Eat Here: 28-50 Wine Workshop + Kitchen, MaryleboneBy Angelica Malin
There’s comes a time in life, when all you want is a glass of wine. Not just any wine, but a really, really good glass of wine. A hand-selected, mood-matching, crisp, clean, delicious glass of wine. When that moment strikes, you need to act fast. Thus, this is how I found myself on Saturday night, sat atop the bar at 28°-50°, a wine workshop and restaurant tucked away on Marylebone Lane, perusing the wine list and chatting to the lovely sommelier about their oaky whites. 28°-50° is exactly the place you need when only a glass of wine and a cheese board will do. The wine workshop and kitchen was a real revelation for me – here’s why you need to visit:
28°-50° Marylebone Review: The Lowdown
Sexy, slick, very date-y, 28°-50° is the kind of place you save for someone, or something, special. The second we walked in, we knew the restaurant was the perfect spot for a Saturday night. An industrial-style wine bar, it has a warm, genuine intimacy, thanks to a plethora of low-hanging lights, a marble-top bar and plush interiors. You can choose to eat at the bar, like we did, and enjoy an interactive evening with the sommeliers and staff, chatting wine and food pairings. It’s an immersive dining experience, as you make your way through the brilliant wine list, soak up the cool, casual atmosphere and watch other diners sipping barrel-aged wine. Nothing fancy; it’s all about great wine and great food here, and it’s just wonderful.
28°-50° Marylebone Review: The Food
The food at 28°-50° is surprisingly brilliant. I knew the wine would be fantastic (how could it not?), but was really blown away by their Modern European cuisine. The concept is perfect for a wine tasting evening – little small plates to share, nibbly dishes full of flavour, which are the perfect accompaniment to the wines. We enjoyed a selection of sharing plates from the bar menu; if you’re very hungry, the main menu is a little more extensive, but I loved the vibe of eating at the bar.
We started with burrata, served with pickled girolles, lemon oil and almonds, which was absolutely divine. If you’re bored of the standard burrata, tomatoes and olive oil combination, this unusual pairing was really different but worked perfectly – the crisp, zesty flavour of lemon oil adding a freshness to the dish, with the crunch of almonds and earthy mushroom flavours.
We then sampled the seabream ceviche with chilli, lime and coriander; for a restaurant that doesn’t specialise in ceviche, I couldn’t believe how full of flavour, zingy and heat this ceviche was. Truly, a must-try.
Because cheese and wine is a combination made in heaven, we couldn’t not order a cheese board. For £9, you can choose three cheeses, with a selection of breads and crackers – we enjoyed a selection of goat’s cheese, semi-hard cheese and Comté from famed La Fromagerie. The sommelier will happily recommend the best wines to go with your cheese, and we loved nibbling and tasting different cheese with different whites. To finish things off, we delighted in their apple crumble with cinnamon ice cream – a small but perfectly formed dessert with sweet, melty apple, crisp crumble and cinnamon ice cream that packs a punch, it the perfect sweet ending to the most delicious, sexy evening of food and drink.
28°-50° Marylebone Review: The Drinks
Of course, this is the place to come for wine. 28°-50° offer over 30 wines available by the glass, carafe and bottle at really reasonable prices – their selection is really second to none. Because I’m massively indecisively, the sommelier happily helped me taste my way through half the menu before deciding upon the 2010 Verdhelo from Victoria, Australia – light, fruity, sweet, it was the ideal wine for my mood. In fact, I ended up drinking it all night, because when you love something, you don’t let it go that easily. My boyfriend loved the 2015 Merlot from South West France.
28°-50° Marylebone Review: Our Verdict
With prices starting at £2.30, 28°-50° is more competitively priced that any London wine bars I’ve visited before, and much cooler, too. The food here is really rather exceptional, the wines are delicious and the vibe is spot on for a date night. If you’re looking for somewhere to tick all the boxes next Saturday night, take my word for it: this is the place for you.
28°-50° Marylebone is at 15-17 Marylebone Ln, Marylebone, London W1U 2NE
