London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Inside London's Worst-Kept Secret, Gordon's Wine Bar

It is London's worst-kept secret. A hidey hole of Bolly bottles frosted with dust, wooden slabs laden with gooey bries and pickles, and jaundiced press cuttings of Royal weddings and coronations. It thrums with Londoners and non-Londoners, the condensation of their grapey sweat trickling down its cave-like walls. Everyone's been here dozens of times. They'll come back for the rest of their wine-drinking lives.

But every night, someone uninitiated will shuffle down the steps into Gordon's Wine Bar's fusty parlour and let out a little gasp. Candles glimmer. Corks pop. Glasses clink. People... talk to one another. A friendly punter passes you a leather-bound menu. A barman hands you a petite glass of Argentinean malbec. Your life will never be the same again. You don't forget your first time at Gordon's.

Who was Gordon?

Surely all cannot be what it seems. Surely Gordon's is a themed bar, hollowed out and knocked up by some enterprising soak of a yuppie in the early 2000s? Surely all those prints of gauche kings, queens, princes and princesses were bought in a job lot off eBay, pasted up to create the illusion of a drunken hermit's lair lost to time, and only crowbarred open decades later?

Wrong. The seed of Gordon's was planted in 1394. The Gordon in question was Arthur 'Staff' Gordon, the owner of a property on this site who was a 'free vintner', permitted to sell wine anywhere he liked by Edward III. (The pissed-up monarch had some wine-quaffing debts to settle.) The place didn't become an actual wine bar until 1890 — the same year Rudyard Kipling was scribbling The Light That Failed in the room above.

It closed again at some point (not before hosting the likes of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh for a swig) but in a corkscrewed twist of fate in 1972, a gravelly-voiced sherry lover by the name of Luis Gordon (unrelated to the previous Gordon family) took the place over. He turned it into the dank retreat from reality we've come to escape to, whenever we're in need of a drink or three.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×