“EATDRINK: The Stinking Bishops”, The Thousands, April 2014.

I assume most people agree cheese and wine make a cute couple, but that beloved dairy product is a sneaky beast who likes to flirt with other beverages (beer and whisky, I’m looking at you). The often tricky art of matching cheeses with their perfect partners is at the heart of the new cheesemonger, cafe and bar The Stinking Bishops. Co-founders Jamie Nimmo (Oh Really Gallery) and Kieran Day (chef at favourite joints such as The Eathouse Diner) have designed a menu pairing an array of local and imported cheeses with their liquid loves and other food flavours.

The Stinking Bishops has its very own liquor licence, which means cheese and charcuterie plates matched with booze. Plus they’re doing caffeinated brews by Golden Cobra Coffee and, of course, the food. Oh, the food! Aside from the feature cheese plates, you can choose from meatier offerings such as fish of the day, slow-cooked meat of the day and Mr Crispy – smoked Wagyu beef, gruyère, horseradish crème fraîche, and bread and butter pickles on sourdough by Grain Organic Bakery.

The fit-out is minimal, inviting and oh so relaxed: sleek tiled walls, raw wooden benches and natural light combined with low-hanging clusters of lightbulbs. The walls are decorated with practical objects – wooden boards (handmade by the boys!) ready to be laden with food, and timber shelves stocking produce ready to be taken home, such as Griffin Jerky, baskets of bread, and pickles. The house-made pickles are incredible – I mean terrible. Don’t under any circumstances buy the take-home jars (before I get to them).