China is nuts for auspicious dates, which might make you question the wisdom of opening a restaurant in Nanjing on 13 December that is the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. Nevertheless, that’s not the way auspicious dates actually work and Wine Thieves is still with us.
Self described as a “neo-bistro”, Wine Thieves is precisely what you might imagine that to be and would not be out of place halfway up the Alps.
The pleasant waitress who served The Nanjinger had exceptionally clear English and that trait is equally well reflected on Wine Thieves’ thankfully printed menus.
We were there for lunch, for which a trimmed down version of the dinner menu has been simply labelled “Brunch”, but does also include distinctly early-in-the-day items such as a full breakfast.
A glimpse at the dinner menu revealed that a return visit after sunset should certainly be contemplated, especially for lovers of water-borne cuisine; Perle Noir French oysters, white-wine poached mussels and crispy frogs legs being the highlights therein. Meat lovers’ eyes shall be caught by the Tournedos Rossini with truffle, while those with a sweet tooth shall undoubtedly be tempted by the raspberry pistachio eclair.
Trying not to look at the full breakfast, we settled on tagliatelle Bolognese (¥68) and a salami panini (¥58). The former is perfectly acceptable and beautifully presented, although there was the usual quibble with the pasta that it not be “al dente”. Some neo-bread with the pasta would have also been nice.
The panini was a different matter. Hot salami is key here, accompanied by jalapeno peppers, tomato and lettice in, yes, a Sichus pepper ciabatta! It’s not all as spicy as it sounds.
But these were dishes served whole meal times apart. We’re not kidding; half of our dining party had finished their entire meal (including the drinks) before the other half’s arrived.
Introduced to us as “nearly Shanghai”, our visit to Wine Thieves left us feeling that particular big smoke remains 280 kilometres away, at least until the wrinkles are ironed out.
All foibles aside, Wine Thieves remains a great addition to the western dining scene in Xinjiekou. It’s also not alone, with numerous drinking and dining options in the same area having opened in the last year or so. Next month, The Nanjinger continues its exploration of this part of our city in recent years dubbed “the Soho of Nanjing”.
Wine Thieves is located 94 Wangfu Da Jie in Xinjiekou 新街口王府大街94号. Tel: 18913047661.
