Atteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeention.
Dalston’s landed an intimate, stripped back wine bar on the edge of Newington Green. Known as Cadet – because that’s its name – it’s located but a stone’s throw from Jolene, Lady Mildmay and Perilla, coming to us from two celebrated London wine lovers, Francis Roberts and Tom Beattie (who used to dish out the wine at Westerns Laundry, Bright and P Franco respectively, before setting up their own wine import business back in 2019) and cheesemonger-turned-fishmonger-turned butcher, George Jephson.
Together they dreamed of setting up a small, neighbourhood spot where they could combine their love of excellent wine with wonderful charcuterie. And lo and behold, that’s exactly what they’ve done.
Sam A Harris
The vibe here is very much “effortless cool”. Cadet’s a simple, stripped-back space, where the food and drink do the talking. A large bar runs along one side, which you can sit up at if you’re keen to be close to the action. Otherwise there’s five or six high tables with stools for you to choose from. And at the back is a small, open kitchen where some of London’s finest resident chefs swing by to do their thing.
Currently on the pans are the team behind Varrons, a French restaurant slated to open sometime later this year. Here at Cadet you can get a little sneak preview of what they’re planning, with a brief bar menu on offer Mon-Wed, and the full offering available the rest of the week. Going with it is a pair of signature cocktails, and a wine list picked out by Varrons’ resident drinks specialists, Ben Clyde and William Thompson (who, funnily enough, used to work here).
Of course, you can – and should – still peruse Cadet’s full cellar, picked out by Francis and Tom (who very much believe that what we eat and drink plays a major part in how we feel). That’s why they set up their import business in the first place: to provide a platform for Europe’s leading natural wine producers (people who avoid chemicals and/or buy organically farmed fruit), and Cadet is essentially that business in physical form. They also want to make good wine more accessible which is why, alongside a longer wine list, they also have a regularly changing menu of wines by the glass which, like the food menu, is also scribbled up in chalk behind the bar. If you’re unsure of what to try, then you can either close your eyes, spin around and point at the blackboard – accepting whatever your finger ends up pointing at – or, perhaps more sensibly, ask Francis, Tom or whoever’s working that night to advise you.
Rest assured when it comes to wine…
…they’re very well drilled.
NOTE: Cadet is open daily from 5pm (12pm weekends). For more information, or to book, visit the Cadet website.
Cadet | 57 Newington Green, London, N16 9PX
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