.jpeg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
As I ate the monkfish with its taste of the sea and its meaty texture, wrapped up in a flatbread with garlic butter, chilli and pickles, and washed down with some sort of natural wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.
I’m paraphrasing an author I talk about too much. Hemingway. A little cliched, predictable, nevertheless it is fitting as I sit and ponder Oeno Maris, a fishmonger and natural wine bar run by Dan “Mustard” Murphy and whose raison d’etre is the quote above in its original form (which is more about oysters).
Anyway, Oeno sells prime seafood to the well-heeled of Stoke Newington. Come evening, whatever’s left is carved to become sashimi and served with wine from the shelves. Bottles are sold at retail and with a small corkage.
Here lies a wonderful situation: fish, oysters and wine in a small shop, with some tables outside for when it’s warm and a few inside for when it’s not. You can perch on the fish counter and order something lively from Eastern Europe, much to the behest of the old guard I’m sure. But something orange is absolutely my bag. Keep your standard Riesling.
I had monkfish, lightly cured and barbecued, with a Slovakian pinot blanc — my go-to grape these days — inexpensive, clean and refreshing in the spring warmth. I like those wines that taste as if you’re licking a smooth pebble you found on some barren shoreline, one the earth carved in ancient heat.
Then came a wine with a remarkably dire name, “Hey Mate!” (explanation mark sadly included), a sparky pinot noir that bounds softly between being a light red and a sensual rose. Soon after it arrived, someone told me it was “semi-carbonically fermented” and started talking about gas, at which point I went to get another wrap.
But I did love it, the Hey Mate! Such a generous drink full of cherries and herbs. And Oeno, too. After a few hours there I began to make plans.
105 Newington Green Road, N1 4QY, oenomaris.com
Bar snacks
The Aubrey
The Aubrey in Knightsbridge has opened a luxury Japanese sando bar with a menu inspired by the late-night izakayas of Tokyo. The sandwiches — katsu, wagyu and so on in shokupan bread — are available throughout the night either as a pre-match snack or a pre-Uber soberer. Alongside, the Aubrey is bringing a selection of Kaizen cocktails from its Hong Kong sibling, which is number 10 in the World’s 50 Best Bars in Asia.
66 Knightsbridge, SW1, mandarinoriental.com
Nourished
A new artisan food and bottle shop has launched in Walthamstow, a part of London that failed to see off Gail’s. Nourished Communities sounds more interesting: a Perello olive, Ortiz anchovies sort of place that sources products from more than 200 independent producers, including British meats and hot sauces. The wine list looks excellent online: lots of natural numbers and Piedmontese reds.
12 Blackhorse Lane, E17, nourishedcommunities.com
