A welcome addition

It has to be said that recently the French have mined rich new seams of unpopularity stakes in this country. I'm not sure where I stand on this issue because I'm never totally sure what I think until I've heard what my mouth has to say for itself, and to date my lips have been as neutral as Switzerland on the matter.

Meanwhile, the French have been invading Britain in recent years under the camouflage of the Nicolas chain of wine retail outlets - which, if they haven't already, surely deserve an award for promoting the very best that this Old World wine-producing nation has to offer.

Nicolas is similar to Oddbins in that it employs young, eager staff who portray a demonstrable knowledge of their subject. Unlike Oddbins, where you're likely to be served by someone with a bolt through their nose and tattoos on their forehead, Nicolas employs smart, affable young folk whose raison d'être it is to peddle only French wines.

Denizens of Canary Wharf will already be familiar with Nicolas's le-bar-à-vins concept - an off-licence where you can sit down and enjoy a drink - and now it's Chelsea's turn. The French recently seized control of the gloomy Magpie & Stump pub which, with its renaissance complete, is now a fabulously welcoming den for an oenophile to while away a couple of hours over a bottle of something lovely.

The off-licence is at the front of the building, with the bar at the back and further seating on the lower ground floor. It's a cheery-looking place, decked out in Nicolas's corporate colours of deep red and bright egg-yolk yellow, and there are a dozen or so tables outside that will make for a perfect nesting spot on warm days.

But the really good news is that the wines are charged at off-licence prices. It has been a long time since I walked into a bar that was offering entry-level wines at £1.30 for a glass - a price so cheap it would be rude not to indulge - and you can buy any bottle from the off-licence at the front of the bar at the displayed shelf price.

Given such advantageous pricing, you are left with no excuse not to experiment with more expensive products that you might not consider elsewhere. I tried a bottle of Corton Bressandes Grand Cru (£35.25), followed by a bottle of 1999 Nuits Saint Georges (£33.50). They were both decanted - how civilised - and doubly enjoyable with the realisation that I'd be heading towards a hundred pounds for each bottle in any other bar or restaurant.

The food is delightfully French and comprises an extensive menu that includes a plate of charcuterie (£7.90), a cassoullet of broad beans cooked in tomato sauce with duck confit and Toulouse sausage (£8.50), and wild boar braised in a claret sauce and served with pasta (£8.70). Desserts include chocolate gateau, tarte aux pommes (apple and custard tart) and a warm prune and pear cake with a prune sauce, all priced at £3.60.

If I have a criticism, and I usually do, they could do with lowering the lighting levels in the bar during the evening - may I suggest candles? Otherwise, in terms of value for money, this is the best addition to London's drinking circuit I've come across for a very long time. Vive le Nicolas.

Nicolas Bar à Vins
442 King's Road, SW10 0LQ