The Best Wine Bars & Shops In London & The UK
LONDON
Cave Cuvée
Bethnal Green
Headed up by Brodie Meah and Max Venning, Top Cuvée is a neighbourhood restaurant in Highbury, specialising in natural wines from around the world. The team recently opened Cave Cuvée, a small underground wine bar and bottle shop in Bethnal Green. Visitors can browse a selection of wines and deli items on the ground floor, before heading down into the basement for a few glasses and a hot dog or two. The team also runs natural wine masterclasses.
250A Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, E2 0AA
Visit TopCuvee.com
Lulu’s
Herne Hill
This neighbourhood spot on the edge of Brockwell Park is the wine bar and shop from the team behind adjoining restaurant Llewelyn’s. The light-filled bar is an intimate space lined with shelves of deli staples. There’s a concise wine and cocktail list – with a tidy selection of orange wines and low-interventions bottles – and a small menu of Italian-inspired dishes like prosciutto with focaccia, and mortadella and ricotta agnolotti.
291 Railton Road, Herne Hill, SE24 0JP
Visit Lulus.London
Diogenes The Dog
Elephant & Castle
Set in a former boozer, this new-wave wine bar spreads across two floors. Inside, there’s an al fresco feel with plants and a green palette, and an impressive walled wine rack displaying a rotating selection of world wines, from Japanese orange wines to Polish whites and even a Texan malbec or two. During the summer, guests can sit on the terrace with a bottle and a charcuterie board from Cannon & Cannon meats.
96 Rodney Road, Elephant & Castle, SE17 1BG
Visit DiogenesTheDog.co.uk
Oranj
Shoreditch
Natural wine platform and subscription service Oranj was created to showcase some of the best bottles on the market. Eighteen months ago, the team opened a bottle shop, wine bar and kitchen in a former Victorian warehouse on Bacon Street. Billed as a ‘pub for wine drinkers’, the bar has a relaxed atmosphere where you can try low-ABV and orange wines from around the world. Oranj also has a rotating kitchen with foodie pop-ups – Helen Graham (ex-Bubala) has a residency until the end of the month to showcase veggie Middle Eastern dishes.
14 Bacon Street, Shoreditch, E1 6LF
Visit Oranj.co.uk
Daniel Ogulewiczat
Henny's Wine Bar
Balham
Last year, Tooting Broadway market’s Henny’s moved to a permanent site in Balham. With the smartest interiors on this list, the venue revolves around a central green bar lined with Beaujolais and biodynamic bottles. There’s a weekly changing menu with a small list and a good selection of craft beers on tap. Plus, Henny's has teamed up with Yard Sale Pizza so you can order wood-fired pizzas with slow-cooked tomato sauce and mozzarella straight to your table.
195C Balham High Road, Balham, SW12 9BE
Visit HennysWine.com
Newcomer Wines
Dalston
Newcomer Wines on Dalston Lane is all about simplicity. The friendly team will chat you through the picks of the month, without dropping any jargon. With a focus on ‘new old world’ wines, there’s a wide selection from Austria, as well as bottles from small European producers. On Wednesday evenings, guests can try three generous tasting glasses for just £18 – each handpicked by the expert to showcase various regions or growers. If you’re after something a bit different, try a glass of the Swiss Ciderie du Vulcain cider.
5 Dalston Lane, Dalston, E8 3DF
Visit NewcomerWines.com
Planque
Haggerston
Planque is a small restaurant and wine bar in Haggerston. It’s created a community for wine lovers – and you don’t have to be an insider to join. There’s a small members lounge where you can bring a bottle from your own collection, or choose one from Planque’s cellar to enjoy over small plates and sharing dishes. Members get priority access to the restaurant as well as other benefits, like access to the private dining room, a wine concierge service, members events and masterclasses, and discounts in the store. Best of all, members can store a number of bottles in its huge wine cellar.
322-324 Acton Mews, Haggerston, E8 4EA
Visit Planque.co.uk
Peckham Cellars
Peckham
At this neighbourhood wine bar and bistro, diners can order Spanish-inspired dishes made with produce from nearby suppliers Flock & Herd and London Smoke & Cure – think goat’s cheese and caramelised onion croquetas and tuna tartare with jalapeño mayo. There’s a strong list of French and Spanish wines to complement the food, as well as biodynamic and organic wines from other European regions. On any given night, guests are treated to a soundtrack of soul, disco, R’n’B, jazz and hip-hop, with the music turned up a notch on weekends when the bar is open until the early hours.
125 Queens Road, Peckham, SE15 2ND
Visit PeckhamCellars.co.uk
Shrine to the Vine
Bloomsbury
Shrine to the Vine is a wine shop and delivery service owned by Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew, the duo behind Noble Rot. Just a few metres along from their Bloomsbury restaurant, it sells everything from under-the-radar natural cuvées to mature classics from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Barolo and beyond. It also hosts a few tasting events each month – led by names in the industry or by Noble Rot’s wider team of experts and writers at its indie wine mag. Previous events have covered the best wines from Tenerife, an insider’s picks from Burgundy, and how to appreciate a vintage.
48 Lamb's Conduit Street, Bloomsbury, WC1N 3LH
Visit ShrineToTheVine.co.uk
Bar Crispin
Carnaby
You might’ve seen Bistro Freddie all over social media – if you can’t get a dinner reservation, head to the team’s central outpost on Kingly Street. Bar Crispin encompasses a main restaurant, an outdoor terrace and a downstairs private dining room. It operates as a café in the morning, serving up baked goods and coffee from Assembly Roast, before the 150-strong wine list is whipped out in the evening. Curated by GM Alex Price and sommelier Stefano Cazzato, it’s got a focus on old-world grapes and small indie producers.
19 Kingly Street, Carnaby, W1B 5PY
Visit BarCrispin.com
Quality Wines
Farringdon
Quality Wines has been importing bottles to its Farringdon bar for over ten years. Founded by the Woodhead Restaurant Group – the team behind Quality Chop House next door as well as Portland and Clipstone – it’s a great spot for a date, with its candlelit bar and chalkboard menu of Mediterranean dishes. Importantly, you can get a decent glass for just £6 on any given day of the week, or choose the express lunch menu for a main (like homemade pasta) with a glass for £15.
88 Farringdon Road, Farringdon, EC1R 3EA
Humble Grape
various sites
Humble Grape founder James Dawson started selling wine from the back of his motorbike while holding a full-time job in the City. Fast forward 15 years and the group has six sites across the capital: Battersea, Islington, Canary Wharf, Fleet Street, Liverpool Street and Crouch End. It imports hundreds of high-quality boutique wines from small family-run vineyards around the world, with lots of niche options you probably won’t see elsewhere. Each outpost offers small plates, charcuterie and cheese boards, and steak for something more substantial.
Various sites
Visit HumbleGrape.co.uk
Sager + Wilde
Hackney
At Sager + Wilde’s romantic wine bar in Hackney, the drinks list (by the glass and the bottle) changes daily depending on what the team are into. The bar itself was refurbished by owner Michael Sager, with industrial interiors and metal roof. As well as bottles from Beaujolais, La Rioja and the Loire Valley, you’ll find skin-on and orange wines, as well as whites from eastern Europe. Cheese boards and toasties will help line the stomach, while the team’s restaurant on Paradise Row is a great shout for dinner out east.
193 Hackney Road, Hackney, E2 8JL
Visit SagerAndWilde.com
Forza Wine at the National Theatre
Southbank
Forza Wine – the Peckham rooftop venue known for simple and fun drinks, considered Italian snacks and views of the capital – recently opened a second site at the National Theatre. The 160-cover indoor/outdoor spot serves a ‘sort of Italian’ snack menu with dishes like cauliflower fritti with aioli, mozzarella with figs and hazelnuts, and pancetta potato cakes. Drinks wise, there’s an excellent cocktail list, and a selection of natural and biodynamic wines from small producers.
South Bank, SE1 9PX
Visit ForzaWine.com
@SherriAndrew
UK
Le Pinardier
Deal
This French wine bar on Deal’s High Street specialises in classics from Bordeaux and Burgundy, but also offers lesser-known bottles from small French towns – as well as world wines from the US, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Selected by the friendly team, you’ll also find English sparklers from estates like Tillingham, Nyetimber and Barnsole. Once you’ve browsed the collection and enjoyed a glass or two, visit its sister restaurant Frog & Scot for local seafood and draught beers.
102 High Street, Deal, CT14 6EE
Visit FrogAndScot.co.uk
Kerb
Manchester
This is a small natural wine bar in Manchester’s trendy Ancoats neighbourhood. There’s a cool, geometric central bar with colourful bottles on the rounded walls. The ten-cover bar supports small producers, so you’ll find an eclectic selection of low intervention and natural wines, and well as crowd-pleasing orange bottles. Visitors can expect tasting events with producers, plus live DJs on Thursday nights.
4 Henry Street, Manchester, M4 5DD
Visit Kerb.wine
Sète
Margate
Another great wine bar in Kent, Sète is named after the coastal town in France. In smart yet laidback surrounds, guests can sit by the bar, or settle in for the evening at the restaurant (or kitchen garden during the summer) to tuck into modern European dishes and Neal’s Yard Dairy cheese plates.
238 Northdown Road, Margate, CT9 2QD
Visit SeteMargate.com
Cave
Bristol
Bristol – the land of craft beer. Or great wine if you’re spending the evening at Cave. Founded by local Martin Hagen, Cave has an emphasis on small producers, championing indigenous grapes and lesser-known regions. You’ll want to stay for dinner to enjoy hearty dishes like mussels in garlic butter, grilled sardines on toast, and roast poussin with lentils.
286 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8PD
Visit CaveBristol.co.uk
Spry
Edinburgh
Set in a Georgian building by Leith Walk, Spry has a large list of natural wines from around the world, as well as organic wines from some of Europe’s most famous wine regions. Owners Matt and Marzena are always happy to offer advice on wine or food from the menu. Go à la carte or choose the five-course set menu for seasonal dishes that showcase excellent Scottish produce.
1 Haddington Place, Edinburgh, EH7 4AE
Visit SpryWines.co.uk
Corkk
Canterbury
Corkk has one of the largest collections of English wines in the country. Its cellar is also home to wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the US – master of wine Clive will point you in the right direction if you’re after something specific. The bar also hosts guided tastings, casual sampling sessions, wine evenings, and pop-ups from local kitchens – think oysters with a glass of Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs.
29/30 Burgate, Canterbury, CT1 2HA
Visit Corkk.co.uk
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