Guide by Vana

Where to drink in Dalston

6 places to drink in Dalston, each one on the Guide on merit.

1. 

   392 Kingsland Road

   Cocktail bar

   An all-killer cocktail bar with jazz nights, still flying under the radar on Kingsland Road.

   Wednesday jazz nights need booking ahead, and the cocktails use herbs grown on the roof.

2. 

   Brilliant Corners

   Listening bar / izakaya · Asian

   A hi-fi bar built so you can hear each other as well as the records.

   Sit near the speakers, not the door; this is a place to listen, not to shout over.

3. 

   dan's

   Natural wine bar

   A Dalston natural wine bar with a sharp, ever-changing list and a crowd that cares about what's in the glass.

   Go early on a weekday and let the staff pick your glass; the list rotates weekly.

4. 

   Newcomer Wines

   Wine bar

   An Austrian wine obsession with a secret garden attached. Worth the detour for the bottles you cannot find anywhere else.

   Head straight through to the hidden back garden in summer and let the staff steer you off-piste on the Austrian list.

5. 

   The Roses of Elagabalus

   Queer cocktail bar

   A theatrical, design-heavy queer cocktail bar and restaurant, more strange drawing room than club flyer. Somewhere to settle in for the evening, not somewhere you just drop by.

   Book the dinner-and-a-show slot rather than turning up; the cabaret nights are the draw and the rooms are small.

6. 

   Three Sheets

   Cocktail bar

   World-class cocktails in a candlelit two-top room the size of a stamp.

   The Dalston original is small and gets rammed, so arrive early or go midweek for a seat.