Tate Britain wine cellar to reopen after £45m refurbishment

The Whistler Restaurant at Tate Britain, renowned for its extensive wine collection and large number of half-bottles, will reopen with a launch party on 18 November following the completion of a £45 million restoration project.

The wine cellar at The Whistler Restaurant

The project is the initial phase of Tate Britain’s multi-stage redevelopment, known as The Millbank Project.

Opened in 1972, The Whistler Restaurant established a reputation for keenly priced fine wines and a large selection of half-bottles from an extensive cellar featuring predominantly European wines.

Tate Britain said the reopened Whistler would continue to offer one of London’s widest selections of half-bottles.

‘I am not a fan of even the best preservation systems,’ said Hamish Anderson, who has looked after the Tate wine list since 1997.

‘Wine inevitably changes and then spoils once opened,’ he added.

‘We offer a small range by the glass, but it is the 60-plus half-bottles that present the customer with choice, encouraging experimentation along with food and wine matching potential.’

The restaurant will be open daily for lunch and afternoon, but will only open for dinners on the first Friday of every month.

Written by Richard Woodard