The 10 Cases

About the Bistrot à Vin | The 10 Cases

The 10 Cases is an unpretentious, buzzing little Bistrot with wine as its main focus.

We only ever buy 10 cases of the wines that you will find on our short list in order to constantly try new things rather than settle for a list of old favourites.

We have 10 tables, which you can book for lunch or dinner.

Our Head Chef, Cathal O'Malley produces a seasonal menu revolving around a monthly changing offering of 3 starters, mains and desserts, tapas style dishes, sharing plates and a selection of daily changing specials.

We are open for both lunch and dinner Monday to Thursday (12pm-3pm, 5pm-11pm) & all day Friday & Saturday (12pm-11pm).

http://www.the10cases.co.uk

Reviews and related sites

The 10 Cases, 16 Endell Street, London WC2 | The Independent

Review analysis
menu   staff   food   drinks   ambience   desserts  

The 10 Cases has as its concept an extremely limited choice in both food and wine.

Its name derives from owners Ian Campbell and Will Palmer's determination to offer a very tightly edited wine list, with 10 cases each of 10 reds and 10 whites.

A cover charge of £1.50 a head covers good baguette and olives, but we pimp them with some pungent roasted garlic and slices of saucisson sec (£3 each from the frugal bar menu) before our meal – great with wine and conversation, not so great for the dating classes or those due to be in the confined space of a theatre afterwards... Mr M chooses a 2008 St Joseph from Domaine du Monteillet at £32, which is complex and fruity, a good foil, particularly for his line-up of hot smoked-salmon salad and roast saddle of lamb.

And getting that combo right (all starters around £5, all mains about £15) is a slight glitch for this place; with so little choice, one has to be careful not to end up with two meaty dishes, and not to get crushed potatoes with both starter and main, as Mr M did.

About £80 for two, including wine This unlicensed canteen – tucked away in a former school bike shed – is a hidden gem, serving simple but perfect cuisine at low prices The homely canteen annexe of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's food store is nothing special in service or ambience, but the rustic food is honest and comes in massive portions Just how a gastropub should be.

The 10 Cases, London, restaurant review - Telegraph

Review analysis
food   menu   drinks   staff  

Childhood indolence never ceases to plague us down the decades, it occurred to me the other night after going 23 minutes without getting one right on University Challenge ; but until a recent lunch the one subject to which I never regretted paying zero attention was mime.

But that may be excused considering the challenge of turning a profit in a tiny space with wine prices as decent as these.

The food was generally good as well, though the most memorable dish stood out for its novel presentation.

“Nothing clever or showy, just excellent wine and nice, rustic food served by nice, friendly people,” said my friend as we finished the albariño.

I nodded, and made a waggling gesture in the waitress’s direction, “And it seems to have worked miracles,” he muttered when the bill arrived within moments, “on your ability to mime.”

The 10 Cases - London Restaurant Reviews | Hardens

Review analysis
menu   drinks   food   desserts  

A basic Covent Garden bistro offering an ever-changing wine selection, and a menu of brutal simplicity; an early-days visit suggested this appealing-sounding formula is in need of a little refinement.

A bistro named after its ever-changing wine selection: ten whites and ten reds, all bought in (at most) ten case parcels.

Offer straightforward food to go with it, and serve it in a cramped and decidedly no-nonsense setting handy for, say, the Royal Opera House.

Rather similarly, the list of still wines seemed disappointingly straightforward for a place that plays on its wine appeal.

Three main courses always available, and a changing, but very small, selection of more transient plats, most so straightforward that their description requires no more than a couple of words.

The 10 Cases, 16 Endell Street, London WC2 | The Independent

Review analysis
menu   staff   food   drinks   ambience   desserts  

The 10 Cases has as its concept an extremely limited choice in both food and wine.

Its name derives from owners Ian Campbell and Will Palmer's determination to offer a very tightly edited wine list, with 10 cases each of 10 reds and 10 whites.

A cover charge of £1.50 a head covers good baguette and olives, but we pimp them with some pungent roasted garlic and slices of saucisson sec (£3 each from the frugal bar menu) before our meal – great with wine and conversation, not so great for the dating classes or those due to be in the confined space of a theatre afterwards... Mr M chooses a 2008 St Joseph from Domaine du Monteillet at £32, which is complex and fruity, a good foil, particularly for his line-up of hot smoked-salmon salad and roast saddle of lamb.

And getting that combo right (all starters around £5, all mains about £15) is a slight glitch for this place; with so little choice, one has to be careful not to end up with two meaty dishes, and not to get crushed potatoes with both starter and main, as Mr M did.

About £80 for two, including wine This unlicensed canteen – tucked away in a former school bike shed – is a hidden gem, serving simple but perfect cuisine at low prices The homely canteen annexe of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's food store is nothing special in service or ambience, but the rustic food is honest and comes in massive portions Just how a gastropub should be.

Parsons Seafood Restaurant | Covent Garden

The 10 Cases, London, restaurant review - Telegraph

Review analysis
food   menu   drinks   staff  

Childhood indolence never ceases to plague us down the decades, it occurred to me the other night after going 23 minutes without getting one right on University Challenge ; but until a recent lunch the one subject to which I never regretted paying zero attention was mime.

But that may be excused considering the challenge of turning a profit in a tiny space with wine prices as decent as these.

The food was generally good as well, though the most memorable dish stood out for its novel presentation.

“Nothing clever or showy, just excellent wine and nice, rustic food served by nice, friendly people,” said my friend as we finished the albariño.

I nodded, and made a waggling gesture in the waitress’s direction, “And it seems to have worked miracles,” he muttered when the bill arrived within moments, “on your ability to mime.”

Restaurant review: 10 Cases | Life and style | The Guardian

Review analysis
drinks   food   value   menu  

Meal for two, including wine and service, £90 The 10 Cases is the restaurant equivalent of one of those people you know you should fancy, but can't – not quite.

From the reds a classic bit of dense, big-fisted Bordeaux for £8.60 a glass from the house (though not the vineyards) of Haut Brion, and a Manium Mencia from northwest Spain.

If you have ever wanted to experiment with wines, to range far and wide during a meal, 10 Cases is the place to do it.

The nibbles – a bowl of radishes for £3, anchovies at the same price, roasted garlic, grilled octopus, sweet oily slices of saucisson or a thimble of brown potted crab which had about it the smooth, retro aspect of Shippam's paste (for the nostalgics) – are unchanging.

And there's a handful of dishes that are on every day: a duck-egg and bacon salad, a whole lemon sole, a beef fillet and so on.

Parsons, London: 'Food you can't forget' – restaurant review | Life ...

Review analysis
food   drinks   menu  

Parsons is a small fish restaurant, recently opened by the team behind the wine-based bistro 10 Cases.

Other side dishes sound like dinner all by themselves: there are coarse-cut pork chipolatas, made on site and seasoned with handfuls of seaweed, to give them a ripe kick of umami.

By now I am making mental notes of those quick, casual lunches I could sneak off for here: perhaps the clam chowder with some potted shrimp croquettes on the side for less than £15; the pork and seaweed chipolatas with lobster mash for £17.50; a steak sandwich and Welsh rarebit for a tenner.

Westerns Laundry, the second venture from the team behind Primeur nearby in north London, is not solely a fish restaurant, but does lean more to sea than land.

Meanwhile, pasta restaurant Burro e Salvia in London’s East Dulwich has also gone.

10 Cases | Bars and pubs in Covent Garden, London

Review analysis
drinks   food  

The wooden chairs and tables spilling on to the pavement beneath a wide blue awning, the small room with its white walls, the bonhomie of the chef and patron, the buzz of a contented local crowd – all play to the popular image of a French wine bar.

But you’d be hard-pressed to find as considered, interesting and wide-ranging a wine list across the Channel.

The ‘10 cases’ of the name refer to the maximum quantity bought in, which keeps the line-up fresh and seasonal.

The 20-plus wines on the list, available by glass, carafe and bottle, will likely be gone when you next visit – a shame, if the quality of much of what we tried is any indicator.

If you’re here mainly for wine, decamp to the shop next door where you can drink in small quantities from Enomatic dispensers or pay £12 corkage to quaff your purchase, along with a few meat, cheese or salad plates.

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