The lads that do Top Cuvée (the wine bar that pivoted to Covid shop that pivoted to classy Highbury restaurant) also have a cave. And this is it. You get to their Bethnal Green bottle shop, descend some stairs and there you are.
A little bit of Paris for you, mate. A bit of the old Gallic insouciance. A cave is not just a subterranean chamber to the people of France. No, it’s what they call small, informal underground drinking establishments, like this one. I like it. It’s obviously good that you can no longer smoke inside, but in my mind this place is crying out for a load of cheap ashtrays.
It’s giving student kitchen. But in a sexy way. Food-wise you have some plump hotdogs and charcuterie to soak up the booze. You can even slurp down some oysters. But this isn’t somewhere you go to eat actual food, really. It’s a place to hang out, drink wine and chat (crucially, the music, which is good, is played at a non-deafening volume). That kind of pared-back, casual spot that your mates told you didn’t really exist in London. Prove them wrong. Get drunk here.