Wine & Dine: All the wine bars near Embankment

Just moments away from the Strand, Daly’s is another Embankment wine bar that feels like a neighbourhood spot. Down-to-earth ambience, good wines and good food at a decent price. Daly’s is the kind of place where you feel right at home, whether you’re stopping by for champagne or oysters, a bottle of wine with pâté, bread, and cheese, or tucking into a whole meal.

Daly’s offers wine from all over the world with an emphasis on Old World wine but the wine bar also features sustainably produced wines from artisan winemakers. You’ll find a classic French-inspired bistro menu to complement your wine with an unfussy presentation, just plates that look inviting and hearty.

If you’re after a wine bar for a private celebration, Daly’s can accommodate up to 50 guests for a standing reception and 44 for a sit-down meal and drinks.

Established in 1890, Gordon’s is one of the oldest wine bars in London. The wine bar near Embankment Station retains its 19th-century features including the picturesque candlelit vaulted cellars. It’s all very romantic and very late Victorian Gothic. If being underground is not for you, never fear, Gordon’s also offers al fresco dining and wine-sipping on Watergate Walk.

Having been in business a long time, Gordon’s has everything you want from a London wine bar. Wines from all over the world, many by the glass, all by the bottle, cheeseboards, cold plates, and meat and fish boards. From Hungarian pork sausages and Serrano ham to smoked trout pâté and freshly baked French bread, salted butter, pickles, chutney & quince jelly. History, ambience, and a fine cellar – word of the wise, Gordon’s doesn’t take bookings but it’s worth the wait.

Tucked beneath the arches of Charing Cross, Champagne Charlies sounds like an Embankment wine bar that’s going to be fancy and probably break the bank – but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Luckily for us all, the establishment follows the tradition of rustic and relaxed wine bars with a price list varied enough that doesn't exclude anybody. Champagne Charlies is also one of several wine bars dotted about the capital belonging to fifth-generation wine merchants, the Davy family.

With all the characteristic charm exposed brick, wood panelling, intimate alcoves, and candlelight can muster, Davy’s dishes up classic British dishes made with seasonal ingredients to complement the cellar filled with Old World wines, sparkling, and champagne, of course.

The building and the classic copper bars are Victorian in design but the decor is all Jazz Age opulence with walls and floor clad in marble, and Art Deco chandeliers creating dramatic lighting. The brasserie focuses on modern British fare with exceptional grilled dishes of land and sea, and the wine bar offers plenty of varieties for the ultimate wine & dine.

With a menu that thankfully won’t break the bank and the lavish surroundings, Boyds is our pick of an Embankment wine bar for private parties and special events. Enjoy dinners of up to 100 guests or receptions for up to 250 in the glamourous surroundings of Boyds and uncork a bottle of champagne (or several) to complete the experience.

Not much for an online presence, Pennethorne’s nonetheless remains a relaxed yet elegant wine bar, well-known to visitors and patrons of Somerset House where Pennethorne’s happens to be located.

The wine bar is only open through the week but enjoying the atmosphere free of a Saturday or Sunday crowd in central London is an immensely attractive prospect. Sit outside on the terrace during sunny weather or grab a seat inside and hopefully snag seats at the bay window with the river view. Wine, cocktails, and small plates – all in all, not bad for a mid-week outing.