This restaurant has now closed.
Urban Coterie knows a thing or two about wine. As a Searcys venue (the group who founded National Champagne Week), the restaurant, skybar and lounge is chock full of the stuff, from the towering wine closet, stocked with hundreds of bottles, to their own mixes blended in Languedoc. It seems a brilliant match therefore, that Guicciardini Strozzi wines, a company with over 1000 years experience, should lead a wine dinner.
The Venue and Atmosphere
Located on the 17th floor of the M by Montcalm building in Shoreditch, Urban Coterie has views of the city from nearly every point of the angular building. The wine dinner took place in the private dining room, with 11 of us sat around a single, communal table, and our hostess, Princess Natalia Guicciardini Strozzi at the head.
Related to Mona Lisa, Winston Churchill and with links to popes and Machiavelli, Princess Natalia has more connections than you’ve had hot dinners. The former ballerina now lends a helping hand to the family vineyard which produces the eponymous Guicciardini Strozzi wines. Located in the Tuscan countryside in Italy, the estate was founded in 994 and now offers tours and truffle hunting for visitors.
Rather than tiaras and diamonds, Princess Natalia was approachable and knowledgeable, so approachable that we all had an invite to the family estate by the end. As the evening wore on, she talked us through the history of the vineyard, what flavours to expect from the wines, and how they were produced.
The restaurant at Urban Coterie has views over London from its floor-to-ceiling windows.
Food & Drink
All good nights start with bubbles and this event was no exception, as flutes of Cusona Brut Vino Spumante were handed out and we were invited to gaze out over London's rooftops before sitting down for a three-course dinner. Everything was paired to perfection. I may be no wine connoisseur - surprising given the copious amounts I consume - but that wasn’t important with the dinner. Indulgently thick soup was matched with a light sweeter bottle and the final course was a one way ticket to wine and cheese paradise.
The artichoke and wild mushroom soup was topped with thin chestnut flakes and was double-cream thick, saved from over indulgence by the light 2014 Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Glasses were topped up endlessly and by the time we reached the first red, a 2015 Chianti, we were more than ready for the chicken fricassee, gnocchi, autumn mushroom and sprout tops. In case there was even a smidgen of space, the cheese board, comprised of four thick slabs, ended our night on a high - made even better by the final glass of 2011 Sodole Toscana Rosso, so deep and oaky it was almost a dessert in itself.
A glass of bubbles while watching the sunset from the 17th floor of M by Montcalm.
Summary
From early morning yoga lessons to cocktail classes, Urban Coterie is not just a Champagne bar with a view, it is also putting on some of Shoreditch's most exciting events, and this dinner was another successful occasion. There were representatives from the vineyard and the supplier (Wine Cellar Club), all of whom were more than happy to impart their knowledge and make the evening a fun and sociable occasion.
For further events at Urban Coterie, take a look at the restaurant page.
