London restaurateurs have hit back at claims they are ripping off customers with extortionate wine mark-ups.
The accusation came in a new report by London listings magazine Time Out, which claimed the capital was one of the most expensive cities in the world to drink wine.
The magazine's Eating and Drinking Guide 2006 claimed that while restaurants in other European cities listed well-priced mid-range wines, London eateries regularly multiplied the retail cost of a bottle by three.
Some of London's most renowned restaurants were named and shamed as the worst offenders, with Gordon Ramsay's Angela Hartnett at the Connaught, the Ritz on Piccadilly, the Greenhouse in Mayfair, the Ivy in Covent Garden and the Ledbury in Notting Hill all outed for their prices.
But London restaurateurs struck back, saying the costs of running a restaurant business necessitated high prices.
Dawn Davies, head sommelier at Nigel Platts-Martin's latest venture, the Ledbury, defended her pricing policy. "I start by multiplying wine in the middle of the list by three and go up or down from there," she said. "That's normal for London - it's what you need to make a profit."
The report said that Davies increased the price of a South African red wine, Flagstone's 2003 Cellarhand Backchat, by a factor of four to £19.50.
Restaurant Association chairman Nick Scade said businesses had to make a profit from somewhere. "If the margins were not there on wine, they would have to be higher on food, but the end bill would be the same for the customer.
"You also have to remember how much tax the Government charges on wine so the cost price starts much higher," he said.
Some London restaurants manage to avoid heavy mark-ups, with Ransome's Dock in Battersea, Andrew Edmunds in Soho, Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea and RSJ on the South Bank all praised by the guide for more reasonable prices.
"We keep wine costs down by importing directly from France and by focusing on one region of the country," said RSJ owner Nigel Wilkinson. "I also prefer to see a throughput of wine, rather than sitting on a huge stock, which costs money in itself."
Martin Lam, chef-proprietor of Ransome's Dock, said mark-ups had gone too far. "Costs don't have to affect a wine to the extent they do. All that bleating about London rent and rates is just a lot of nonsense," he said.
By Jessica Gunn
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