About Paski Vineria Popolare
A two-storey venue on Oxford Street comprising a wine bar on ground level, inspired by the enotecas and bottegas of Italy. On the menu are a dozen meats and about the same number of cheeses from Italy, Australia and France. Roughly 30 bar stools are surrounded by illuminated shelves, stocked with around 450 wines by small-scale producers. Bottles are grouped not by variety or colour but by the people who make them. So instead of talking about style, punters are encouraged to discuss the producers and methods behind the labels.
Upstairs at the restaurant, Paski Sopra (sopra translates to “above” in Italian), there’s an à la carte menu of handmade pastas, seafood and sharing plates. It’s tiny, but a thoughtful design has helped create intimate spaces, with windows overlooking Oxford Street. Here you’ll find rare and special wines, in addition to what’s available downstairs.
As for the name, it refers to De Maria’s Border Collie (named after the Cantina Giardino wine label), who features in the massive artwork upstairs created by Turin-based artist Gianluca Cannizzo. It’s based on Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, but this version depicts a wine-fuelled celebration with vino-filled glasses being enthusiastically swilled, and Paski sitting in front of the table, on a floor strewn with broken bottles.