Lady of the Grapes

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A French Bistro Built Around Women and Wine

Founded by Carole Bryon in 2018, Lady of the Grapes occupies a quietly distinctive corner of Covent Garden on Maiden Lane. It is an independent modern French bistro and organic wine bar with a clear point of view: every bottle on the list is made by a female winemaker. That commitment is not a marketing angle — it shapes the entire wine programme and gives the place a coherence that is immediately felt.

The Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, earned for 2025, reflects the seriousness of that curation. The list focuses on organic, biodynamic, and minimal-intervention wines made with indigenous yeasts, low or no added sulfites, and without unnecessary additives. The result is a selection that, in the restaurant's own words, tells "the story of the land they come from."

The Team

General Manager Monique Seongah Kim oversees the floor, while Head Chef Matyas Plzak drives the kitchen. Together they deliver what the restaurant describes as simple, seasonal, modern French cuisine — classic bistro inspiration handled with contemporary creativity, and matched to a sommelier-curated wine selection.

What to Eat

The food menu is built around sharing plates, with the kitchen recommending two to three dishes per person. The French cuisine leans on high-quality, artisan-sourced ingredients: Carlingford oysters with mignonette, Brandade croquettes with crème fraîche and trout roe, Lobster Tartelettes with bisque and bottarga, and Veal Tartare with juniper egg yolk and black garlic. Larger plates include Seared Seabass with courgette and sauce verte, and Hereford Beef Flat Iron with black pepper sauce and morels.

The charcuterie board draws from French producers — Rosette de Lyon aged four months, Jambon Noir de Bigorre cured for 24 months, Goat Saucisson from Rhône-Alpes — alongside an impressive cheese selection spanning raw Swiss cow's milk rounds, aged Comté, Loire goat cheeses, and seasonal rarities like Wild Garlic La Bouse from Emmental. Desserts keep things precise: a Paris-Brest and a Custard & Rhubarb Tart.

The Atmosphere

The room is warm and welcoming without being fussy — a wine bar that takes its food seriously, and a bistro that takes its wine list even more seriously. It suits a long lunch as well as a relaxed dinner, and the small-plates format encourages sharing and exploration, both on the plate and in the glass.

A second location near Borough Market at London Bridge is set to open in June 2026, bringing the same modern French approach — and the same all-female winemaker ethos — to a new neighbourhood.