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The Restaurant Guide for Wine Lovers

The Wine Cellar

68/100
  • Chelmsford, Essex
  • Modern British bar and bistro
  • By the glass
  • ££
  • Beta
  • Assessed July 2026
What's this?

These are confidence labels — how sure we are that what we publish still reflects the restaurant's current practice. They are not a judgement on the restaurant; the wine and cooking are scored separately, out of 100.

  • Beta — assessed and scored, but we are still confirming some details (such as the current wine list), so it is published with that caveat.
  • No label — a fully confirmed entry.
  • In development — not yet a review; it appears so you can see where coverage is coming.

Some restaurants change their menus often, and we cannot always keep pace. The date beside the label says when we looked.

We assessed The Wine Cellar in July 2026 from the menu and wine list as they stood then. Dishes and bottles move on; how to drink well here changes far more slowly. We name bottles from the list we saw and say what to reach for by style, so the advice outlasts the list. Once you are seated, At the Table in the Vinealto app reads the list in front of you.

The Wine Cellar is a modern British bar and bistro in central Chelmsford where nearly the whole wine list is poured by the glass, in more than one size. The programme earns its standing on that generosity and honesty (every price shown, a genuine sweet-and-fortified tail, fair markups across two pour sizes) rather than on cellar depth or a sustainability story, both of which are thin. It will most reward the curious drinker who wants to match a different glass to each plate and to try a fine wine or a vintage Port by the measure rather than the bottle.

The full assessment — the wine programme, the pairings that lift a plate, and how the room reads for a wine lover — is for subscribers.

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More in Essex

88/100 Beta

The Sun Inn

Dedham, Essex

Modern British and Italian-leaning inn dining

The Sun Inn is a food-led inn in Constable country where a much-decorated, small-grower wine list is a genuine reason to make the trip. The wine programme achieves real mutual elevation: the hardest plates on the seasonal menu are precisely the ones the list answers most fluently, several of them by the glass or the carafe. It will most reward the curious drinker who likes to explore a characterful list at their own pace, from a low-priced glass to a mature single bottle.

  • By the glass
  • Moderate to high
  • Assessed July 2026
Read the assessment

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