London’s best sherry bars and restaurants

Since 1988, Monika Linton, the founder of top-notch importer Brindisa, has been scouring Spain for the very best food and drink, bringing her spoils back to the UK and introducing Britain to new delicacies. Back in 2004, Brindisa opened its first tapas restaurant on the corner of Borough Market. Fast-forward to present-day and it’s now one of many branches dotted across the city, however its commitment to bringing the very best produce from Spain to the UK holds strong, and its sherry is no different.

Across their restaurants you can sip on some of the best fortified wine coming out of Jerez – Spain’s sherry-producing region. Brindisa has fostered strong ties with Bodegas Hidalgo, a family-owned sherry producer and third oldest sherry bodega in Spain. Its bodega is a true Mediterranean idyl peppered with pots of red geraniums and aviaries built into the walls full of colourful chirping canaries and parakeets. It grows its grapes in sun-soaked, dusty vineyards outside Cadiz and leaves its wine to mature in towering rows of dark wood barrels in cavernous warehouses. 

You can sip Hidalgo’s refreshingly zesty Manzanilla la Gitana and its moreish nutty Oloroso Seco Faraon across the Brindisa restaurants (London Bridge, Soho, South Kensington, Battersea, Richmond). Soak it up with slices of Payoyo goat's cheese and you’ve got a match made in heaven. 

At one of Time Out’s favourite London restaurants, an authentic Spanish atmosphere is formed through an earth-shattering Med food menu and a counter-dining layout that emulates Andalucian tapas bars (all that’s missing is the cigarette smoke). The sherry list cements this, with eight options by the glass or bottle. The owners have gone one further though, producing their own manzanilla aged in barrels on the coast by Jerez.

Another Spanish-style bar in Soho where sherry rules supreme, Barrica lists over 20 sherries in order of complexity, starting with easy-going, light finos and working up towards hefty Pedro Ximénez. You can order your tipple in two glass sizes (75ml or 100ml) or get it in by the carafe. They also serve pacaharan, a Spanish liqueur made from sloe berries. The bar’s canary yellow walls will have you feeling like you’re on the Costa del Sol in next to no time.

Step into this cave of wine wonders for a spot of old-fashioned drinking that will suit the old-school sherry drinkers to a tee. Gordons Wine Bar has a list of four sherries from the barrel to choose from, as well as a chilled fino straight from the bottle. There’s even a rich cream style for those after a blend of sherries like nan’s beloved Harvey’s Bristol.

This very genuine, slightly rustic local Spanish bar may get more attention for its tapas, but it’s well worth washing down croquetas and crema catalana with a glass of sherry from the drinks list. There’s a hefty range of classic dry sherries available in 75ml measures, plus one sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry and – similar in style – a Moscatel from Alicante. In among the plain brick, timbers and tiles and with smiling service from Spanish staff, you can get quite caught up in the fiesta.

There are over 20 sherries to sample at Exmouth Market’s Moro, and in among the olorosos and manzanillas you’ll find a few palo cortados, which Moro describes as the rarest style of sherry going. The restaurant also offers flights of three grouped as either ‘light and dry’, ‘nutty and rich’ or ‘moscatel’. It’s a gentle way in for those less acquainted with the fortified wine.

This rustic yet modern wine bar may be at the wrong end of Fitzrovia, but it’s a great spot to sample some challenging and obscure grape types. It’s also good for a wee dram of sherry, with five styles to choose from in 75ml measures. This includes a rare and interesting palo cortado and a medium dry oloroso. Knowledgeable bar staff can serve up some recommendations, and keep an eye on the specials board for further inspiration.