DRINK BETTER, NOT MORE: THE POWER OF POSITIVE DRINKING: Marie Kitney writes about her recent trip to Epernay in The Electric Press …
Nestled in a corner of one of Leeds’ most striking ex-industrial buildings – The Electric Press – is one of the city’s only two champagne bars (I’m not counting that 360 place in Trinity Kitchen, sorry). Épernay, under the guiding hand of head barman Jamie Rowe, is edging evermore into Leeds’ increasingly prohibition-style classic bar scene, so when we heard there were some exciting menu launches afoot to complement the bar’s impressive champagne and cocktail selection, we were dying to find out more.
We were greeted with a glass of the bar’s chardonnay-based house bubbly Ayala, which is the sister house of Bollinger and fresh and light enough to enjoy before food. At £6.20 a glass, Ayala is suitably decadent yet considerably cheaper than many a standard cocktail these days in Leeds.
Épernay is aiming for a ‘Champagne for everyone!’ vibe, with bottles priced between £37 and £190. I must admit this ambition strikes me as somewhat naïve; after all, I go to Épernay and buy champagne generally when there’s something to celebrate, or when it’s been a particularly crappy week. I don’t actually want everyone to drink champagne all the time, otherwise where would be the fun in champagne? Half of the appeal is in its exclusivity. Having said that though, I am reliably informed that Gordon Ramsay sells Epernay’s house champagne for £75 in his restaurant (almost double the price it is here), which is pretty good whether you’re buying for a treat or just because it’s Tuesday.
There are some novel ideas afoot at Épernay too, with a snail race (read: eating escargot) planned for Le Grand Depart in July, the starting line of which is actually just outside the Electric Press. There are also plans to start running cocktail masterclasses as well as champagne tasting sessions, so follow these guys on Twitter @epernayleeds if you’re into that sort of thing because the website doesn’t give much away.
Whilst the whole ‘champers for everyone’ idea might sound a touch misguided, what does make this place properly accessible is the knowledge and sincerity of its staff. You expect this kind of welcome at a bloggers event, but my dining partner came here a month or two ago and, being something of a grape connoisseur herself, was delighted to receive a full explanation of the vintage when ordering a bottle of bubbly for a treat.
Not wanting to restrict revellers to bubbles only – but also in a bid to broaden the horizons of the ‘got any Carlsberg luv?’ crowd, Épernay also do a pretty nifty line in little-known Hawaiian bottled beers. I’m personally not a huge fan of the craft beer movement (do we really need designer beer?) but am nonetheless easily swayed by a hand-drawn logo and an exotic-sounding appellation, and these beers and ales from Honolulu have been specifically drafted in to answer the growing demand for German craft beers. There’s a rhubarb IPA which fits nicely with the bar’s nod towards interesting flavours (more on rhubarb later).
Whilst champagne and cocktails remain what the bar is all about, it is good to know that they are answering customer need. Épernay has been in Leeds for 9 years now and they’re only just getting their first beer on draft (locally-brewed Leodis from Leeds Brewery, available in schooners for £3.80) which, when the management themselves say that 1 in 3 customers ask ‘what’s on draft?’ does make me wonder ‘what took you so long?’
Guided drinks tour over, we were left to enjoy what we’d truly come for: to try out Épernay’s new tapas menu. My dining partner and I both being vegetarian (soz), we opted out of the crispy chorizo and homemade meatballs that the 6-dish tapas board is usually served with, and instead enjoyed a smorgasbord of grilled artichokes, sundried tomatoes, greek olives, mozzarella ball, lashings of black olive tapenade, and a particularly sweet balsamic vinegar steeped in olive oil. I’m a relatively recent convert to olives and these were a real treat; huge, flavoursome bursts of green and black that take several bites to eat. The mozzarella was good too; with a creamy but solid enough consistency to slice satisfyingly. At £26 for two glasses of Ayala and a board of 6 little tapas to share, the value is comparable with other offerings in the area.
There’s no on-site chef; the food arrives pre-prepared daily and the bar staff have all been trained to assemble. It comes from delivery chain Deli fresh and is not all locally-sourced, but then there aren’t that many olive groves in LS1 so what do you expect? The exception is the bread though. The twisty loaf from Howard’s Continental in Harrogate is both brown and white, but not in the Hovis Best of Both vein but actually one twisty half brown and one twisty half white, which is good if one of your party has a strong preference. My biggest bugbear with tapas and cheese boards is having to ration chunks of lovely lovely food to a meagre slither of bread, or the miserly handful of wafer thin biscuits that accompany the otherwise sumptuous boards at Friends of Ham and such like. That’s one thing that the boards at Epernay do not suffer from; whatever you think of the tapas content itself, you’ll not be left with a dearth of carbs to soak it all up. This is the true meaning of a ‘hunk’ of bread.
Now for a real treat – head barman Jamie Rowe and a selection of Épernay classics as well as a sneak preview of some of his own concoctions. Reading over my notes I was struck by the rather comically out of context scribble, ‘Jamie has a dry palette’, but Jamie’s personal preferences haven’t effected his ability to design a cocktail menu that’s as eclectic as it is well-conceived; there really is something for everyone.
Having lived in Leeds for longer than Épernay has, I tend to overlook the occasion when I went in and described in the least articulate terms my favourite flavours and was served with – I kid you not – the nicest cocktail I have ever tasted, devised specifically to suit my boozy preferences. It was something bubbly and elderflowery but not the standard one from the menu, if you’re interested. And that’s the thing; the cocktails at this place are truly outstanding. Never mind the champagne (also lovely, obvs); not only is Epernay’s cocktail menu extensive but these guys genuinely know their liquor and will happily wax lyrical on distillery methods and flavour combinations until the wee hours.
Jamie comes from good cocktail stock, having earned his stripes at Malmaison, the Maven and subsequently Angelica. There’s no flaring or pretension going on here; Jamie is one of those proper career barmen (he called himself a liquid chef – too much?) with ambitions to ‘champagnise’ the range of classic cocktails on offer. Épernay’s box-room sized expansion to accommodate the food prep area has also given Jamie access to something he’s rarely had before: saucepans. This has meant that he can now indulge in creating syrups and infusions, with an eventual aim to do away with the shelves of branded spirits on offer and bottle and sell Epernay’s own (did you know they have an off license until 8pm? Handy). We were treated to an as-yet-unnamed sour infused with the dubiously-titled ‘Bruce’s Rhubarb’ which, determined not to like, I immediately succumbed to.
Many of the new additions to the cocktail menu are being devised around colour, as opposed to flavour, combinations. We were treated to an as-yet-unnamed pinky number that contained rose water, brown sugar, Jamie’s (or Bruce’s?) homemade rhubarb syrup, rhubarb liqueur and rose champagne. It was divine. But don’t worry, the bar’s most popular classics such as the pornstar martini won’t be going anywhere. Jamie’s cocktail revolution will be phased in with traditional Épernay favourites. One thing I particularly like about the menu which will hopefully remain intact is the fact that it’s structured according to glass size and shape, not grouped by flavours, so if you know you want something long and tall, you can find it dead quick.
Someone once described this place to me as ‘a very good first date bar’ and, despite the regeneration of their drinks offering and the fact that food is now being served, it doesn’t feel like that reputation is going anywhere anytime soon. Fashion has a shelf life whereas style is timeless, and the genuine enthusiasm of staff and high-end drinks on offer mean that Épernay has found a way to be fashionable in a stylish kinda way. I’m still not convinced that ‘champagne for everyone’ is the way to go, but if you are going to treat yourself to some genuinely awesome cocktails and/or glass of fizz, you could do a far lot worse than this place.
Épernay’s new cocktail menu will be launched at the end of this month and I for one cannot wait to work my way through it. Champagne for everyone….? Nah. Cocktails for all? YES.