Green & Blue

Time Out says

Wed Oct 17 2012

Green & Blue is a rarity of a wine bar, the product of South African-born Kate Thal’s mission to create wine ‘epiphanies’ at affordable, high-street reach. The pleasant two-room space, open-fronted on balmy evenings, is as much a shop as a bar-restaurant, with an improbable number of carefully documented vinous discoveries (majoring on the boutique and the ‘natural’) lining the shelves of the bar area. On certain evenings, diners can book a ‘wine trolley’; on others, secure a bottle off the shelf at shop price; and an interesting selection is available as standard by large or small glass, carafe or bottle.

So far, so good; indeed, very good – but the transformation from shop/bar/deli to more fully fledged bistro has not yet hit its mark. Chef Simon Barnett (previously of Balham’s Fat Delicatessen) brings a strong Hispanic influence to the table, from the likes of cecina and boquerones to more fully fledged dishes such as a light, Moro-inspired borani of beetroot and goat’s cheese. Oily fish and cured meats predominate; heartier offerings – red mullet with a ‘ragoût’ of runner beans, lamb shoulder with a variant of caponata – evidence good buying, but were, on our visit, a tad dull in both colour and flavour, and prevented some truly remarkable wines from singing as they might. Desserts are standard bistro/café-bar fare, and include Gelupo ices; dessert wines are again a step into a higher realm.