Parvinu has now been open for a couple of months. Mr & Mrs Dipsophile visited on a recent Friday evening to see how it was getting on.

We’ve remarked on the wine list before (see below) but now we’ve found something we like drinking (the Chilean chardonnay, £18.50) and we spent a relaxed half hour getting the feel of the place.

It was fairly full, with a very pleasant crowd eating and drinking in a relaxed atmosphere. There were even groups of people drinking and chatting at the great oval dining table, which made it look like a party in some vast Italian villa – really unusual.

Parvinu is a very distinctive place and there is certainly nowhere like it in the area. Given the current economic climate, the upmarket positioning is brave, but it was busy the night we went and we hear that it is generally well frequented.

We hope it continues to do well; in the interest of Parvinu moving from good to great, we put together a (last) list of things we thought could be improved:

The bar. We’re not sure it’s a good idea to have people eating there because it makes it difficult for people to buy a drink – and when they do get served the transaction tends to annoy the people eating at the bar. We would remove the bar seats to give drinkers a clear run.

The flat lighting in the main room. We think that more upbeat lighting could make the main room an absolutely stunning space, rather than the rather gloomy one it is at present.

The soup posters. We still don’t like these, but totally accept that, as Homer Simpson said “beauty is in the eye of the beer holder”

Otherwise, that’s it – no more gripes. We look forward to future visits and will be actively looking to add the “cool” tag to this place as and when it achieves that hard-to-define status.

P.S. We still haven’t eaten there, but some people have added  comments at the end of this post. More comments would be welcome, both on the food and in general.

P.S.S. Parvinu’s wine list and menu are on their website, here

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The Riversniffers are divided on this new addition to the St Margarets drinking/eating scene. Some reckon it will be a great success. Others have their doubts. So Dipsophile hand-picked a panel of seasoned drinkers from the editorial team and paid a visit on a weekend lunchtime. These are the findings of the group.

 What we like

The space It is big – and the furniture, fixtures and fittings are of high quality and give an upmarket impression. Large gilt mirrors, burgundy leather sofas, zinc and wood-topped tables make for a club-like atmosphere.

The spectacular oval dining table – set in its own semi-private area, seats 15 and would be great for a celebrating a significant event.

The loos – magnificent

The photographs – fabulous, distinctive black and white photographs on some of the walls

What we’re not keen on

The lighting – is subdued to the point of gloom. The lighting is so dim that we found ourselves chasing round the room looking for a light to read the wine list by. We also found the little pendant lights over the tables irritating, as they barely enable the reading of menus and generally seeing what you are eating/drinking.

The Riversniffers thought that the lighting should be more dramatic, with pools of bright light contrasting with darker areas to give a more upbeat feel to the place.

The posters on the wall – we thought the pop art posters on the wall clashed with the club-like atmosphere of the rest of the space. Bare walls would actually be an improvement on what’s currently there.

The wine list – is extensive, but our panel found it to be pricey and to some extent obscure. What do we mean by that?

In the UK at present the most popular white wines would probably be sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and maybe Pino Grigio; in reds, maybe Rhone, Rioja or some variety of (ordinary) claret. These volume tipples may be regarded as something of a cliché – and our guess is that Parvinu are trying to avoid being clichéd. Indeed, their wine list is rich in regional varietals.

But if you’re out for the evening with a bunch of friends and you’re looking for something that is familiar to most of the group, what might you choose? Well in whites, the cheapest chardonnay is a Chilean at £18.50, the cheapest sauvignon blanc is £19.50 and the lowest priced French chardonnay (a Chablis) is £32. There isn’t a Pino Grigio. In reds, there’s a Cote du Rhone at £23, a Rioja at £27 and a claret at £62 (admittedly a Grand Cru Classe 1997!)

In fairness we should leave the fabulous claret out of this debate. But we suspect the rest of the prices are slightly beyond the range of most everyday wine drinkers.

They’re also more than the local competition. For example, in an establishment not far from Parvinu you can get a Chablis for £16, just half the price. I suspect the Parvinu example would be better quality but for everyday social drinking would you rather have one glass or two for the same money?

Conclusion (for now)

Parvinu is aimed firmly at an upmarket clientele, with pricing to match. Whether this positioning survives in the current economic climate remains a subject of debate among the Riversniffers.

Any comments?

We wish Parvinu success, but we feel they may need to tune the offering. Riversniffers would be particularly interested in your comments (especially if you’ve eaten there, which we haven’t had a chance to do yet).