The Wine Press majors in wine. You might have guessed, the clue being in the name and all. But it’s not one of those limited places where it only does what it says on the impressively labelled bottle and nothing else.
Of course, as the apt name suggests, there is a highly impressive selection of wines with plenty available by the glass – and glasses of different sizes – to cater for sippers or slurpers. No token gestures here, with the expertise of the long-established Dundee firm of Aitken Wines and experienced director Patrick Rohde behind it.
For us, a 175ml of Cleefs Classic Selection Pinotage came in at a very reasonable £4.80 and a bottle of Marcel Martin Cabernet Sauvignon was £16 on the table.
All ages and stages of people seem to like to congregate there and the characterful and well-laid-out venue has a buzz about it and a really convivial atmosphere that it would be hard to create anywhere that didn’t go out of its way to provide good quality food, drink and service. Not that it’s at all stuffy or intimidating. The wines are seriously good and the staff are well-informed, but the feel is relaxed, informal and welcoming. No need to worry about not knowing your marsala from your merlot here – you can learn as you drink if you feel so inclined.
Not being primarily an eatery, the menu isn’t huge – the food is very much an accompaniment to the wines – but it’s well-chosen and well executed, with the emphasis on local and on freshly cooked. There’s imagination going on as well in the assembly of everything from sandwich fillings to salad garnishes.
There’s a clever selection of small-scale “pica” offerings – literally, to pick at – featuring olives, breads and two very nice salady dishes, one of sun-dried tomato and mozzarella and one featuring grilled halloumi (Cypriot cheese) which went down well in both whetting and satisfying the appetite for starters. You get two for seven quid, so you could certainly treat yourself to one or two of these for a light lunch (with a glass of wine if you feel particularly bohemian in these days of “al desko” eating for workers) and not feel under-nourished.
There was also a delicious, coarse-textured hog roast (ie pork) pate with apple which came over as more of a terrine to me but was none the worse for that, full of flavour and juicily edible (£5.50), with a nice tomato chutney. The bread served with it comes from Barnett’s of Anstruther and was absolutely excellent, crusty and light at the same time.
Another starter (not quite for ten but we were getting pretty close to it by this time) was bruschetta (£6.95), featuring delicious nuggets of melting cheese and plenty of tomato and herbs, atop a hunk of focaccia, rather than the traditional crusty slices.
There are three sharing boards – charcuterie, cheese from the excellent Exchange Street Cheesery, just along the road and veggie. We opted for the meaty one (£11) and it came loaded with four different types of salami and ham, bread, chutney and well-dressed salad, featuring tiny cubes of sweet, ruby-red beetroot. Plenty for two so no need to fight over the best bits. There was also a sandwich special on offer featuring pastrami and cheese American style, for around a fiver.
Other mains included a chicken, bacon and leek pie (£6.95), shaped like a Scotch pie rather than the oval or square style, again with the house salad. It was fresh, tasty and packed with filling; there was also a very tempting venison version which was Peh of the Day but I couldn’t see past a bowl of beef bourguignon, served with salad, new potatoes and bread (£8.95). This was delicious, full of beef chunks and a really good gravy (some red wine in there, I suspect), the kind of thing that you always wish you’d gone for when your pal has ordered it and you haven’t. I wasn’t generous enough to share any of it, apart from a rather grudging taster bite, in exchange for a morsel of the excellent pie.
Puds aren’t a priority but there are good scones and caramel shortbread on offer and the coffees are reasonably priced – latte and Americano are £2.50 each.
With good, cheerful and very efficient service (the waitress took the trouble to come back and tell me about the bread when I asked about where it was sourced), this is a well-run and well-stocked operation whose food complements its wines both in terms of choice, style, good ingredients and casual but carefully planned dishes.
The wine is the star but the grub certainly more than holds up as a fine supporting player.
The Wine Press
16 Shore Terrace
Dundee
01382 204444
Price: from £3.50 for a “pica” starter to £11 for a sharing board.
Food: 8/10
Menu: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Total: 39/50
