Le Cave à Fromage Review

Best for: Cheese, cheese and more wonderful cheese.

Great: yeh, you've guessed it, CHEESE!!

Growing up, I loved books. Then I started learning about what's good and what is supposedly drivel. After 17 years of shame-inducing education, I still love books but, if I do succumb to a charity shop Jodi Picoult, I feel the urge to keep it hidden behind a dog-eared copy of Bum Sex magazine in an attempt to preserve my dignity, while travelling on the tube. Even then, make sure to wear a t-shirt bearing the legend 'My other book's a Franzen' just in case anyone does catch a glimpse.

Now I've gone and done the same for cheese. For all of these years I've been labouring under the impression that I liked cheese. Now I know that all that muck I've been eating wasn't cheese but rubbery callow interlopers.

It's all down to La Cave a Fromage, a dinky glass-fronted fromagerie, just round the corner from South Kensington tube, that twice a month throws open it's doors, for a tasting session.

It's a cute setting, where you're seated on tall stools, surrounded by the deliciously whiffy produce, while your own samples sit temptingly on a small plate in front of you. (Tip: don't turn up ravenous, or waiting to start the tasting is like small torture.)

When we did kick off, we were taken through six cheeses, and six complimenting wines, none of which I've heard of, all of which I greatly enjoyed. What started with a nutty Reblochon from Savoie, ended with the piece de resistance, a slab of mouthwateringly heavy Blue de Gex, with four other pleasing cheeses in between.

You get more than the cheese and wine for the £35 ticket price. Manager Nicholas is a entertaining host, and though he admits he 'no naffin abow chiz' (he's French, I haven't had a stroke), the store’s other pros do, and his effusive, warm personality makes him a great guide for the night.

The small shop is crammed with up to 25 keen tasters, so there's a good atmosphere too, at once buzzing and intimate. It would be a perfect night for a low key birthday do. Book ahead though, it's a popular event and is booked up well in advance. The themes of the evening change (ours was winter cheeses), so they get a few knowledgeable regulars amongst the first timers like me.

So yeah, now I know a bit about cheese. Good cheese. I'm not saying that you won't see my in the dairy aisle of Tesco, sneaking a few blocks of BOGOF Cathedral City into my basket, but now when I do, I'll be filled with nothing but shame as I hide it beneath my copy of the Guardian and wholewheat pasta.

That said, I can't risk any of my other lowly pleasures being labelled as guilty. If you ever hear of me planning to attend a red wine tasting, I implore you to stop me by any means necessary. You can take my Dairylea Triangles but you'll never take my Jacob's Creek....read more

Kate Williams 15 Dec 2010

Le Cave à Fromage Description

La Cave a Fromage is one of London's best cheese shops and is located in South Kensington, a stone's throw from the underground station. The shop was opened in 2007 by Eric Charriaux and Amnon Paldi, the founders of Premier Cheese. Premier Cheese supplies some of the country's top Michelin starred restaurants including Le Gavroche and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and Tom Aikens.

Customers and diners can enjoy platters of cheese and charcuterie with exquisite wines to match at the restaurant within the shop. The shop stocks more than 200 different cheeses, which Eric, Amnon and the team have carefully sourced from across Europe - increasingly championing small British producers. A number of cheeses are made exclusively for La Cave a Fromage and Premier Cheese.

Customer Reviews for Le Cave à Fromage

Average (based on 1 votes): 1 Atmosphere: Value: Quality:

The following customer reviews are not endorsed by Fluid London and are simply those of users who wish to publish their independent experiences of Le Cave à Fromage.

“I like this place because I like cheese”
Atmosphere: Value: Quality:
Ajanthan, Coulsdon (2 years 9 months 18 days ago)

Additional Information

• Cuisine Type: Cafe
• Group: (Independent/Freehouse)