17 wine bars worth the trip across United Kingdom, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All United Kingdom guides.
P. Franco ★ 4.7 · London
hackney · 107 Lower Clapton Road, London E5 0NP
Liam Kelleher's natural-wine room on Lower Clapton Road in Hackney London, opened 2014, runs a wall-of-wine shop by day and an evening counter with a rotating chef residency.
Tip: Walk-up only. Tuesday-Thursday at 17:30 is the easy slot; Friday-Saturday queue 30 minutes for a counter seat.
Noble Rot Bloomsbury ★ 4.7 · London
fitzrovia · 51 Lamb's Conduit Street, London WC1N 3NB
Daniel Keeling and Mark Andrew's wine-magazine-meets-bistro on Lamb's Conduit Street in Bloomsbury London, opened 2015, runs serious old-world wines and a Modern European kitchen.
Tip: Lunchtime three-course is £45 with a glass. The Greek Street Soho sibling has longer hours and the same list.
Smith and Gertrude ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
stockbridge · 26 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh EH3 5BA
Smith and Gertrude on Hamilton Place in Stockbridge Edinburgh, opened 2014, a 30-cover natural wine bar with a cheese-led food list and a vinyl record-changing.
Tip: BYO cheese policy from the deli next door at GBP 5 corkage on a Tuesday. Pours are 100ml or 175ml from a chalkboard list.
Fhior Wine List ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
canonmills-inverleith · 36 Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3SB
Scott Smith's Fhior on Broughton Street in Edinburgh, opened 2018, a tasting-menu room with one of the city's most-thought wine and non-alcoholic-pairing lists.
Tip: The non-alcoholic pairing of house-fermented juices is the best in Edinburgh and worth the cover charge alone.
Sager + Wilde ★ 4.6 · London
hackney · 193 Hackney Road, London E2 8JL
Michael Sager and Charlotte Wilde's bar on Hackney Road in east London, opened 2013, ran the bridge between London's old wine-bar scene and the natural-wine wave.
Tip: The grilled cheese sandwich is the marquee bar snack. Wednesday and Thursday nights run a £25 menu pairing.
40 Maltby Street (wine) ★ 4.6 · London
borough-bermondsey · 40 Maltby Street, London SE1 3PA
Gergovie Wines's importer-run wine bar and kitchen inside a Maltby Street railway arch in Bermondsey London, opened 2010, the home address of London natural-wine drinkers.
Tip: Open Wed-Sat only. Walk-up at the counter from 12:00. Closed Sun-Tue; the Saturday market crowd from 10:00 anchors the day.
The Bon Vivant ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
new-town · 55 Thistle Street, Edinburgh EH2 1DY
The Bon Vivant on Thistle Street in Edinburgh New Town, opened 2008 by Stuart McCluskey, a candlelit wine bar pouring small-producer European wines and serving.
Tip: By-the-glass list runs 24 deep; their adjacent Companion food bar and Hoot the Redeemer cocktail bar are part of the same group.
Toast ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
leith · 65 The Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RA
Toast on The Shore in Leith Edinburgh, opened 2019, a daytime-into-evening wine bar pouring biodynamic European producers beside open-fire-toasted sourdough.
Tip: Wine flights of three pours run a fixed list at GBP 18; lunchtime sandwiches double as a snack-with-wine programme.
Good Brothers Wine Bar ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
stockbridge · 4-6 Dean Street, Edinburgh EH4 1LW
Joe and Dan Worthington's wine bar on Dean Street in Stockbridge Edinburgh, opened 2015, a brother-run natural wine room with rotating snacks and a 30-deep.
Tip: Sunday is closed for the cellar audit; Tuesday is the new-wine night with growers' tastings every other month.
Noto Wine Bar ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
new-town · 47a Thistle Street, Edinburgh EH2 1DY
Stuart Ralston's Noto on Thistle Street in Edinburgh New Town, opened 2019, a Japanese small-plates dining room with a wine and sake list pairing modern.
Tip: Counter seats look at the sushi pass; the wine list is short but unusually well-curated for sake pairing.
Forza Wine ★ 4.5 · London
peckham · 133a Rye Lane, London SE15 4BQ
Bash Redford's wine bar atop the Peckham multistorey carpark in south London, opened 2018, runs Italian-leaning natural wines and small plates with a rooftop view of the city.
Tip: Walk-up only. Tuesday-Thursday from 17:30 walks in; Friday-Saturday queue runs to 90 minutes for the rooftop seats.
Quality Wines ★ 4.5 · London
clerkenwell · 88-94 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA
Will Lander's wine shop and bar next to Quality Chop House on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 2019, runs a focused natural-leaning Continental list with corkage at £15.
Tip: Buy a bottle and drink it in the bar for £15 corkage. The lunch sandwich menu from Quality Chop House is half-price.
Diogenes the Dog ★ 4.5 · London
kennington · 96 Brixton Road, London SW9 6BE
Sunny Hodge's neighbourhood wine bar on Brixton Road in Kennington London, opened 2017, runs a serious natural-wine list and Mediterranean snacks at counter and tables.
Tip: Walk-up only Tue-Thu. Friday-Saturday books two weeks ahead. The wine focus is on growers Hodge knows personally.
The Wine Pantry ★ 4.4 · Edinburgh
stockbridge · 21 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh EH3 5AN
The Wine Pantry on St Stephen Street in Stockbridge Edinburgh, opened 2017, a retail-wine-shop-meets-bar pouring shop-bottle by-the-glass with a small.
Tip: Buy any bottle on the retail shelf and drink it in-house for a GBP 10 corkage; doubles as a value play for natural wine.
Vinatura ★ 4.4 · Edinburgh
leith · 23 Bath Street, Edinburgh EH15 1HG
Vinatura on Bath Street in Portobello and Leith Edinburgh, opened 2022, a seaside natural wine bar with a daily-changing list of small-producer Italian, French.
Tip: Sunday and Tuesday closed for cellar work. Friday natural-wine flight at GBP 22 is the value play with cheese.
Top Cuvee ★ 4.4 · London
islington · 177-179 Blackstock Road, London N5 2LL
Mike Garrett and Bryan Connell's natural-wine bar on Blackstock Road in Highbury London, opened 2019, runs a small-plates kitchen and a wine club delivery service.
Tip: Sunday roast at £25 books a week ahead through Resy. The wine subscription delivers six independent bottles a month.
The Laughing Heart Wine Cellar ★ 4.4 · London
hackney · 277 Hackney Road, London E2 8NA
Charlie Mellor's downstairs wine cellar at The Laughing Heart on Hackney Road in east London, opened 2017, runs a deep natural-wine list and a late kitchen to 23:30.
Tip: Downstairs walks in any night; upstairs dining room books a week ahead. Wine club subscriptions get the rarest bottles.