Half Cut Market.
It’s had a few too many wines…
…probably because it’s an independent bottle shop, deli, wine bar and restaurant all rolled into one.
It’s the work of four friends who used their time together in the pub productively, banding together to bring North London a hip space for sustainable food bits, condiments and artisanal booze. The friends in question aren’t just any old random folk off the street either; each has a seasoned background in the food and drink industry and each brings their own particular set of skills to the table – Holly (sourcing the wine), Edwin (sourcing the beer), Paul (sourcing the food) and Danny (making the place look effortlessly cool).
Caitlin Isola
The shop side of the operation is basically a cheat code for looking like a hero at your next dinner party, with a small sampler of the supplies available for take home including Torres crisps, oven pizzas from Homeslice, habanero hot sauce from Cool Chile Co, frozen handmade dumplings from My Neighbour The Dumplings, 120 or so craft beers and an 80-strong curation of natural wines (Holly is a Noble Rot alum, so it’s serious business here). If you’ve got a friend in the York Way area whose pantry contents have had a suspiciously large boost in quality over the past year, then yeah… you can probably assume that Half Cut Market is the culprit.
However, while you can come here for a quick dash, sweat with indecision, and buy five more things than initially planned, you can also make a meal out of it properly on-site. There’s buns, charcuterie, pickles & cheese and small plates that they knock together with some of the produce (think smoked raclette and potatoes). They’re also generous people, as far as to hand the kitchen over to some of London’s hottest up-and-coming chefs for regular takeovers (in the past; Mystic Börek’s Spasia Dinkovski and roving zero-waste restaurant Hot 4 U). Currently, it’s Million Pound Menu winner Jay Morjaria (on dinner duty from 5-9.30pm, Thurs-Sat until the end of October) whose menu features intriguing creations like curried egg mayo inari, kimchi mortadella gildas and prawn toast samosas.
And finally, as generous people, they also host events and workshops where they share their wisdom (Holly leads the wine tastings and Edwin does the same with beer).
You’ll probably leave half-cut too…
NOTE: Half Cut Market is open Tues-Wed 4-9pm, Thurs-Sat 12-10pm and Sun 2-7pm. You can find out more, order from the shop and book dinner and events on their website, here.
Half Cut Market | 396 York Way, London N7 9LW
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