Excuses come easy at Quality Wines. On a charming little Clerkenwell corner, this day-to-night spot is the kind of place where a post-work glass of orange and a fiery gateway gilda turns into two bottles, a perfect plate of figs under a blanket of manchego, and swapping stories until closing time. It’s that breed of London pleasure den—bottle shop, two small kiss-bait candlelit rooms, and trusted friend in European small plates and wine bar form. Make a cosy corner counter your universe for the evening with someone whose texts you never avoid, or book the 12-seater table for a birthday that whispers ‘my tequila shot era has ended, my Pietramore fizz future has only just begun’. It’s the younger, spontaneous, next-door sibling to Henry VIII enthusiast institution Quality Chop House, where a seasonal mentality means whatever you see on the blackboard menu is likely to be gone the next time you return. Vegetarian numbers, like a golden plate of yellow pepper tagliatelle, can miss, so let the family penchant for piggies guide you towards anything on the menu that once oinked or grazed. The standouts include melt-upon-nudge lamb shoulder on a bed of butter-adjacent mash, overflowing plates of 24-month-aged ham, and the signature pig fat cannolo that has lulled us into a satisfied ricotta-induced nap more than once. For natural wine converts, fluffy focaccia enthusiasts, and any occasion where existing in a beautiful, borderline fire hazard is a good thing, Quality Wines will relax, romance, and impress. And once your night ends, it’s always easy to think of an excuse to come back.