From this morning's Decanter. I want to go but don't have a date. Anyone love sherry?

London gets its first sherry bar
March 15, 2010
Patricia Langton

London's first sherry bar opens this Friday, giving Londoners a taste of fine sherry in a setting reminiscent of the rustic bodega bars of southern Spain.

Bar Pepito is the latest addition to the bar and restaurant scene in King's Cross.

An off-shoot of Camino, it is located across the courtyard from its established sibling in Varnisher's Yard.

The man behind the new venture is Camino's Richard Bigg, who is on a mission to get more people to enjoy sherry.

Bar Pepito was inspired by Bigg's visits to the Jerez region and developed with support from the sherry house González Byass, the makers of Tio Pepe fino.

On the wine list are 15 sherries covering the main styles from dry Finos and Manzanillas through to sweet Pedro Ximénez, as well as lesser-known styles such as Palo Cortado and Moscatel.


Prices range from £3.50 to £7.75 per glass - all the wines are available by both the glass and the bottle.

Created by Camino head chef Nacho del Campo, a cold food menu offers Spanish classics – pata negra jamón from Extremadura, jamón, olives, almonds and chorizos, regional cheeses and locally sourced fish and meat, like a Devon Crab salad.

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mel

Love sherry, hate London.

And, more importantly, you're happily married.
GK, have removed your other post, will email.

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mel

Just spoke to Richard Bigg about Pepito and am desperate to get down there. What is it about the thought of drinking dry, salty and earthy sherries with all those Spanish foods? Last year I went to a restaurant that's famous for its sherry and I sat at the bar, alone, while the bar manager suggested all sorts of matches. At the time I was perfectly happily married, and yet somehow that understanding of how food and sherry fire off each other was terribly exciting.

A number of things about Pepito sound good:

A dish is recommended with each sherry.

They have six sherry flights - ie 3 sherries in 50 ml glasses, with a plate of something.

It sounds cosy and authentic.

There are fifteen sherries to try.

http://www.camino.uk.com/pepito and follow the link on the bottom right hand corner. The sherry flights are on the last page, and here:

FLIGHTS
Compare the styles by trying three 50ml sherry measures with a [tapita] on the house

1. LOS TRES PUEBLOS [aceitunas] £7.25
Manzanilla ‘La Gitana’, Bodegas Hidalgo (Sanlucar de Barrameda) Tío Pepe Fino, González Byass (Jeréz de la Frontera)
Puerto Fino Reserva, Lustau (El Puerto de Santa María)

2. VIVA LA FLOR [almendras] £7.75
Puerto Fino Reserva, Lustau
Amontillado Viña AB, González Byass
Amontillado ‘del Duque’, González Byass

3. GLORIOSO [morcón ibérico] £7.50
Oloroso Seco Alfonso, González Byass
Oloroso Seco ‘Antique’, Fernando de Castilla
Oloroso Dulce Solera 1847, González Byass

4. EVOLUCION [pate de pato con tostas] £12.50
Oloroso Dulce ‘Matusalem’, González Byass
Palo Cortado, Fernando de Castilla
Palo Cortado ‘Apóstoles’, González Byass

5. TREINTA AÑOS [queso ‘Flor de esgueva’, Peñafiel, Castilla y León] £11.00
Amontillado ‘Del Duque’, González Byass
Palo Cortado ‘Apóstoles’, González Byass
Oloroso Dulce ‘Matusalem’, González Byass

6. DECADENCIA [higos en chocolate] £8.25
Moscatel ‘Emilin’, Lustau
Pedro Ximénez Nectar, González Byass
Pedro Ximénez Noe, González Byass

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mel

Sounds like you've convinced yourself, get your coat girl.

Will report back.

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mel

If you are really ever thinking of going along Mel I'd like to tag along.
Be sure to lemme know

From Decanter:

March 22, 2010
by Lucy Shaw

It's a drizzly Thursday night, but inside Bar Pepito it's as hot as pimiento.

Opening the door, I'm hit with the intoxicating smell of jamón. The bar of the tiny bodega in King's Cross is a slice of Jerez squeezed into 30 square feet.

From the floor covered with traditional Spanish tiles, to the flamenco posters and esparto-grass mats lining the walls, it's easy to feel transported to Southern Spain.

Even the level of noise - a classic Spanish racket – is authentic.

We're standing shoulder to shoulder around a table made of a Tio Pepe barrel, with brightly-coloured bowls of kikos (fried corn), habas fritas (fried broad beans) and giant Gordal olives.

A blur of waiters emerge from the miniscule kitchen carrying plates of pan con tomate, jamón ibérico and sheep's cheese. Four small glasses of Tio Pepe Fino are brought over to our barrel.

The tiny bar, a converted railway storage shed, is a few steps away from sister restaurant Camino in Varnisher's Yard.

Pepito's Hispanophile owner Richard Bigg wants to shake off Sherry's fusty image. He's on a mission to convert London into a city of Sherry sippers and give Sherry the makeover it deserves.

Once described as the grand druid of hip hangouts, Bigg has a bloodhound nose for the next big bar. He started Cantaloupe in Shoreditch, years before the area became cool.

'Sherry is druggingly delicious and I think the public are ready for it,' Bigg says. 'Wine knowledge is going through the roof – people are becoming more confident about wine and want to experiment with new styles.'

He concedes it's a gamble but says he likes taking risks. 'It would have been a lot riskier if I'd opened a stand-alone bar, but I think it would still work.'


Bigg has collaborated with Gonzáles Byass, whose wines make up nine of the 15 Sherries on offer, along with one beer and a seasonal Sherry-based cocktail.

The list is deliberately short, so as not to intimidate novices, but Bigg already plans to edit the offering and include a different 'wild card' wine each month.

The Gonzáles Byass team is out in force. Managing director Martin Skelton and marketing director Jeremy Rockett are armed with a bottle of Gonzáles Byass 1968 Oloroso.

It's outstanding, with a nose of varnish, walnut skins and mahogany. On the palate is sweet spice, orange peel, dried figs and hazelnuts. It's deliciously long and amazingly vibrant for its years.

Accompanying the wines is a well-thought-out tapas menu including venison carpaccio and devon crab salad. Each dish comes with a Sherry recommendation.

'Sherry has to be drunk with food – it's the best food matching wine there is', says Bigg. 'It's all about serving fresh styles at the right temperature in the right glasses.'

There are six tasting flights (three 50ml measures), including the Oloroso-based 'Glorioso' and the Pedro Ximenez-fuelled 'Decadencia'.

A cage-like cellar lines the back wall, and next to it, a single Enomatic machine. Bigg is offering Bar Pepito cards, which you can load up with credit to buy 25, 50 and 75ml Sherry shots starting at 95p and going up to £4.50 for the '68 Oloroso.

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mel