Review 2020

Gezellig, from the Dutch, Gezelligheid (conviviality) is the surprisingly catchy name given to the restaurant and private dining rooms at the former Shanghai Blues at Holborn Town Hall. It is elegantly masterminded by Wieteke Teppema (formerly of Roberson Wines, Viajante, The Square, The Ledbury and Harvey Nichols) who, as designer and project manager, realised the blueprint resourcefully. “My friends tell me I have short arms and long pockets,” she jokes. She is joined by head chef, Graham Long (Elystan Street, The Chancery, Pied à Terre), and James Comyn (Howard Ripley wines). Rebecca Mascarenhas is a backer (Elystan St and Kitchen W8) and Andrew Johnson (Wood Winters) who describes it as “a refuge for the wine trade,” is a non-executive director.

On opening during last year’s London Wine Fair, the team immediately courted the wine trade and wine collectors, extending the “tool” of complimentary corkage which persists during quieter periods. “We reached the right crowd,” says Teppema. “Rarely did anyone come in with a bottle of Wolf Blass.” Instead, guests bring cherished bottles, “and I’ll work with Graham on a bespoke menu, the benefit being we can taste fantastic wines at the same time.”

Olive green, the dining room resounds with a playlist of “ye old classics,” says Teppema. “I turn 40 this year making me a dinosaur on the restaurant floor, so all the young kids born in 2001 are getting their music education as well as their wine education here.”

Long’s “hearty, classy” dishes may include: game faggots with Madeira consommé, ash-crusted venison, and rose veal cutlet, although serious attention is also given to vegetarian dishes. Finish with an actual “Builder’s Tea & a Biscuit” or arguably better, serving of 1920s Blandy’s Bual Madeira.

The pillars of the dining soar rise to the mezzanine where snacks such as stewed suckling pig Bitterballen balls with sweet mustard are available. “Chesterfields here are a tongue-in-cheek reference to members’ clubs,” says Teppema. For larger bookings look no further than the two umber-coloured private dining rooms by Long’s large kitchen.

“Not a brain-dump but selective,” Teppema’s “quite self-explanatory” list runs to 300 bins and is “drawn from close to 20 suppliers whom I trust and who offer a lot of support.” At sweet-spot of £60 per bottle, Riesling and Grüner Veltliner may be found. Of a 2012 of the latter, Teppema says, “lovely to try them with a bit of bottle age – and they don’t break the bank.” Also expect the odd Dutch spirit including Genever.

Service is “ergonomic”, says Teppema, with the front-of-house team, who wear their own clothes under green aprons, instructed, “not to top-up water or wine.” Not only is this less claustrophobic style popular with guests – but it also results in “40% less work to do on the floor.”

When not at Gezellig, Teppema enjoys rock climbing and visiting her friends at The 10 Cases and Noble Rot.

By Douglas Blyde. 

Review 2019

Try pronouncing “Gezellig” without forming a smile? Deriving from the Dutch, Gezelligheid, meaning conviviality, the name for the 140-cover venue was applied by Dutch of origin, Wieteke Teppema, who acted as the project manager, and, having received a vertigo-inducing fee proposal from an interior architect, the interior designer, too.

Formerly of Roberson Wines, restaurants, Viajante, The Square and The Ledbury, and also Harvey Nichols, Teppema is part of a triumvirate of talent comprising head chef, Graham Long (Elystan Street, The Chancery, Pied à Terre), and James Comyn (Howard Ripley wines). Further investment comes care of restaurateur, Rebecca Mascarenhas (Elystan St and Kitchen W8) and non-executive director, Andrew Johnson (Wood Winters), who believes Gezellig has the potential to offer “refuge for the wine trade.”

Located in the handsome former public library of Holborn Town Hall (previously Burger and Lobster and Shanghai Blues), Gezellig was “three years in the pipeline,” says Teppema, with the original plan being “a shack in Hackney,” adds Long, who would “have fallen off my seat three years ago if you told me we’d be here.”

Filled with the affirmative soundtrack of David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, the dining room shares a similar olive colour to 67 Pall Mall. The star feature is the wall of images relating to the lives of the founding three amigos, “and our neuroses” jokes Long. “We’re trying to give a feeling of home,” adds Teppema, “though my home doesn’t have double height ceilings!” Meanwhile, mallard green pillars rise to the clubby mezzanine where the best seat is the banquette in the bay window. “Chesterfields are a tongue-in-cheek reference to members’ clubs,” she adds. For bookings over six, guests can reserve one of two umber-coloured private dining rooms beside Long’s large kitchen, featuring ornate original window handles, cookery books, and a drinks’ globe.

Teppema’s “quite self-explanatory” list runs to 350 bins, “drawn from 15 suppliers whom I trust,” with the sweet-spot being £50-60 per bottle. “It’s pretty classic in taste, not subverting to the dogma of natural for natural sake: wine needs to be correct,” she says. It may include top year Haut-Brion at retail price, a magnum of respectable Côte de Nuits-Villages from Comyn’s former employer, or an Oregon Gamay from self-described “drink tank”, The Craft Wine Co.

Service is “ergonomic”, says Teppema, and, conscious of the criticisms sommeliers receive for imposing additional bottles of wine on guests, she has instructed her front-of-house team, who wear their own clothes under green aprons, “not to top-up water or wine.” Of guests being encouraged to perform DIY drinks service, Long reasons, “we’re all grown-ups, and I’m not cutting up their food for them!”

Served on “white plates with a matt finish”, Long, who became known as “Captain Bailout” in recent months owing to his ability to calm kitchens quickly, describes dishes as “hearty and classy, fine food, not fine dining, with, when called for, plenty of butter, cream and salt.” These may include, served on the mezzanine, duck heart kebabs, a veal sweetbread slider with truffle coleslaw, and hazelnut ice cream with Frangelico liqueur. In the dining room, expect a chicken, leek and foie gras terrine with warm morel vinaigrette, a suckling pig to share with anchovy and Jansson’s Temptation, then apricot and chamomile tart. Given the generous space below decks, butchery is done on site, with carcasses kept on Himalayan salt blocks.

Teppema hopes Gezellig here in London’s “mid-town” will form part of a “drinking trail”, which also comprises – located equidistantly – her friends at Noble Rot and The 10 Cases.

By Douglas Blyde.