Quick review: Wine bar and restaurant Hackney Coterie is boldly sophisticated
WHAT IS IT?
A wine bar and restaurant, Hackney Coterie manages to both be relaxed and boldly sophisticated. Opened in July 2021, it’s the brainchild of two friends, restaurateur Anthony Lyons (of Lyons Seafood & Wine Bar) and sommelier Kelvin McCabe. The wines hail from across Europe, and form a seriously impressive collection. As for the food, it’s all about minimal waste and maximum taste, with an emphasis on sustainable meat and fish (though vegetarian options are plentiful).
WHO WILL IT IMPRESS?
With its orange banquettes, simple wooden tables and Basquiat-style art, it’s very charming . Occupying a former antimacassar factory, the space is unusually deep and narrow, lending an intimacy conducive to a one-on-one chat, but also banquet-style gatherings. The front is for wines and takeaway charcuterie, the back full-fledged dining.
WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?
You only have to glance through Coterie’s Instagram to see the vivid colours, unusual flavour combinations and textures that constitute each dish. As an entree, the charred hispi cabbage with “shrimp floss” and dashi ketchup is sensational, while the haque and pork mains on the set lunch menu are cooked to tender perfection, cannellini mousse and “provincial sauce” plated like planets in a higgledy solar system on stylish grey and black plates.The dessert is where the place truly excels, though – don’t miss the burnt butter set custard, which has a fennel sable base and a surface coated snooker-green in nettle powder, topped with edible flowers and blobs of sour lime.
WHAT ELSE?
Right next door to Hackney Downs overground, just a 10 minute ride from Liverpool Street, Hackney Coterie is the perfect place to relax between working hours with a glass of crisp Beaujolais. The 3-course set lunch menu, available Thursday to Saturday, is a bargain at £25 a head. Cheese and wine lists are extensive, the staff are lovely, and the vibes are great.
• To book visit hackneycoterie.net