Whilst googling wine bars near Covent Garden for pre-lunch drinks, I came across one I’d never heard of before: Augustus Harris described as a ‘wine bar and coffee shop inspired by the bàcari of Venice’.
The bar, on Catherine Street and in the heart of Covent Garden is small and intimate place with room for about 20 people upstairs and less below.
The wooden tables and chairs are pretty nipped in, but when we arrived at 12.30pm, the place was empty so we had the choice of tables opting for a window seat.
The wine list was extensive and we asked for two large glasses of Sauvignon Blanc. The delightful young waitress told us they’d run out but she recommended Barbera Bianca (an Italian dry white) telling us that a 50cl carafe (£20.80) would be better value.
I had a great view of the bar which contained an artistically arranged pile of filled rolls which looked very appetising and we were sorry we had a lunch reservation as we’d have been happy to while away an afternoon there.
The menu is small with: crostini, bruschette served on sourdough, cheese and sputinine – all sounding delicious and priced between £4 and £10.. I particularly liked the sound of anchovy and butter soldiers.
Whilst I was salivating over the rolls, my partner was watching people go past and recognised Bill Nighy looking through the window. Being rather a fan, I cheekily beckoned him in but sadly he waved, and walked on by.
This is definitely a place I’d return to particularly as you can book which I think would be essential in the evening. Hopefully next time, Bill will be in the bar rather than outside.
