Best BYOB Restaurants In London

You know, there are times – often many times, in fact – when even the finest selection of wines and the world’s greatest sommeliers can’t compete with a bottle of wine that you bought for a tenner and brought along to the restaurant with you.

Somehow it just tastes, well… nicer.

So in celebration of those occasions we’d like to raise a glass in honour of the best BYOB restaurants in London.

Sláinte.

Little Georgia | Hackney & Barnsbury

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Little Georgia Cafe serves homely yet ambitious Georgian food amid a simple, tasteful decor of vintage portraits and fairy lights.

Details: 87 Goldsmith’s Row, Bethnal Green, E2 8QR | 14 Barnsbury Road, N1 0HB | No corkage if you spend £15+
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The Bonnington Café | Vauxhall

A co-operatively run vegetarian and vegan restaurant maintained by an active collection of member cooks; so you never really know what’s going to be on the menu, except vegetables.

Details: 11 Vauxhall Grove, Vauxhall, London SW8 1TD | No corkage, 50p donation encouraged
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Soif | Battersea

As a wine bar, selling bottles is pretty much Soif’s raison d’être. But they’re nice, so they’ll also let you bring your own on any day of the week to enjoy alongside their acclaimed French fare.

Details: 27 Battersea Rise, Battersea, SW11 1HG | £10 corkage
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Persepolis | Peckham

It’s a teeny tiny Persian grocery and restaurant serving 100% vegetarian fare. Dishes are to be shared – a mix of vibrant salads, dips, pickles and more – best enjoyed over a couple of BYOB beers, or a bottle or two of wine, thanks to zero corkage.

Details: 28-30 Peckham High Street, Peckham, SE15 5DT | Mon-Sun 10.45am – 10.30pm
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Xi’an Impression | Highbury 

Authenitic Xi’an street food in a stripped back setting. Must-try dishes include their Liangpi (a popular cold noodle dish); their bianbiang noodles (this time warm); and their Chinese burgers.

Details: 117 Benwell Road, London, N7 7BW | £5.50 corkage for wine, £1.70 for a can of beer
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Singburi | Leytonstone

A family-run Thai cafe in Leytonstone with regular queues out the door, thanks to deep fried pork belly and your favourite bottle.

Details: 593 Leytonstone High Road, London, E11 4PA | No Corkage
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Breakfast Club in Soho | Soho

Where The Breakfast Club all began; where two 80s children searching for an elusive alternative to sub-par sandwiches and mediocre mushroom burgers hatched a plan; where TBC is still BYOB and acronyms reign supreme.

Details: 33 D’Arblay Street, Soho, W1F 8EU | BYOB from 5pm-close every night. £5 corkage charge
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Alounak | Notting Hill 

An Iranian-style feast of garlicky yoghurts, smoked aubergine, grilled kebabs, basmati rice and warm bread from the proudly displayed tandoori oven.

Details: 10 Russell Gardens, Notting Hill, W14 8EZ | No corkage
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Hawksmoor | Various

Some of the best steak, triple cooked chips, service and cocktails South of the North Pole.

Details: All Hawksmoor locations | BYOB Mondays, corkage £5 per bottle, £25 Tues-Sun
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Tayyabs | Whitechapel

Whitechapel’s famed North Indian restaurant serves starters from £4, mains from £10, charges nothing for corkage and is still vying as one of East London’s best Indian cafe style restaurants. Which is good news, because Whitechapel can’t get enough New Delhis.

Details: 83-89 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, E1 1JU | No corkage
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Caboose | Shoreditch

It’s first and foremost a street food stall in Brick Lane, but they also have a 13-seater wooden cabin which can be hired out for private parties at £35 a head. The focus is slow-cooked meats, namely pulled pork belly or beef brisket, served up with the likes of sweet maple slaw, BBQ pit beans, roast garlic mash… and whatever booze you like.

Details: Ely’s Yard Car Park, Dray Walk (off Hanbury Street) Shoreditch, London, E1 6QR | £5 corkage
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It’s a low-key, vegan Ethiopian joint on Dalston’s Kingsland Road. There’s only one dish on the menu costing just £6, andddd it’s BYOB, making it a cheap and cheerful dinner option pretty impossible to resist.

Details: 528 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London, E8 4AH | Mon-Sun, 12-10pm 

Last Updated: 25th January 2021 | Main image: 1251

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