Dear Sainte Eloise

The name Dear Sainte Eloise is a reference from George Orwell’s memoir, Down and Out in Paris and London: “Dear Sainte Eloise, if you exist, please send me some money. I don’t ask for much – just enough for some bread and wine.”

Like its sibling, Love, Tilly Devine, this place is wholeheartedly about grapes, and the 400-strong wine list may cause a lengthy pause in the conversation. It’s somewhat like a directory, is educational, mostly affordable and easy to follow. There's a lean towards Australia, but the cellar also duly celebrates the "incomparable sites of Europe and beyond".

Though wine is the focus here, the food on offer is always interesting, with pasta being a staple. The menu changes every few days, influenced by seasons and produce availability. It's perfect stuff for a date night, and there are set menus available if you can't bear to choose.

The space is warm and seats about 40 people. Entry is via a fairly non-descript closed door, with only two pew stools and a gold plaque as indicators of its presence. That excerpt from Orwell’s memoir is written across an entire wall, and wine bottles take up the majority of the remaining wall space. The timber blinds in the windows make it feel particularly private and European.