I am always thrilled about a new wine bar springing up in London, but there’s something about Grays & Feather in Covent Garden that is even more exciting than most. Self-described as a ‘mischievous wine parlour’, the two-storey venue pricks the senses as soon as you walk in: in your direct eye-line is an elaborate taxidermy peacock perching at top of the staircase, its beautiful feathered train trailing down over the banister. When I think of a wine bar, I picture dark wood – wooden stools, oak barrels – but everything is bright in here; natural light is flooding in through the large windows making the white walls seem whiter; furnishings are soft and welcoming; dusky grey and indigo-blue chairs invite you to sit at neat tables, stylishly set with flutes, cutlery, pot plants and candles.