THE CURIOUS QUAFFER NO . 1
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THE CURIOUS QUAFFER NO . 1
What do we want from a restaurant ? Good food . What else ? Well , for those of us who enjoy our wine , the choice of bottles on a restaurant wine list can be equally as important as the food on the menu . You can count me , and many of my good friends , in on this list .
Wine should be fun . Everyone should ascribe to the motto : never drink boring wine ! But are all restaurant wine lists fun ? Sadly , many restaurant wine lists are not fun . Sadly some are , frankly , boring too . So , what do we want ? Obviously , a range of wines to choose from ( different countries , regions and grapes ) along with wines that provide affordability for all . Perhaps , not as obviously though , there are two other important things for me . Firstly , a touch of imagination and a break with the normal hum drum that we often come across is important . Secondly someone , it could be any member of staff ( not necessarily a sommelier ), who is able to talk about what is on a wine list is important . Someone who is knowledgeable about what is on offer . Someone who , if required , can give you trustworthy advice .
Not long ago the new ‘ No . 1 ’ Parkgate opened its doors . I originally remember the very same building , from many years ago , housing the Marsh Cat restaurant . Over the years many of us will have known the same building , occupied by different businesses , also occupied by a restaurant with any number of different names . The establishment at 1 Mostyn Square , on the front in Parkgate , is now run by two of the more experienced and imaginative players from the local hospitality industry . Head chef is Ben Mounsey . Restaurant manager is Tom Myles . Both have previously worked together , including at the Michelin starred Fraiche restaurant where Ben was sous chef , and more recently both were involved in the running of a top rate pop up restaurant . I can vouch for the quality of their food and wine during this latter venture . Their credentials are impressive .
Open seven days a week , ‘ No . 1 ’ is today an all-day coffee & wine bar . Enjoy brunch there . Dogs are allowed downstairs . On Fridays and Saturdays you can dine there , in the evening , from 6 p . m . where you can enjoy what the team at ‘ No . 1 ’ describe as small plates .
Having just eaten there ( more on that below ) the plates are , actually , a bit bigger than small . Whatever the size of the plate , the food is genuinely classy and in the fine category . But ….. what of the wine list ?
Recently a group of us took over the whole of the upstairs at ‘ No . 1 ’ on a Friday night . The fact that this group mainly comprised of members from an Oxton wine tasting group ( along with a few add ons in tow ) tells its own story . Wine was as important as the food . But before we get to the wine , just a quick note on the not so small plates . Each of us had to pre order ( as there were many of us ) three savoury dishes and one sweet dish from the restaurant ’ s menu ( which you can find online ). My choice : chicken liver parfait , pickled prune and brioche ; scallop , pea , samphire and roasted onion ; aged beef sirloin , hispi , pink peppercorn and mai ; finally white chocolate with citrus . All outstanding …. not particularly small plates of food ! Both the portions , and the quality of the food , are really very impressive .
As to the wine , this was actually handpicked for us by Tom ( more on the wines he chose below ). But first a few comments on the wine list itself . It is a compact list ( currently four sparkling , eight whites , ten reds , three roses and one dessert wine to choose from ). It covers many bases . Many different wine regions , some unusual , are covered . These include the likes of Santorini in Greece , Oregon , Slovenia , Slovakia , Mallorca and Sicily , as well as many of the other more well-known wine producing regions from around the world . There are some unusual grape varieties and blends on offer to . The prices are reasonable and affordable . There are also two other important factors in play here , too , in my mind . Firstly , when any wine is sold out , it isn ’ t necessarily replaced . Instead other options are explored ; something interesting and something new is likely to appear . It is an ever evolving wine list . Secondly , one of the aims is to deliberately introduce customers to wines they may never otherwise taste and may well never even have heard of before . If you were to profess to like , by way of example , Sauvignon Blanc , then you are likely to be directed to something else that you may enjoy . Both factors are , in my experience , fairly unique .
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