Forza Wine
Forza Wine, Peckham, London
Which coked-up millennial thought it would be good idea to create a party room in the middle of a rooftop bar?
I can picture it now. A gaggle of 30-somethings concluding after a long meeting that what Peckham Rye really needed was another sweeping rooftop bar completely at odds with its surroundings. On top of that, it’s not the sexiest arrival when you have to make awkward eye contact with a couple from Kent as you both embark on a journey 57 floors up to a bar where you’re about to pay £27 for a Negroni.
Despite my cynicism, stepping out of the lift at 133 Rye Lane, where we were welcomed by a tree lined oasis, was the beginning of a magical evening at Forza Wine.
The vibe.
‘Oh you’re in luck!’ exclaimed the first of many wonderful waitresses we met. ‘You’re in the party room, it’s booked until October but we’ve had a cancellation.’
If you could’ve seen my face. I would compare it to Sheree Whitfield reacting to Porsha arriving at Kenya’s housewarming party on the Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Once my party had recovered, we were taken to said party room. Nestled in the corner of the bar with panoramic views of London, the room was a half indoors/half outdoors semi soundproof apres ski rave den. By the time they told us it came with surround sound and an aux cord, I was beginning to think this room was modelled on Hugh Hefner’s Winter home in Val D'Isère.
There is a certain kind of chaos when you can play WAP for the 15th time, sipping a frozen marg and nibbling on cauliflower fritti, so as you can imagine my recollection of the rest of the evening is hazy at best.
What I do recall with absolute clarity is that our evening at Forza wine was special. The staff were up for as good time a time as we were, serving up round after round of limencello shots and having a quick boogie when the manager wasn’t watching. The evening had that key ingredient that’s been lacking for so long - spontaneity. We casually chatted with fellow diners, who were quite taken by my decision to play Beyonce’s seminal LEMONADE in its entirety, at full volume, complete with choreography.
It wasn’t until our table was last man standing that I finally peeled off to fully take in the views. London has some great spots high-rise spots, but there was a certain magic in being that bit further away. Take a deep breath, make sure you’re not going to vomit, and bask in all its glory.
The food.
Considering it has wine in its name, you could be forgiven for thinking that the food at Forza would be an afterthought. While it definitely isn’t the star of the show, the menu of snacks and sharing plates perfectly complemented the feel-good rooftop vibe.
We opted for the whole menu - clue’s in the name - which, at £80 included one of every dish, plus a generous helping of soft serve ice cream. The menu would’ve been plenty for four, or in our case, perfect for 6 people who were so pissed they didn't really know if they were hungry or not.
The dishes were a sprightly selection of flavour packed morsels, perfect to soak up my fourth frozen blood orange margarita. Highlights included a grownup take on a potato salad with sharp shallots, capers and a punchy mustard dressing, melt in the mouth chicken with nduja, and a stringy anchovy & mozzarella toast.
While there wasn’t a dish that would be hung in the small plate hall of fame, the sum of its parts were enough to accompany the easy, late night vibe.
The verdict.
In one sense, the memorability of the evening could be put down to the perfect storm of great company, great weather and a healthy dose of delirium from being locked up for a year. But on reflection, Forza has worked hard to make this Peckham rooftop a gem of a destination. It had great food, brilliant drinks and is a testament to the UK restaurant industry.
Was the food stunning 4/5 - fit for purpose, well seasoned and good flavours all round
The vibe 90210/5 - So much fun that at one point I thought we were in LA
Scream factor The Real Housewives/5 - The whole evening screamed season finale party, complete with cameo appearances from fellow diners, dancing on the table and the fear of being kicked out.
Pricey? I think very reasonably priced for what you got (although I think some of our drinks may have been accidentally on purpose missed off the bill)
Would you recommend to someone you just met at a party - Absolutely, and I’d ask to come with.
