La Bella Chime

About

I suppose we should let you into the secret behind the etymology of Chime. Our brother-in-law would like you to believe it was a "never to be repeated feat of intellectual marketing genius"; we however need a bit more convincing! The name derives from the fact the building houses a Victorian fire bell which would have 'chimed' in days gone by - although we are hoping our chime portents a more positive future than that of the past. Our neighbour, the Red Lion Free House, housed Hartford's horse-drawn fire engine and the associated fire bell was positioned on our building - you'll notice that the bell has been restored to its former glory thanks to the Hartford Civic Society. Therefore here we are; via a combination of apparent 'genius' and a link to Hartford's civic history, the wine bar was christened 'Chime'.Topheader Rolling back history to October 2013 to that fear inducing day at the auction, the gavel fell and we were the proud owners of a building with an interesting history, superb potential, but that needed a lot of tender loving care. Having taken a deep gulp of wine - well we needed all the training we could get to call ourselves sommeliers - we set about bringing our dream into existence, engaging excellent tradesmen and with a huge amount of support and encouragement from the Hartford community the building you see was quickly created. A building that we hope reflects our vision of warmth and conviviality, and one that provides an environment in which you can create memories that you, your friends and family can recount in days to come.

At a glance

• Verified listing
• Typical visit: about 1 hour