Dalston Wine Club Founder Hannah Crosbie’s Fave Bars in London

Planque is an uber-stylish wine bar and restaurant in Haggerston with an enviable collection of rare bottles. The menu, which is designed to be shared, focuses heavily on French flavours and you can be sure that the FOH team will steer you right on a pairing wine. Aside from the restaurant, Planque has a membership (that’s where their tagline ‘a wine drinker’s clubhouse’ comes in) which is designed to be a community for like-minded winos and entitles you to access to their private lounge and dining room, as well as a bunch of exclusive events.

This unpretentious bistro is centered around an accessible, fun and regularly changing wine list that features 10 reds and 10 whites (plus fizz and rosé), all of which are available by the glass, carafe or bottle. The team really make an effort to keep the list fresh – no wine has been listed twice in all the time The 10 Cases has been open – so it’s the perfect spot for trying something new. You can pair your vino with French-European bistro fare like comté gougères, pan-fried grey mullet with artichoke barigoule, steak frites & peppercorn sauce, and lemon tart. The wine bar, shop and cellar next door switches things up again with the wine offering – there are 16+ regularly-changing fine wines by the glass and more than 300 bottles available to takeaway or drink-in (with corkage).

Just up the road from the original Sager + Wilde is Michael Sager’s latest cocktail bar Equal Parts. The distinctive, green-tiled corner building on Hackney Road showcases European Aperitif and Amaro culture, with some mezcal and records thrown in too. The bar has been decked out with a Hi-Fi sound system, with the help of north London specialists Audio Gold, so they can play a selection of vinyl. The interior design has been carefully considered (as you’d expect by the looks of the outside), with a bespoke zinc bar top, bronze mirrored back bar, Venetian blinds, Japanese wood panelling and vintage reclaimed 1960s Czech lighting all on the ground floor. Downstairs, a large hand-carved oak table takes centre stage with space for private events of up to 30 people.

Hector’s, run by former Hill & Szrok partner Jimmy Stephenson and his wife actor Anna Shaffer (along with the backing of current Hill & Szrok owner Luca Mathiszig-Lee), takes inspo from the bars of Paris, San Sebastian and Lisbon, and brings those European vibes to De Beauvoir. During the day it runs as a coffee shop, serving pastries and Climpson’s brews, and a bottleshop stocked with a range of classic and natty wines. In the evenings (from Thurs – Sun), it flips into a wine bar with vino available by the glass and bottle, alongside small plates like Cantabrian anchovies in olive oil, courgette carpaccio with fresh cheese, tins of sardines on toast, pate-en-croute and bocadillos like tortilla with red peppers and jamon con tomate, with guest chefs coming in to cook too.

Listening bars and audio-focused restaurants have gone through a renaissance in London but Dalston’s Brilliant Corners was one of the first to do it, opening way back in 2013. The Kingsland Road spot specialises in Japanese small plates, live jazz and DJ sets. The sound system is world class and there are always expert selectors passing through, so music fans are in for a treat. The food and drink offering is just as good, with izakaya-inspired plates like tuna maki, beef tataki, tofu korokke with miso aioli, chicken karaage and sashimi moriawase with ponzu on the menu, complemented by mezcal margs, miso highballs and natural wines.

Bar Daskal, named after owners Sam and James Harts’ artist grandfather Vladimir Daskaloff and inspired by his home and studio in Estellencs, Mallorca (some of his work will even be exhibited in the space), is a wine bar with a focus on Spanish wine and sherry. The list features a mix of Barrafina faves and new by-the-glass options, alongside a short selection of cocktails, including the Agua de Valencia (with gin, blood orange & Cadiz fizz), and the Clara (Estrella, grapefruit & lemon sherbet). You’re also able to nibble on cold tapas like gildas, anchovies, air-dried tuna with olive oil & hazelnuts, chorizo Iberico, Manchego & La Retorta cheese, and pinxto de tortilla con aioli.

Mr Lyan, aka cocktail maestro Ryan Chetiyawardana, is back in East London (he opened his first bar White Lyan in the neighbourhood back in 2013) with Seed Library. The bar is in the basement of One Hundred Shoreditch and is decked out in warm orange and red upholstery and wood panelling. There’s lo-fi, analogue approach to drinks, taking inspo from classic cocktails and alternative flavours and ingredients, which means drinks like the Curry Leaf Stonefence (using curry leaf to bring out the greener side of white rum), the Perilla Gin & Tonic (using perilla seed to add green and nutty notes to the bitter sweet cocktail) and the Sancho Leaf Martini (adding the floral spice of szechuan leaf to contrast with the cold gin or vodka).