East London has such a wide variety of wine bars you could spend a happy day (or weekend) sampling them all. The natty wine heartland, with a nod to the many fans of chilled reds, here's our pick of the best places to enjoy a great glass of wine there.
Dan’s
Dalston - 2-4 Tottenham Rd, London N1 4BZ
Wine merchant Dan Long of Natty Boy Wines is the man behind this Dalston wine bar (although the bar is actually named after Australian booze merchant Dan Murphy's). Not only does he offer plenty of options by the glass, but here you can try any of the 600+ wines on his natural wine-focused list with a corkage fee. There's tinned fish, charcuterie and other bites to go with your glass of wine, but do check out the Aussie snack selection to buy on your way out.
Binch
Hackney - 1 Greenwood Rd, London E8 1NT
Down a residential road in Hackney, you’ll find the small but perfectly formed Binch. It’s a very convivial place to enjoy a glass of wine from the mostly French list, devised by owner Sylvain Bertozzi. Pull up a stool at the bar and let them lead you through what’s on their shelves (it might even be something completely unexpected, like a shot of Taiwanese moonshine). The food is similarly Francophile - think tapenade on toast and snails with garlic butter.
107 Wine Shop & Bar
Clapton - 107 Lower Clapton Rd, London E5 0NP
The natural wine bar formerly known as P Franco is now in the hands of its former manager, William Gee and if anything it’s even more popular than it was before. The action here is all on the central table, although you might find an alcove among the wine shelves to perch with your glass. The list focuses on artisanal growers who practice low-intervention and is, in the main, European-focused. At the end of the bar is the miniscule kitchen from which great things emerge - keep an eye on their Insta account to see who’s in residence at any given point.
Bruno
Victoria Park - 211a Victoria Park Rd, London E9 7JN
Wine bar owner Michael Sager (of Sager + Wilde fame) named his latest opening after his father and told us this is probably his most personal bar to date. There’s a good by-the-glass offering, but the wine shop is lined with bottles - many from his own personal collection - for enjoying (take off £15 if you want to take any home with you). The magnum section here is always worth investigating if budget allows. On the food front, there are regular interesting residencies. At the time of writing, they had ex-Bistro Freddie chef Anna Søgaard in the kitchen.
Finley’s
Hoxton - 297 Hoxton St, London N1 5JX
On first impressions, Finley’s looks like your common or garden variety East London wine bar, with all manner of interesting natural wines on offer. But look a little harder at that wine list and you’ll see that owner Sia Smith has focused on female winemakers, making her Hoxton bar stand out from the crowd. There are regular meet-the-winemaker evenings along with quirky events like wine and ice cream pairings. On the food front, the ricotta and anchovy dish is a perennial favourite.
Newcomer Wines
Dalston - 5 Dalston Ln, London E8 3DF
Don't be fooled by the name, this Dalston wine shop, bar and garden has been around for a while and features a selection of wines imported by founder Peter Honegger - including a wide range from his native home of Austria. Newcomer features a wine counter at the front, and a wine shop and wine garden out at the back. Peter has curated an impressive range of growers you won't find elsewhere by the bottle or glass. Local food pops up on their bar menu - expect cheese and charcuterie from Provisions and bread from Dusty Knuckle just around the corner.
Oranj
Shoreditch - 14 Bacon Street, London E1 6LF
Oranj began life as an online bottle shop specialising in, you guessed it, orange wines. Now they're a very busy Shoreditch warehouse bar which does a tight line in enticing interesting food residencies. They bill their offering as "the latest and greatest in low-intervention natural wine".
Passione Vino
Shoreditch - 85 Leonard St, London EC2A 4QS
Whilst the breadth of a wine list is always an attractive feature at any wine venue, who doesn't love a place which can also show depth and focus? Few others can compete with the sheer array of Italian wines which Passione Vino. Headed by the ebullient Luca Dusi, this Italian wine mecca charges a small markup for wines from the shop drunk in-house. There isn't a wine list, instead staff will talk to you about what you like and start making suggestions from there. Food is inspired by Luca's Venetian grandma's cooking.
Renegade Urban Winery
Bethnal Green - Arch 12 Gales Gardens, London E2 0EJ
Renegade is a truly novel concept. As one of the city's very first urban wineries - who select, vinify and bottle their very own crus - it's difficult to say where you might get a fresher glass of wine anywhere in the capital. This grape to glass pitch is more than a gimmick however, the founders have built a sustainable and community-oriented operation. Guests are invited to sit on trestle tables amongst French barriques of ageing stock, each of which has its contents scrawled in chalk.
Sager + Wilde
Hackney - 129 Hackney Road, London E2 8J
First launched in the dark ages of wine bars (back in 2013), Sager & Wilde found fame serving rare wines, all by the glass, for insanely low mark-ups. Unsurprisingly the idea struck a chord and a cult wine bar was born. Their format and approach has changed slightly since those heady days, but this doesn't make Sager & Wilde any less appealing. The formula is simple - an ever-changing selection of ‘benchmark’ wines from leading producers, served in impressive glassware, in unpretentious surroundings. They do a nice line in cheese and charcuterie to go alongside the wines, as well as offering a cheese toastie selection.
Also see...
Nobody Asked Me - Popular Chatsworth Road bar and bottle shop
Yuki - ex Noma sommelier is behind this bar tucked into the railway arches by London Fields
Cave Cuvee - downstairs from its Hackney wine store the Top Cuvee crowd are serving up a combo of natural wines and small plates.
56 West Smithfield (Smithfield) - run by the family behind the Château De La Cômbe winery this wine bar sells wine at vineyard prices.
Bottles (Spitalfields) - If Italian, biodynamic wine is your thing, this Spitalfields spot is the place to go.
Oeno House (Bank) - sit on the terrace and enjoy glasses of iconic and fine wines from this high-end wine shop and bar.
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