Yuki bar
Restaurant · Dalston ·
Natural wine bar with Japanese small plates and former Noma sommelier
Natural wine bar with Japanese small plates and former Noma sommelier
"If you’re of the opinion that most converted railway arch restaurants look like an ominous mid-point scene from Grand Designs where the homeowners declare that they’re running behind schedule due to their imminent divorce and “issues with the shale”, then Yuki Bar is ready to change your mind. This moody little wine bar from a former Noma sommelier is a masterclass in industrial chic: polished Japanese edition. Tealights twinkle on the wraparound wooden bar, love birds share a plate of chilled beef rump tataki, and the intimate, sexy buzz of the space makes everyone forget that this Hackney archway was probably once home to a flock of feral pigeons." - heidi lauth beasley
"Ex-Noma sommelier Yukiyasu Kaneko’s wine bar, set in a cozy space beneath a railway arch close to London Fields, may yet become the new template for natural wine bars, a category that has grown a little tired and derivative. Few other businesses can rival Yuki’s assured sense of self and pleasing ambience. An extensive (and fairly priced) list includes highlights from the Jura, Savoie, and Loire regions, as well as bottles from elsewhere in the Old World. Food is secondary but not an afterthought, with snacky dishes such as eggs with tahini, house-made potato crisps dressed with sansho pepper, cured beet tops, silken tofu with mushrooms, and made-to-order beef tartare. Must-try dish: Ask Yuki for his best wines from the Jura or the Savoie." - Adam Coghlan
"A low-lit natural-wine hideaway tucked into a railway arch where a master sommelier presides over a horseshoe bar and an idiosyncratic low-intervention bottle list. The food skews homestyle Japanese—sake-steamed mussels, grilled onigiri in dashi, a monkfish hot pot—and pairs strikingly well with earthy Gamay and other offbeat pours, making it a focused, umami-rich alternative to more conventional wine-bar fare." - ByAmiel Stanek
"Yuki Bar is run by Noma’s former sommelier and, for fans of big names, that’s all you need to know. But for those looking for more reasons to seek out this little Hackney wine bar, know that the natural wine selection is very serious. Yuki decides what to open there and then, so find a seat around the waist-height counter and lean in: glasses turn into bottles, orders into conversations, and hours into nights." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, daisy meager, sinead cranna
"In a London Fields railway arch, with several Parisians, New Yorkers, and Hackneynites clinking glasses at any one time, Yuki Bar is an izakaya-inspired wine bar that feels like an invite-only fashion week party. Disco plays over the speakers, square-toe boots tap along, and the fizz of another bottle of pét-nat opening punctuates the soundtrack every half an hour or so. You can come here to eat dumplings, but you’re better off looking hot and drinking lots of wine." - rianne shlebak, heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, sinead cranna
