Wine bars are a popular and very cosmopolitan social meeting place. They are mostly set in larger towns and cities and boast an impressive array of wines and occasionally offer a limited food menu. Their wines can cover a range for all tastes and appreciation levels, from those who simply prefer wine as their tipple of choice to those who know everything there is to know about their wine.
There are a huge number of wine bars in London, a great centre for a good range of different styles of bars and pubs. London bars offer a great base to start exploring the various types of bar, it is one of the biggest centres in the UK and therefore hosts the largest selection. Wine bars and various London bars (as well as many those in other cities) tend to run their establishments in a modern art deco type style. The decoration and trends followed may not be to everyone’s taste. Many wine bars also work under the title of “Gastro Pubs”. Gastro pubs specialise in high-end food and drinks and can attract a trendy type of crowd into their fold.
The term gastro pub seems to have taken on a different meaning than that originally meant. It seems to be taking on the meaning of pubs that serve high-end food stuffs, as opposed to simply being a pub that also offers food, which was the original meaning; and by that it means hot food. Gastro pubs are also closely associated with wine bars and are working hard to separate their image from that of the humble public house. It can be seen in many cases though that the standard in public houses is rising with the demand being placed on them by the customer to fulfil needs.
Wine bars can be seen by some as being pretentious and “trendy” in the worse possible way. It is, however, possible to find many wine bars that are not like this and are simply specialising in the alcoholic medium of wine. They can be pretentious and it is important that you locate a bar that you feel comfortable in, with or without the pretension. There are many wine bars and gastro pubs now that welcome families and are open more sociable hours and these may be better ones to start out in, until you find the type of place that you want go out to.