The Wine Rooms Cambridge opened at the beginning of June on Hills Road.
General manager John Jasilowicz, who has spent almost 20 years in the wine trade, starting at Oddbins before stints at Planet of The Grapes and Vagabond, says his new role is a perfect fit for him.
Following a two-year break in Brazil with his partner, Jasilowicz relocated from London to Cambridge after the couple realised the capital was no longer for them.
“I was a sommelier at Hotel du Vin before I met Marcus [Edwards], who has a fine wine broking business called Albany Vintners,” explains Jasilowicz.
“He said he was setting up a wine shop/ bar/restaurant with a relaxed vibe but high quality stuff. I thought that was right up my street and so it all fell into place.”
The Wine Rooms Cambridge has two floors and accommodates 50 covers. The wine list reflects the food focus: “small menu, high quality, seasonal and changing regularly”.
Jasilowicz says they were lucky enough to get the opening range of wines from a Michelin-starred restaurant that was selling off its cellar.
“We want to be unique in terms of our offering,” he says, “and it just meant we could have our shelves looking very different to everyone else. We opened with really nice old vintages of things – things you just can’t get your hands on these days.”
Moving forward the business will be supplied by Albany Vintners. “We can just pick great things and put them on straight away with no cumbersome machinations to work through,” says Jasilowicz.
