Review: Lunch at John Lewis Winebar Bluewater
On a recent retail therapy session with my mum to Bluewater we decided to stop for some lunch, not wanting something too big we headed for the John Lewis wine bar to feast on their personalised platters.
Located in the basement, the John Lewis food hall from Waitrose is an emporium for food lovers, boasting seasonally sourced and speciality foods with meat, fish, cheese and wine specialists on hand to answer questions on provenance, cooking techniques and food and wine pairings.
The wine bar offers a selection of wines by the glass or bottle, cold drinks and speciality beers alongside gourmet platters made up of all the fabulous produce on offer in the store.
Sitting down at the tall bar stool seating we browsed the options on the menu. The platters come in two sizes; Small Platter (£5.95) is made up of 2 deli items, 1 salad, 1 sauce, 1 bread. The Large Platter (£9.95) includes 4 deli items, 1 salads, 2 sauces, 2 pieces of bread. You can choose to share with friends or just be greedy and have it all to yourself!
The menu is made up of cheeses, meat, fish and vegetarian options paired with salad, sauces, bread and a choice of butter or oil and vinegar. Here is the current menu:
| Deli Items | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheese | Meat | Fish | Vegetarian |
| Manchego | Italian Salami | Smoked Salmon | Houmous |
| Blue Stilton | Parma Ham | Sundried Tomatoes | |
| Cheddar | Honey Roast Ham | Mixed Olives | |
| Brie | Beef | ||
| Goat’s Cheese | Chicken Liver Pate | ||
| Salads | Sauces | Breads | And choice of |
| Babyleaf salad | Tomato Chutney | White Sourdough | Butter |
| Coleslaw | Wholegrain Mustard | Date and Ginger Sourdough | Oil & Vinegar |
| Mayonnaise | Pain de Campagne | ||
| Caramelised Red Onion | |||
I went for a large platter made up of blue stilton, brie, sundried tomatoes, mixed olives, coleslaw, white sourdough and pain de Campagne with butter. I was very happy with my choice; all of the produce was of top quality, the portions were a generous size and served on an elegant platter. I enjoy trying the different items in different combinations which makes this a really fun meal.
If there’s something that you really love on the menu then you need not look very far to purchase some to take home with you as the produce is on sale in the food hall. I love the caramelised red onion chutney and could easily empty the shelf!
I would certainly recommend popping into the John Lewis Winebar at Bluewater for a break from shopping and to refuel. Being able to pick what you want on your platter makes it a bespoke experience which is great for people with dietary quirks like me. I can’t wait to go back and award it 5 out of 5 stars.
