Hot Dinners can still remember how excited we were the first time we got to put the enomatic machine at Selfridges Wonder Bar through its paces (and are in mourning for the disappearance of Bar Pepito's machine). So we're counting the days until the opening of new Knightsbridge restaurant Galoupet which will feature the aptly-named Flute - London's first champagne enomatic machine.
The Flute will offer four champagnes by the glass covering a range of vintage and non-vintage wines. You can expect there to be some Provencal fizz, one very good vintage champagne, one of the recognisable Grande Marques and an interesting new world sparkling wine or crémant. As operations director Shaan Mahrohtri explains, 'The beauty of having the machine is the fact that we can hold a bottle of fizz for about 10 days so we can offer more interesting wines.'
The food offering at Galoupet doesn't sound too shabby either. Head chef Chris Golding, formerly of Zuma and Nobu Berkeley Street, will be serving up an all-day dining menu with a range of healthy dishes, drawing on Mediterranean and Asian influences. The wine list will be chosen quarterly by a series of guest sommeliers ranging from well-known wine writers to sommeliers from top London restaurants. Front of house - the manager will be Vychith Heuang Praseuth who you may remember from Sake No Hana or Asia de Cuba.
Galoupet opens on Beauchamp Place on 6 June 2011.
