Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Le Bouchon Breton has joined the ranks of London restaurants lowering the price of fine wines to draw in customers and to get us all drinking again. Among the bargains: La Tache, Domaine de la Romanee Conti 1995, down to 1,293 pounds ($2,150) from 3,900 pounds, and Charmes-Chambertin, Domaine Perrot-Minot 2001, cut to 105 pounds from 220 pounds. Let’s hope our employers appreciate the effort that is being made. Just think: The more you drink, the more you save.

Min Jiang is planning a Chinese Burns Night for Jan. 25, 2010, serving dishes with a Scottish twist and matching whiskies. The four-course menu starts with a haggis dim sum platter -- featuring delicacies such as haggis and chive won ton -- and ends with baked chocolate Macallan tart. It’s 55 pounds. Sweet and whisky sour isn’t on the menu. Well, not yet. Call +44-20-7361 1988 or go to http://www.minjiang.co.uk/home.php. (The evening isn’t listed on the Web site yet.)

Toptable.com, the restaurant-booking Web site where you can save on the cost of meals, says profit surged last year as diners logged on for bargains. Net income in the 12 months ended June 30 rose to 960,891 pounds from 325,694 pounds a year earlier. Sales jumped to 6.63 million pounds from 5.51 million pounds, the London-based company said yesterday in an e-mailed release. Eateries pay Toptable for bookings made via the site, where current offers include 50 percent off food at Mango Tree.

The curiously named Chinese Cricket Club has opened its doors in the City. In case you wondered what the place is doing in a food column rather than on the sports pages, it’s a Sichuan restaurant in the Crowne Plaza hotel. The kitchen is headed by Brendan Speed, formerly of Zuma Istanbul, who says he’s seeking to achieve a balance between traditional dishes such as twice- cooked pork and dry-fried chili beef and creations such as crispy orange chicken or fried perch with garlic chives. Good luck to him. I’ll give the place a try. Lovers of the spicy western China cuisine are well served in London by eateries such as Snazz Sichuan and Bar Shu, which has reopened after a blaze.

Proud Cabaret, an underground venue in the City, promises diverse events hosted by various promoters. Thursday’s “Supper Club” is retro-cabaret, while Fridays and Saturdays offer vintage entertainment and dancing. If you fancy a quiet bite, the student nights (Mondays through Wednesdays from 10 p.m.) may be the ones to avoid. The owner, Alex Proud, says it’s the perfect den of iniquity. Just what the City needs. 4 Minster Court, Mark Lane, EC3R, 7AA. Tel. +44-20-7283-1940.

A Tokyo chef won top prize in the Eat-Japan Sushi Awards 2009 at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London. Tomoyuki Abe, from the Shiodome branch of the Sushi-Zen chain, won for his crispy salmon, marinated in soy sauce and mirin and topped with deep-fried chips of lotus root, avocado and crumbs of tempura batter. Sayan Isaksson of Raakultur, Stockholm, came second. Third place went to Taiji Maruyama of Nobu London. The judges included Jun Tanaka of Pearl, who previously judged a Bloomberg tasting of take-away sushi, when he created the bounce test.

Chefs Angela Hartnett and Gary Rhodes were among the guests when brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin held a party at their Spitalfields venue, Galvin La Chapelle, which opened this week. The event was supposed to finish at 8:30 p.m. but the Champagne flowed past 11 and even the kitchen was crowded as culinary stars jostled to look at the shiny equipment.

Across town and a few hundred feet up, Gordon Ramsay held a book launch for “Gordon Ramsay’s World Kitchen” on Nov. 16 at the Paramount Club atop Centre Point. His wife Tana stood out in the crowded and noisy room wearing knee-length boots, black trousers and a sequined top.

The Harwood Arms, one of my favorite London eateries, has a new winter menu with a 15.50 pound “Plate of Partridge Starters” for two featuring Kiev with marjoram butter; rissoles on licorice; glazed legs and tea with celeriac coleslaw and pickled pear. The Fulham pub’s owners say it’s the only London venue serving British truffles. They’re served with Cornish cod and a wild mushroom and Jerusalem-artichoke heart.

Selfridges is selling a new range of stews in the bag, produced by the Soulful Soup Co. The varieties include Moroccan chicken charmoula and Devon lamb. The store says they’re low in sodium and produced with 100 percent natural ingredients. They cost 3.49 pounds.

Looking for an unusual Christmas celebration? The Globe Girls -- a drag-queen troupe -- are providing the entertainment at Gilgamesh on Dec. 14. Tickets cost 55 pounds (plus service) for a three-course meal, a glass of Champagne and an abundance of song and dance.

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 19, 2009 19:00 EST