Willi's

John Parker, owner of The Royal Hotel, describes the pub’s smart-casual wine bar Willi’s as a shrine to the vine.

That means a broad selection of wines – roughly one-third white, one-third red, and one-third sparkling, orange, rosé and chilled reds. It sits somewhere between an old-world-meets-new world selection, and the fun pub classics you’ll find upstairs at the Royal Hotel’s bar. The mark-ups are reasonable, local winemakers are well represented, and the drinkability factor is high across the list.

In addition to the wines, Willi’s has a strong line-up of aromatised alcohols, including vermouths and European liqueurs. These can be enjoyed neat, in recommended serves – with blood orange soda, for instance – or as part of a cocktail. Parker Group’s own spirit label Dandelion Spirit Co is used in the bar.

The other major draw at Willi’s is the food – a tight edit of snacky, wine-friendly dishes, more considered snacks, and larger plates from the Royal Hotel that are designed to share. Think modernised pub classics like beer-battered snapper with tartare and fries, or casarecce tossed through roasted tomato sugo and fior di latte.