Only in London can you do something quirky like sipping wine and getting boozy inside a former Victorian toilet. Rather than going all yucky about it, why not embrace it and see if works?
W.C is an underground wine bar in a former Victorian public toilet underneath Clapham tube station. It serves cocktails with cheese and meat boards too. W.C now stands for ‘Wine & Charcuterie’ in case you were wondering.
If you think the idea of sipping wine in an old Victorian toilet sounds like a stinker, don’t. It’s scrubbed up nicely since then. It still kept some stuff that reminds us of its sanitary past and actually forms part of W.C’s charm. Its kept the original tiles, the original cubicle doors that have now been flipped into tables and cisterns which are fixed overhead. Pushing your way through the big, saloon style doors, you’ll find yourself inside an intimate and low lit room.
As the name suggests, the centrepiece is the meat and cheese board. Sharing is the very ethos of the place. There are small plates to nibbles on starting from £5 to £12. From my experience, they don’t represent the best bang bang for your buck. Skip it and go balls deep for the sharing slates of cured meat and cheesy goodness.
Don’t expect a grand meal. After all, this is a wine bar, not a restaurant. As nice as the sharing platters of cheese and meats are, it won’t satiate your hunger. So eat something before your visit and don’t do what I did and turn up and drink on an empty stomach.
As a wine bar, you’d expect the wine list to be pretty decent and I am happy to report that it is. For those of you who consider themselves a bit of a wine connoisseur and care about these things, the collection of wine is a mix of classic and contemporary wine.
I’m no wine connoisseur so I didn’t care so much. What I do care about is the price. Luckily, this won’t blow a black hole in your savings. A bottle of wine starts from £21 to the more expensive £44 👍
Come with your best friend. Unless you have more luck than an Irishman sitting on a pot of gold, you’ll find it hard going to find a table that will seat all your mates. Plus, W.C operates on a walk-in policy so tables and seats come on a first-come-first-served basis so get here early if possible.
There are three booths that can accommodate up t0 8 people and you can ‘book’ them. But this doesn’t guarantee your booth. Rather, it acts as enquiry and it’s up to W.C to see if they can accommodate your request and get back to you. You can give it a shot on their website.
Sipping wine in a public lavatory is probably the last place you’d think of for a sophisticated evening of wine. But W.C has brilliantly transformed this once dilapidated space into a cosy, charming, intimate venue, perfect for that night in or even a date. Top marks.
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