CODE Neighbourhoods: Michael Sager's Hackney

Welcome to CODE Neighbourhoods, an essential guide to Hackney from the chefs and restaurateurs that know it best. Michael Sager is the founder of three Hackney bars: longstanding wine bar Sager + Wilde, cocktail bar Equal Parts, and cosy little Bruno in Victoria Park Village.

“Wine bars have become a third space, not work, not home. They’re where you can go and hang out but you don’t necessarily have to spend “restaurant money”

CODE members get 25% off their total bill at Sager + Wilde from Monday to Wednesday, 5pm to 11pm, and on Sunday, from 2pm to 11pm. At Equal Parts, CODE members get 25% from Monday to Thursday, 4pm to 7pm. And, at Bruno, it’s 25% total bill on Tuesday and Wednesday, 5pm to 11pm, and 25% off drinks on Friday, from noon to 5pm.

CODE members get 25% off total bill at Sager + Wilde from Monday to Wednesday, 5pm to 11pm, and on Sundays, from 2pm to 11pm.

CODE members get 25% off total bill at Bruno on Fridays, from 12 to 5pm.

CODE members get 25% off total bill at Equal Parts from Monday to Thursday, from 4 to 7pm.

Michael Sager on Hackney

“Hackney is an interesting borough,” says Michael Sager. “It has the highest rate of self-employed people in the whole country. A lot of people work from home.”

Sager has watched the borough change over the 13 years that he has been operating there with his pioneering East London wine bar, Sager + Wilde. The areas closer to the canal, where “the fancy houses” are – London Fields, De Beauvoir, Victoria Park Village – have sprouted a lot of new openings but, as he notes, “People never pay attention to how many of them close.” Keeping up with the pace of change, with waves of new arrivals in the borough, is always a challenge. Sager + Wilde has stayed relevant by adapting, introducing things like its £7 martinis and mezcal negronis and never taking its now legendary grilled cheese sandwich off the menu. “Wine bars have become a third space, not work, not home. They’re where you can go and hang out but you don’t necessarily have to spend “restaurant money” which is quite substantial these days.”

His cocktails at Sager + Wilde – Sager was bar manager at Milk & Honey in its heyday – have helped the wine bar find a younger audience who don’t necessarily have the budget for natural wines. He launched Equal Parts as a fully fledged cocktail bar down the road in late 2023.

Food-wise, Sager is in the process of adapting the offering at Sager + Wilde, taking a cue from his Victoria Park Village wine bar Bruno, and introducing rotating residencies. So far at Bruno, he’s welcomed something like 20 different residencies, including Firangi, Filipino Thai Friendship, and Flock – “probably the biggest success we had”.

“We have super interesting people coming in for anything from three weeks to three months. What sets it apart from other places that do something similar is the diversity; something I’m quite proud of. The residencies always bring their own community with them and during that time, it kind of becomes their restaurant. What we love about it at Bruno is that we learn how our wines work with different cuisines. It helps us understand our wines better.”

Where to Eat

Brawn

The venue is beautiful, the food is incredible, the wine is incredible, the service is incredible. There’s a reason it’s been around for that long.

49 Columbia Road, London E2 7RG, brawn.co

Leo’s

I love Leo’s on Chatsworth Road. It’s incredible, the most congruent Italian experience I’ve had that’s not in Italy. It has a deep cellar, great aperitivo, great coffee. The best tip is to go on Sunday lunch, it’s £42 per person.

59 Chatsworth Road, London, E5 0LH, leosrestaurant.bar

Dalla

If, like me, you are a friend of great mid-century Italian design, you need to go to Dalla. Dalla is beautiful. It has an open kitchen with something like two chefs and two front of house. It’s a tiny space with maybe 20 seats. The handmade pasta is excellent. The prices are fair and the wine list is exciting and deep. It also has white tablecloths which I like!

120-122 Morning Lane, London, E9 6LH, dallarestaurant.com

Sune

That’s a cool place on the bridge, right by the canal by Broadway Market. The location is beautiful; the food is really good, the wine list is good, and it’s right in the centre of Hackney.

129a Pritchard’s Road, London, E2 4AP, sune.restaurant

Elliot’s

It’s really come into its own. I think it’s probably the most inclusive, best value menu, in a nice space, in Hackney right now. It’s where you can go if you want to eat vegan or you can have a Galician dairy cow txuleta. The chef, Brett Redman, is incredible.

121-123 Mare Street, London, E8 4RH, elliots.london

Where to Drink

Yuki Bar

I love Yuki Bar. The food is accessible; you’re not expected to eat but you can if you want to. You can eat a little, drink really nice wine, but not spend too much.

426 Reading Lane, E8 1DS, @yukibar.london

The Pub on the Park

50% off a pub right on London Fields on the CODE app

19 Martello Street, London, E8 3PE, pubonthepark.com