There are some restaurants from which one must resolve to forever forfeit one’s heart (and money) the moment one first steps over the threshold. For me, Bistro Freddie is one of them. It’s all long candles and white tablecloths, with a nicotine-cream paint job and an open, inviting dining room. Its by-the-glass red is a bistro-style Syrah, lightly chilled, as is customary in those 9th arrondissement/Shoreditch-type places. Here, however, instead of buying it by the bottle, reusable vessels are refilled from a keg. Wine director Alexandra Price reckons they save around 100 bottles a month, plus the labels become increasingly crimson from the constant refilling, which is, ostensibly, part of the charm. £7.50 a glass
