Renoufs, the award-winning wine & cheese bar, opened its doors last night & VerwoodToady was invited to check it out.
After a short walk into the town centre, we arrive to a cosy atmosphere, with fairy lights hanging off the ceiling & black boards back lit with blue lights.
The bar is buzzing with plenty of customers spread out amongst the variety of high & low tables.
Warm & inviting, it’s hard to believe this used to be Barclays bank!
We’re enthusiastically greeted by CEO, Trevor Ayling. He steers us to our seats at the bar, in the heart of the action. It’s a great spot & gives us the opportunity to quiz the barman. Lee certainly knows his stuff, he gives us a run down on how Renoufs works, patiently explaining the array of cheese & meat boards, along with the options of wine, beer & sprits.
We opt for the Ultimate Board which serves two, it’s crammed with olives, houmous, pate, tomatoes & a selection of cheese & meats.
Extra nibbles are optional addons, so some cooked chorizo makes it onto our order. Our personalised selection of cheese meats arrive, the presentation is amazing & we can’t wait to get stuck in.
Wookey Hole Cheddar is the wining cheese with a fight for who get the last piece!
Another bonus of sitting at the bar, the ever-helpful Lee is on hand to offer some advice. Wine is available by the glass, bottle or a flight. We opt for the Gold flight, one red & one white.
Each flight consists of three glasses, which are presented & explained.
Trevor admits the Gold flight is his personal favourite & I can see why. The Californian Zinfandel is my pick of the three & available by the glass, so this is pencilled down for our next visit!
If you’re not a wine lover then fear not, beer is available on draft, Meantime London IPA & a Czech Larger dominating the line-up, along with the usual host of bottles, spirits & gin you’d expect to see in any reputable bar or restaurant.
The team behind the bar are exceptionally friendly, we get chatting to Sam who will be our regular barman in Verwood. He’s a Verwood resident & has been working for Renoufs for some time, we also discover that he’s running the Bournemouth Marathon on Sunday – so good luck Sam!
We had high expectations before visiting this evening & were not disappointed. It’s lovely to have such a charming establishment on the high street of Verwood & we look forward to returning soon – Renoufs has a big thumbs up from us!
If you’re planning a visit, make sure you book in advance, weekend bookings are almost sold out for the next few weeks.
Their online booking system is easy to navigate & available on their website.