Reader, meet Dina.
We think you two are going to get on.
Dina’s an independent, modestly-sized bottle shop and wine bar on Leytonstone High Road, brimming with hand-picked vino from small-scale producers across Europe. By day, they’re on hand to stock your cellar – aka that Ikea rack on top of your fridge – with exceptional bottles of plonk; by night, they pop the corks on those bottles and serve them up alongside French bar snacks.
It’s an airy space, simply furnished with a communal table at its centre, and a little counter up at the window for watching the world go by. Dried flowers hang artfully by the entrance, and lining the pale tongue-and-groove walls are shelves stacked with natural wines.
The selection at Dina’s changes regularly to reflect new finds and seasonal picks, and the founders are genuinely passionate about the stuff. They’ll happily guide you through the shelves, which run the gamut from chilled reds to orange and fizzy, with producers generally hailing from France, Spain and Italy. They even run a subscription service that puts together three or four interesting bottles each month, and have a couple of wines picked out that make an ideal BYOB partner for dinner at Singburi up the road.
Then in the evenings, Dina becomes a cosy little wine bar, where you can enjoy a glass or two alongside Gordal olives, French cheese & charcuterie, and small plates like Marinda tomatoes with whipped feta. And occasionally, they bring in the big guns, allowing some of London’s hottest guest chefs to take over the hobs for fully fledged supperclubs – Missy, Decatur and Ace Pizza have all been through the doors here.
They also run occasional wine tastings, ‘meet the producer’ talks and parties for the big events on the wine calendar, like Beaujolais Nouveau.
Or Wednesdays.
NOTE: Dina is open Wednesday – Saturday. There are no reservations for the wine bar, but you can see upcoming events, and book tickets, HERE.
Dina | 289 High Road, Leytonstone, E11 4HH
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