eclectic mix of printed ephemera - a brave Victorian lithograph of some Boer War action here, or an old Music Hall poster there. You come here to drink wine or it's fortified cousins, sherry or port. Nothing else. The bottles are stacked behind the bar in rank after gorgeous rank and the soft squeak and 'pop' of corks being drawn is the only musical accompaniment to the jolly badinage of the disparate clientele. A perfect spot for assignations, couples who shouldn't be, huddle at rickety tables their faces desperately longing, candlelit in a sad chiaroscuro. Tragic and romantic. Merry businessmen of the camel coat and velvet collar kind get stuck into port and talk of National Hunt Racing and the 'little filly ' who's Robert's new secretary. Tourists sit in wonder and can't quite believe where it is they are - it's so far removed from the London of gloss and glitter. It's rumoured that 'operatives' of HM government frequent the place...but how could we tell if they did? If you've had a good lunch somewhere in Town I recommend that you skip the dessert and make for Gordon's and enjoy a glass or two of Port and a plate of Stilton. Cool in Summer, warm in Winter, Gordon's is the perfect place to waste your time.
10 comments:
Such a vivid description. Not being much of a wine drinker i don't visit Gordon's much, but I'm always glad when do. Handy for the wonderful Harp, too.
Hmmmm...wonderful but unwise post. If Ron Combo reads this, he'll be down there drinking the place dry and complaining loudly that there's no Teroldego Rotaliano or Carignano del Sulcis. Keep 'trade'out, I say.
Curses! - didn't think of that...
This is extraordinary. I've only just surfaced (Tuesday morning) from the dire results of the Combo State Visit on Friday. After lunching 'in extremis' at Hix in Smithfield, Ron and I made for Gordon's on the Underground Railway whilst the two other members of the party took an alternative 'quicker' route via Barking. Alas there must have been at least 5,000 tired and emotional people with exactly the same idea. We abandoned Gordons for drinking Hall & Woodhouse product in the Ship & Shovel in nearby Craven Passage. I can't remember anything else. But for the record, that's a brilliant evocation of Gordons Jon. This subterranean hole is also memorable for me as the location of the obligatory shaking of hands over two bottles of Chablis with my erstwhile publisher that stood in for a contract on my first books.
Uncanny post indeed! And the perfect place, as you say, for lubricating the wheels of an affair. I'd have loved to have done some lubricating on Friday but, sadly, as Lord Ashley described....
A beaker of your finest Sercial landlord!
An evocative reminder of my Gordon's days in the 1980s when I worked in Covent Garden. Have they dusted it yet? I do hope not.
I think if they dusted Gordons the whole creaking edifice would slide slowly into Embankment Gardens, half drunk beakers of Sercial sliding out of the windows and cellar grilles in slow motion.
Strictly no dusting at Gordon's. Phew! that was a close shave missing the international gang of liver testers. Shame that you found the place so busy but good news for the owners I guess.
There must be an optimum time to visit Gordon's 'out of season'. Last time I tried to meet a pal we too were thwarted by the crush of fellow devotees. Early doors, one Tuesday lunchtime perhaps?
Fred, that sounds like a good idea.
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