The Greyhound, London SW11

It may look like a run-of-the-mill gastropub, but dig a little deeper and you'll discover that The Greyhound has a spectacular wine list at fantastic prices

Terry Durack
Sunday 27 March 2005 02:00 BST
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You're in luck," says the proprietor, as he takes my party to its table. "We have the Spring Vale on." Having never set foot in The Greyhound before now, I don't have the foggiest as to what he is on about.

You're in luck," says the proprietor, as he takes my party to its table. "We have the Spring Vale on." Having never set foot in The Greyhound before now, I don't have the foggiest as to what he is on about.

Then it sinks in. Eight years ago, I was in the habit of drinking a very fine Tasmanian Pinot Noir called Spring Vale in Sydney's finest restaurants, including Moran's where this bloke was a sommelier. I believe that I actually drank their entire stock, which would no doubt account for the fact that I can barely remember his face, and he can remember mine.

Having said that, I soon get the impression Mark Van Der Goot can remember every wine he has ever tasted or ever served. His unseemly passion for the stuff had him venturing forth from the lucky country to the UK, where he has established a respectable reputation, primarily as the sommelier of the Michelin-starred Greenhouse restaurant.

The next impression to sink into my brain is that the gastropubby bar of The Greyhound, with its leather couches, big windows, wooden floors and gleaming beer taps, is just a front. So is the dining room, a small, winding, comfortable space with its bare wooden tables and plucky little chairs. It's all just a cleverly created façade for rampant, unchecked, over-the-top oenophilia. The real décor is the rear wall lined with wine bottles and behind that Van Der Goot's co-owner and chef, Tom Martinovic, lurks in a small kitchen, waiting for people to finish the wine lists and order some food.

The wines take up 24 pages over two separate lists (one a fine and rare list culled from VDG's personal cellar). And this in a pub in Battersea. The menu, on the other hand, is a single A4 sheet with three starters, three mains and three desserts, which is a blessed relief to those of us who have alcohol-reduced brain cells. Martinovic, a fellow Australian, has previously worked with The Capital's Eric Chavot and Heston Blumenthal, and his cooking is similarly simple-but-complex. The menu runs from scallop tartare and loin of Herdwick mutton with golden beetroot, to caramel brûlé with yoghurt rice pudding, with generous pricing (£25 for two courses) making it even more enticing.

Like all people who truly love wine, Van Der Goot deliberately keeps wine prices down as well, on the basis that he would rather see people return twice a week to drink good wine than come once a year. So a bottle of the terrific Akarua "The Gullies" Pinot Noir from New Zealand's Central Otago is lightly marked up to £28, when I can't buy it in a wine shop for less than £20. Likewise, the 1993 Grands Echézeaux from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, available from Berry Bros & Rudd for £350, is £131. There is also a regularly changing list of 20 worthwhile wines by the glass, including the juicy, fruity Koura Bay NZ Sauvignon Blanc (£3.60 for 125ml).

The fact that I am going on about the wine side of things is unfair to the kitchen, so here's equal time. The Blumenthal influence quickly shows itself in a little dish of house-churned basil-infused butter, for the freshly baked breads. A low-slung bowl of smoked haddock and mushroom soup has plenty of depth in spite of its fashionable froth, with luscious chunks of fish and - quelle surprise - a fried quail egg lurking beneath the foam. A Golden Valley goat-curd salad is a formal, graceful line of goodies; the quenelle of curd fresh and lemony, the baby pea-shoot salad delicate, the bolster of red pepper mousse rich and fruity.

Spring Vale's Pinot (£35) lends its deep berry nose, earthy intensity and poise to a terrific dish of Herdwick mutton. This loin of aged and hung neo-mutton is imply seared rare and left to rest, looking like a line-up of pink 50p coins on a fresh tomato concassée, coated in jus. It's rich and gamey, yet as tender as lamb, set off by a minor buffet of marinated anchovy beignets, lightly picked beetroot, the odd squish of hummus and a delicately spiced, skewered mutton kofta.

The Label Anglais chicken breast with tomato and chorizo risotto is cooked on the bone for three hours at low temperatures, before being seared. I'm not sure what this achieves, as the meat is not as tender as the mutton, making the accompanying small boudin blanc and squish of carrot purée the real stars on the plate.

Desserts don't seem particularly wine-friendly - particularly a strange white chocolate "blondie" that is like a waxy, firm breakfast bar - but the cheeses (£1.50 supplement) make up for them. Tonight's selection of two ewes' milk cheeses - a firm pecorino-style Berkswell from the West Midlands and a lush, fresh-tasting Wigmore from Berkshire - is served with oatcakes and some wizened, slow-cooked grapes.

The Greyhound is going to become a home away from home to the sommeliers and wine community of London; their own cellars neglected, spouses ignored, children unfed. Because it isn't a gastropub in any sense but appearance, but an enoteca; a genuine, personal, wine-driven restaurant in which the care taken in kitchen and cellar is vastly out of proportion to its prices.

15 The Greyhound 136 Battersea High Street, London SW11, tel: 020 7978 7021. Lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday, plus Sunday lunch. Around £90 for two including wine and service

Scores 1-9 stay home and cook 10-11 needs help 12 ok 13 pleasant enough 14 good 15 very good 16 capable of greatness 17 special, can't wait to go back 18 highly honourable 19 unique and memorable 20 as good as it gets

Second helpings: Other wine-driven restaurants

Witchery By The Castle 352 Castlehill, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, tel: 0131 225 5613 Located in a 16th-century building near Edinburgh castle, this romantic, character-laden restaurant has gained as big a following for its wine as it has for its classic, produce-driven cooking. Owner James Thomson is a Chevalier of the order of the Tastevin, and his 1,000-strong list has won a bottleful of awards for its range and quality.

Old Bridge Hotel 1 High Street, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, tel: 01480 424 300 This handsome, 24-bedroom hotel overlooking the river Ouse is owned by Master of Wine John Hoskins, whose intelligently paced and priced wine list has won just about every award going. Matching the wines is chef Martin Lee's adventurous, confident menu including Goosnargh duck with rosti potato, wok-fried vegetables and five spice and duck sauce.

Enoteca Turi 28 Putney High Street, London SW15, tel: 020 8785 4449 While "enoteca" means a wine library or museum, it has come to refer to wine shops or bars where meals can be taken. Giuseppe Turi's cellar is full of Italy's finest, which can be matched to authentic regional Italian dishes. Not surprisingly, Enoteca Turi has been short-listed for Best Wine List in the 2005 Tio Pepe ITV London Restaurant Awards.

E-mail Terry Durack about where you've eaten lately at t.durack@independent.co.uk

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