✒ Enoteca Turi
▴ Enoteca Turi
Television loves chefs, chefs happily reciprocate, cookbook publishers are happy, and the buzz keeps buzzing. Meanwhile, some very good restaurants, especially those that emphasize wine, quietly sail along under the radar, often surpassing noisier expectations.
Thirty years ago, Giuseppe Turi, who had emigrated from his native Puglia, the heel of the Italian boot, and become a sommelier at the Connaught Hotel, opened his own restaurant on the edge of London, in Putney, small, with a counter, a few tables, and a tiny kitchen, but atop a treasure—Giuseppe had begun collecting fine Italian wines, and stashed in the basement. The trove has grown to 450 bins, including some Champagnes and ports; there are detailed and lucid tasting notes for all on the list, with no jargon. Although it grew in size, ambition, and refinement, and eventually moved to the edge of Chelsea, the restaurant remains true to its heart—and soul: it’s a fine enoteca, a house of wine.
““Television loves chefs, chefs happily reciprocate, cookbook publishers are happy, and the buzz keeps buzzing. Meanwhile, some very good restaurants, especially those that emphasize wine, quietly sail along under the radar, often surpassing noisier expectations.” ”
Besides the usual stellar suspects (multiple older vintages of several bottlings by Gaja, as well as Guado al Tasso, Tignanello, Ornellaia, Sassicaia, and others at that level, often bought when they’re released and then aged in a separate cellar until they’re ready to drink) here is the place to find such as Arnaldo-Caprai, Argiolas, Schiopetto, Jasco Gravner, Teifenbrenner, Longo, Quintarelli, Bruno Giacosa, and many other rarities. Offbeat varieties, such as Lagrein, Refosco, Grillo, Cannonau, and others are also featured, part of Turi’s evangelical and broad-minded approach.
Food is taken quite seriously as well, seasonal, stylish, and comfortably pan-Italian; the seasonal menus include game in the early autumn and truffles later, while spring features an abundance of ingenious vegetable dishes. There are of course also special wine dinners. The evolution of the restaurant has been extraordinary, taking it into the top tier of Italian dining in London, attracting a fiercely loyal following without fanfare. Reservations are necessary. To access the fast lane, go to the website and sign up for the Dining Circle. You’ll be welcomed, quietly but completely—that’s the house style.
Brian St Pierre
RELATED POSTS
Keep up with our adventures in wine
Jane Anson recommends where to go and what to see if you only have 48 hours in Bordeaux.