When we’re not eating our way round London’s restaurants, we do sometimes host ourselves too (promise). But as much as we love getting friends over, it’s everything around the food that stresses us out: the table, the wine, making it look like it wasn’t a scramble. Hackney Essentials is here to sort that out. The independent shop on Columbia Road is centred around contemporary hosting, bringing together food, wine and homeware, all in one place. From considered, design-led crockery to pantry staples and natural wines, you can find all you need to fill your table.
The store also partners with small-scale producers to create limited releases – Two Fields olive oil is a recent one. And if you’re the guest rather than the host, there are gifting hampers worth raiding too.
