Wonder Bar

Time Out says

Sun Jan 9 2011

When the Wonder Bar opened in 2007, occupying a red and blond wood space on a mezzanine above Selfridges’ wine department, the concept seemed very attractive. The new Enomatic machines would serve as ‘wine jukeboxes’: customers would be able to help themselves to small measures from up to 52 different wines, with the tiny 25ml pour bringing extremely expensive wines into the reach of ordinary mortals.

The intervention of Westminster council trading standards officials put paid to the novelty, with the bar subsequently limited by law to a minimum serving of 125ml.

In January 2012 however, following a long campaign by the Wonder Bar's sommellier Dawn Davies, the law changed and pubs and restaurants can sell wines is measures of less than 75ml.

What this means for the wine lover is that if you pop down to the Wonder Bar, you can get to try a sip of a Bordeaux Grand Cru for under £3 to see if it's to your taste before parting with £30 or more for the bottle in the adjoining off-licence. The choice of wines remains good, with a nice mix of favourites and new, challenging flavours.