Last Updated on December 28, 2025
Historic cellars beneath Covent Garden Market are the setting for a unique and friendly wine bar.
4.5 out of 5.0 starsWhile Courtyard Wine Cellars may have only opened in May 2025, visitors could be forgiven for thinking it is a longstanding fixture of the Covent Garden marketplace. Set across seven vaulted, arched cellars dating back to the 1830s, it is discovered by descending the stairs into the central atrium of the market. These brick-lined underground spaces were initially built to provide cool, stable conditions for the fruit, vegetable, and flower stalls that once made this London’s central produce market.
Today, those same conditions lend themselves perfectly to wine. Courtyard Wine Cellars houses more than a thousand bottles from around a hundred regions across ten countries, making it London’s largest wine bar. Racks of bottles line the walls, creating not a cavernous hall but a network of intimate rooms and cosy corners where guests can slip away from the bustle of Central London and enjoy the extensive wine list along with a selection of light dishes.
A thousand bottles might sound daunting, but the team at Courtyard Wine Cellars is well placed to guide guests towards the perfect pour. Every member of staff holds at least WSET Level 2 training, ensuring their recommendations come with both detailed knowledge of the cellar and a professional understanding of wine styles, so they can help you choose with confidence. Many of the wines are poured from magnums (wine nerds rave about the larger bottles for several reasons, including a lower oxygen-to-liquid ratio, resulting in slower, more graceful maturation and finer flavours as the wine evolves) in proportion to the wine. The format also helps ensure a stable temperature by providing more liquid mass, which helps preserve quality over time.
Alongside the wine, Courtyard Wine Cellars has a concise menu with sharing platters, including French and Italian cheeses and charcuterie, plus a bistro-style selection of dishes to complement the drinks. There’s also a retail section so you can buy bottles to take away.
We went along to find out more, starting with the all-too-brief pop-up with Piper Heidsieck, which ran in the main market square, where we enjoyed a ‘Christmas Champagne’ – carefully spiced using a recipe created by manager Sai Krishna. Down in the Courtyard Wine Cellars, we explored the maze of rooms, perfect for private hires or small-group get-togethers. And then sat down to try some of the wines on offer, ably guided by Sai himself.
Along with the wines, we enjoyed a sharing platter of cheese and charcuterie – ours had everything from Manchego and Comte to Brillat-Savarin and from Parma Ham to Salami with breads, pickles, olives and relish. It’s the kind of grazing food that lends itself to meeting up with friends. Courtyard Wine Cellars is one of a group of eleven wine bars in London (the other ten are now on my ‘must visit’ list). It’s a remarkably grounded and unpretentious place in a part of London where a designer label sometimes feels obligatory.
The prices are realistic, with sharing platters from £29.50 and with wines from about £9 a glass or £40 for a bottle. Be assured that what you are getting is a step up from discount plonk and go along with an open mind, ready to enjoy anything from a delicious roseblood, PDO Côteaux Varois en Provence, a classic Provence rosé with notes of jasmine and peach, to a Pinot Noir, Jackson Estate Vintage Widow, from New Zealand, a highly-rated, complex red known for its rich red/black fruit (cherry, plum), savory spice, earth, and elegant, silky tannins.
Make a note of the address – Courtyard Wine Cellars is definitely somewhere to keep in mind when someone asks where you should all meet up!
Courtyard Wine Cellars
17B and 18B The Marketplace,
Covent Garden,
Greater London,
WC2E 8RB
Opening Hours
Monday – Saturday (9 am to 10:30 pm)
Sunday (9 am to 9:30 pm)
Looking for something different? We also recommend Henri, just around the corner in Henrietta Street.
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