Gordon's

It's a little known fact that Gordon's Wine Bar is the oldest wine bar in London. Tucked away in an unlikely location round the back of Embankment, this secret remains well kept. There are few reasons to be on this part of the river unless you're a tourist. From a dirty chain filled street, you open a small wrought iron gate into a passageway. Green umbrellas shade tables (old wine barrels) - this is Gordon's Grill - a more appropriate summertime venue perhaps but nothing on the winebar below. Few things can entice me to step out of bright sunshine and sit downstairs on a sunny Sunday but Gordon's is one of them.

Gordon's was established in 1890 as a wine bar, but the Gordon's family had a busy wine business for an entire century before then. This is no faux Victoriana copy, this is the real deal. You can only order wine, of which they have a fantastic selection of regulars and a rotating array of new things to sample too. I always ask the bartender for the kind of thing I'm looking for in the hope of getting introduced to new stuff. This time round, my creamy white burgundy did not disappoint. Delicious through and through.

Tables are laid out under stone arches, the environment is cool, dimly lit and peppered with candles even in the middle of the day. It's so romantic in the winter - take a date, wrap up warm and find a quiet corner to take your bottle to for an unusual and romantic date.