Kensington Wine Rooms

Not a bad place to grab a bite to eat after walking around the area, It was crowded for happy hour and we managed to get seated in the last table in the back for dinner.
I had the Smoked haddock, spinach mash, poached egg, grain mustard dressing, which surprisingly a large serving and I only managed to finish half. The poached egg was perfectly poached and the haddock’s smoky flavor contrasted nicely with it.
SO had the Onglet steak (hangar steak) with hand cut ships and watercress which was cooked perfectly. We ordered a glass of wine to accompany our meal (sorry I can’t remember the name but I had a Reisling and SO had a Cab).
The Kensington Wine Rooms is a convenient place if you’re in the area, need a bite to eat and have some decent wine.

Stopped in for a glass or two of wine and a few starters. Unfamiliar with French wines but our server provided two suggested tastings. A contemporary setting, with lots of quiet spots for conversation. At 6pm on Friday its nearly full with a demographic of locales 30– 50 yrs of age. Stayed for 2 glasses of wine each.

I recently moved back to London, so this was my first visit to Kensington Wine Rooms in four years. The concept has changed a bit, as it’s no longer self-​serve. I arrived around 7 PM on a weeknight and it was absolutely packed. I was immediately greeted by a friendly waiter, who managed to find us a couple of barstools off to the side and took our order. Although the wine dispensers are still there, you order off the menu and the waiters serve you from the dispensers. We eventually were able to grab a table, and ordered some bar plates. I recommend the croquetas as well as the prawns & chorizo. The wine list is pricey, but the Cotes du Rhone I had was worth the money. The service was consistently good throughout the evening. I definitely recommend a visit if you’re prepared to pay for premium wine.

Place had the right ambiance, but the overpriced wine and the cold shoulder from the staff made my experience here very unpleasant. Don’t see myself returning.

I’m a bit surprised by all negative reviews below. I went there for my first date and I loved it. Maybe my company has something to do with that but overall I can not find anything wrong with this place! Good wine selection and helpful staff.

40 Wines By The Glass
Visit: October 4
Before I visit a city, I always do a search on Unilocal for wine bars. And Kensington Wine Room was one of the results of my search for London wine bars. I was so excited when I saw that they have 40 self-​serve wine stations. My favorite! I feel like a kid in a candy store with an unlimited budget. I like the option of purchasing just a taste (25 ml), a partial glass (125 ml), or full glass (175 ml). However, the negative reviews almost persuaded me not to visit but I decided to take the risk. I’m glad I did. I greatly enjoyed my experience at KWR.
My husband and I did our own tour of London. We walked from St. Paul’s Cathedral, along the Victoria Embankment, by Buckingham Palace, and through Hyde Park. It was such a lovely day and it was wonderful seeing all the amazing sites of London but by the time we arrived at about 6:30 pm at KWR, we were exhausted. We must have looked like weary, bedraggled tourists but we were cheerily greeted. When we said we wished to dine, the waiter started to walk to the back dining room but I wished to be seated in the front with all the wine machines. He had no problem with my request. I was thoroughly studying the wine list when our waiter returned to take our drink order. We asked him lots of questions about the self-​serve dispensers and the wines. We told him we would like to set up a prepaid card but needed more time to determine the amount. During this time, I found the list of sparkling wines, which are not served through the stations. Since we were tired, we opted to skip the exploration of the wine stations and order wines by the glass. Our waiter was easy going and just went with the flow.
My husband and I ordered a glass of champagne, Reynard Barnier Blanc de Noirs Cuvee Speciale Brut. After taking a day trip to Champagne last year while visiting Paris, we have become quite enamored with champagnes and often try new ones. However, we have not had the pleasure of trying Reynard. This champagne was absolutely delightful and I was glad that KWR offered it by the glass. It had a wonderfully bright acidity with a lovely hint of minerality. It was very refreshing after hiking around London. We munched on some Sicilian Green Olives, which were large, plump, and glistening from a light coating of olive oil. Very tasty.
I ordered the Seared Swordfish topped with a salsa and accompanied by a small green salad and an artful smear of a lime flavored sauce. When the plate was set in front of me, my initial thought was the fish was going to be dry since the filet was on the thin side. But the swordfish was cooked perfectly… moist and fell apart with the touch of the fork. The lime sauce was a little tart and tangy and complimented the subtly hot and sweet salsa. The menu offered a wine recommendation to pair with this dish and I decided to follow the suggestion. The Chenin Blanc from Saumur (Loire Valley) complimented the fish. My husband selected the daily special, which was a white fish we were not familiar with but was a similar to cod or seabass. He told me the fish was delicious.
We decided to round out the wonderful meal with dessert and the KWR continued to impress us with a Raspberry Crème Brulee and a shared glass of port. One of the wait staff came by our table before dessert was delivered and asked if we wanted a second glass for sharing the port. Yes, what a great idea especially since my husband tends to drink quickly. The crème brulee had a fabulous caramelized crust on top and the raspberries spiked up the flavor of the creamy custard. The port was a perfect ending to a great meal.
When we were leaving, I asked one of the wait staff for directions to the nearest Underground station. She was more than happy to help and gave us detailed, easy to follow directions. The entire wait staff provided great service throughout the evening.
If I lived in London, I would be a frequent patron of the Kensington Wine Room.

What an array of reviews, I actually had a decent time, so I’m not sure if I’m the exception or if they are!
We wandered in on a Sunday for an afternoon brunch and drink, we all had some form of eggs benedict and wine. The server’s recommendation was quite good for a dry white, though a little pricey, but I guess I just assumed the area would be as such.
Our brunch was good, not the best I’ve had in London, but certainly worth stopping in for if you’re wandering around Kensington Church St. The servers were lovely, the place wasn’t packed, it was a great place to sit and sip on a sunny weekend day. Maybe it’s a different tune when they’re busy, but on a lazy afternoon they were delightful

Caught up with some fellow ex-​pat friends for a quick drink. The service was a touch on the eccentric side but for the most part they are French so expect more Parisian levels of service. The wine list is impressive as is the by the glass selection. We were helped by at least 3 of the staff. The jamon and cheese sampler plates were very nice and were complimentary pairings to the 98 Rioja they had in the Enomatic machine. If you know your wines, this is a nice stop.

In Kensington ist «Kensington Wine Rooms» wohl die beste Lokation um ein gutes Glas Wein zu geniessen.

It is a shame that a member of the staff was so rude because the wine was decent and so was the food. I asked for our check and he didn’t even look up… came back with it about 5 minutes later… slammed it down and walked away. I understand that you can get busy in a restaurant but you can’t sacrifice service and courtesy to your customers!
I think it’s overrated to be honest.

If I could give this no stars, I would. 15 minutes to be acknowledge after we were seated (incl no drinks); sent 1 appetiser back; sent back the steak «we can’t cook a blue steak as it will be cold» — ridiculous… and they still tried to charge for the steak; first waitress brought wrong drink. And… No-​one cared when we complained. In a word: AWFUL — avoid at all costs — as wonderful alternatives close by.

First night in London… wandered in and sat at the bar.
Bartender was a great guy – drinks settled in and the conversation started flowing. He was in London working on his English; in France, he had a business as a personal coach and was looking forward to taking that business to NYC some day. I had him pick out my dinner for me – he chose steak frites. Mona worked there – she was great and gave me some recommendations on where to try for the rest of my stay.
KWR has a great wine selection, well-​designed rooms, and nice looking crowd. I would highly recommend if you are in the Kensington Neighborhood.

Three words: not so much.
Given the choice, I vastly prefer drinking wine upstairs at the nearby Whole Foods than I do here. Kensington Wine Rooms just isn’t the sort of place you want to linger and chat (really, why else do you go to a wine bar?)
And the unpleasant attitude of the staff member who helped us combined with his unwillingness to be flexible regarding seating arrangement in a near-​empty establishment makes me not eager to return here.

My friend and I wandered into this place on a Saturday afternoon and it was a decent spot to have a glass of wine but really wasn’t anything special.
We asked to be seated by the window but they informed us that they were moving the table that was situated there (really didn’t get the reasoning since I saw people sitting in the same location shortly thereafter). This was a little annoying since we ended up sitting further back in the Wine Room and a couple of our stools were wobbly (it’s the little details that count).
The wine selection was extensive and we did enjoy some decent wine. Definitely not a cheap place to have a glass of wine but I’m not surprised since they do offer a wide selection of wines to choose from. All in all, it was an OK experience.

I really like to go to this place to try new wines. You can buy a pre-​paid card that you then use to try different wines. You can have just a little bit (25ml) or half the glass or a full glass — up to you. I usually end up trying a little bit of 5 – 7 wines and then picking the one for the night. Quite fun when you come with a few friends and chat about the wines you like.

Excellent wine bar with a restaurant on back (I did not eat here). You can purchase a card and sample the wines from the new age wine vendhing machines and buy a glass of one you like. Great selection and good ambiance for a date or catch up with a friend. Try the Altano red from Douro in Portugal. Great value!

Eh. Nothing too special. The place is a cool idea in theory, but it just doesn’t seem to work out like you think it should. Individual wine dispensers actually seemed a bit silly considering the time and effort the servers would have to devote to replacing each bottle once it had finished. Despite an extensive selection of wines by the glass, I didn’t try anything that knocked my socks off. The best thing about this place in my opinion, is its proximity to the Churchill Arms pub, a place I’ve been enjoying since childhood (and by that I mean their Thai food, not the alcohol — promise) :)

Disclaimer: I haven’t tried the food.
Went there on a friday evening to meet 2 friends who were recently engaged. We celebrated with some nice wine, and went off to Arancina nearby for food.
The Kensington Wine Bars functions in an odd but practical way.
You are given a card with a chip. There are wine distributing machines around the room, and each wine has a price (for a sip, a small glass or a large glass). You then take your glass to the distribution machines, enter your card, choose your wine portion, and get it poured out.
Next time you want to sample or have another wine, you do that again.
It’s actually an interesting way to learn about wines, or at least try several. The per glass prices go from the downright cheap (£3.50) to the insane (£36). A nice place for a glass or two, to unwind after work.
I cannot comment on the food as I did not sample it.
In my short experience, going to the bar to ask for the card, glasses, water, or anything else was much more efficient than waiting for a waiter to come to your table. (that never actually happened)

I like the concept of self serve wine, but it turns out to be quite expensive, and frankly in the end I’d rather have someone pouring and delivering my wine at a nice wine bar. The food is average, service good, location terrific.

Good selection of wines and nice décor at moderately high prices. Unfortunately, subpar food that was smothered in cheese and sauce along with generally rude service… I have never been somewhere that the lights are turned to «very bright» ten minutes before closing, quite rude.

This is a beautiful space for anything from a full dinner to a single later night glass. The «self-​serve» bar of reds is a great idea and offers three size choices for each of about 8 bottles, but is supremely expensive. There are better values on the menu. The «bar snacks» are delicious but also pricey. Great vibe, music, seating options, ambiance — we will definitely return!