Bruno

We visited for some food and a couple of glasses of wine but were disappointed to find only five wines by the glass, each priced at over £10 for a small pour. The food was underwhelming, particularly the pretzels, which were dry and just stuffed with the filling - this was overpriced too! The service was inattentive and lacked warmth. With so many great wine bars in London, I’m in no hurry to return.

A vibey local wine bar that I recently went to, for drinks and then went back again for the food. Very cool wine list, a lot of more unusual wines you don’t see everywhere but amazing for those who enjoy discovering new things. The kitchen residency changes every so often, but the current chefs have a lot of fresh flavours and portions are decent. Inside and outside seating, so pretty safe for the inclement summer weather.

Exceptionally overpriced and small portions of small plates (Paid £8.50 for 8 tiny padron peppers). The atmosphere and staff are lovely, I was deeply let down by the food and wine. I would recommend other wine bars before coming here

London has seen a wine bar renaissance in the last decade and the man who has led that charge is Michael Sager. I used to live in Hackney in 2014 and Sager + Wilde was (and still is) a regular fixture and whilst of course the wines are interesting and lovely, the cheese toasties, OH the cheese toasties. Since then he has opened a number of other bars and restaurants and on Saturday I went to the soft opening of his latest venture in Victoria Park Village, Bruno, an ode to his father. I’m just going to come out and say it, it’s the cutest wine bar in London. Genuinely. A divine old stables of late used as a homewares store now converted simply but lovingly into a small but perfectly formed space for the well to do child and dog owners of the area. The wines here are all imported by Michael himself so they have relationships with all the winemakers providing that extra personal touch, with his knowledgeable and attentive staff guiding you through the selections. I travelled from West to East London to check it out because I sensed it would be special and it is. Intimate, classy, stylish. I arrived at 2pm for a couple of hours and left at 9. It’s great, you’ll love it, especially when it gets warmer and the little terrace comes more into play. I’d happily spend the 45 mins going back. I’m very jealous of the Vicky Park crew’s new hang out.

Bruno’s is a very sweet spot, well deigned and executed interior and style wise really on point. Nice tables, chairs in a tight but cosy seating area inside and out. I will warn this is quite pricey, and obviously eating/drinking our always comes with extra costs. But one bottle here for £38+ is around £8 off the shelf. So you’d have to know your research and wines to be getting a good deal for that sort of price difference. Also it’s very much encouraged to be having a bottle of wine, not all wine is offered by the glass, only a select few Overall our group enjoyed it but we’d find it cheaper at other restaurants or at home - depends what you’re going for!

+ : the service was friendly, the building was cute, and one of the wines we had was nice. - : food portion size compared to price was very disappointing, except for the cornbread, which was tasty and enough for 4 to share as a small plate. The "cheese selection" for £15: three small bits of cheese and 4 small crackers (1 bite each), barely enough for 2 people! The pumpkin had little flavour and we had to make it into 3 small "tacos" with a sauce on the side (£14). The pork (3 thin slices) was very dry despite a tasty sauce (£22). The venison was flavourful, but also a bit dry, considering the price (£24). We didn't even want to try the dessert by the end, sadly. The seating arrangement was incredibly cramped, with a table blocking the door for the wc; luckily we weren't sat there, but the group that was were constantly disturbed. Thankfully, the table next to us was unoccupied, otherwise they would have been sat in our laps. For the price per head, the dining experience should be more comfortable. We were very excited to try this cute spot, but sadly, there are much more reliable wine bars in London :( hopefully this was just a one-off!

I absolutely loved this new wine bar in East London. The atmosphere was perfection – cosy with low lighting. The service was friendly, prompt and incredibly informed. I loved the chef on rotation – no doubt a new favourite wine bar in London.

Loved Sager and Wilde and was really sad to see it close, so was keen to try Bruno. Went for wine soon after opening and staff were inattentive and rude. Was keen to book for dinner when reservations started recently hoping it would be better but service was awful again! Booked a 730 dinner reservation. Table wasn't ready for us and when we sat down and asked for menu was told they would have to 'check the kitchen was still open'. When we ordered menu of small plates was very small but two of the larger dishes were sold out. Food was okay but nothing amazing. Still early on in the night and they'd also run out of desert. Staff were totally inexperienced and sometimes rude. It's a gorgeous space with good wine but overall a very disappointing replacement for a far better restaurant at paradise row :(