The Social Company and executive sommelier, Laure Patry, opens Social Wine & Tapas on James Street in Marylebone, London another Social spot from the seemingly unstoppable Jason Atherton. It’s probably fair to say there will be a a rush to review, given London’s love of Jason and of tapas type food.
Set over two floors, the ground floor houses the wine shop and tapas bar, which has an open kitchen with a dining counter; banquet seating for up to 9 covers, and an elevated wine tasting table for 10. A narrow staircase leads to a basement wine bar, with additional seating, a second tasting area, a corner bar and a preparation kitchen counter.
Laure Patry, who has worked with Jason Atherton for over 10 years, heads up Social Wine & Tapas a. She has created a wine offering from around the world, whilst also championing small growers. Prestigious vintages and fine wines are available through the use of the Coravin system. Notably, all serving staff are sommeliers.
Together Jason Atherton and head chef Frankie Van Loo have developed a menu of modern tapas style dishes, made with British produce. Dishes on the menu include ‘jamon, Manchego and truffle toastie’,’heirloom tomato salad with burrata, basil and gazpacho dressing’,’seafood and rabbit Spanish rice’ and ‘crème Catalan with orange’. In addition to the tapas menu, a seasonally changing selection of cheeses and charcuterie are served via the basement kitchen counter.
The Social Wine Shop on the ground floor has trained sommeliers on hand at all times to offer tastings and guide the buyer. In addition, the shop also stocks glassware, Coravin wine systems and wine accessories. Social Wine & Tapas is open seven days a week, from midday to late (the wine shop is open at an earlier time of 10am), and operates a no reservations policy.