What: A laid-back neighbourhood restaurant and wine bar close to Hackney Central overground that has set up shop in the space that was formerly home to influential fine dining restaurant Pidgin. Though it is in many ways Pidgin’s spiritual successor - it’s run by largely the same team as before, for one thing - it’s moved away from a tasting menu-only format to offer a punchy and eclectic a la carte menu.
Who: Sesta is the debut solo restaurant project for friends Drew Snaith and Hannah Kowalski. The pair met at Jackson Boxer’s Brunswick House early on in their careers and - more recently - oversaw Pidgin as head chef and general manager respectively. The bulk of the Pidgin crew have been retained, including sous chef Ben Ing and general manager Majalis Lundstrom Celedon.
The food: Snaith has created a menu that blends elevated dude food - ‘nduja-scotched olives; beef ragu toastie, dripping brown sauce and chilli pickled onion - and things that are a bit more chef-y but not in an overly serious way. Other smaller plates include prawn and stone bass dolma and ouzo butter; and chicken fat carrot, pickled plum, anchovy soubisse and crispy wind sausage while more substantial options take in chicken leg with bacon prune stuffing and chicken sauce; and turbot with hot-smoked brandade and ‘aggressive’ aioli. While the food and the restaurant itself has a fun, laissez-faire vibe the former is underpinned by some serious culinary technique (Snaith cut his teeth at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons).
To drink: Kowalski wine list is tight - there is very little storage on site - with around 60 listings in total. The selection is exclusively European with a strong bias towards France. Still wine starts at £8 per glass and £38 by the bottle and tops out at 2022 for a bottle of Dard et Ribo Crozes-Hermitage Blanc. Kowalski says the natural-wine-only list will rotate constantly. There is also a cocktail list created by Snaith, Kowalski and Lundstrom Celedon that features Mezcal Negroni made with Belsazar rose vermouth, Campari and lime; and Blackberry Juice made with gin, homemade peanut syrup, lime and Thai basil oil. Further down the line, Sesta plans to make its own mead.
The vibe: The layout of the space remains much the same as Pidgin but the 26-cover interior has been spruced up with a new paint job - dark blue flecked with gold - dark wood table tops and work from local artists. The site’s terrace has also been overhauled. Front and particularly back-of-house space is extremely tight but the pair are doing a great job of sweating their assets.
And another thing: Sesta takes its name from an old English word for a large vessel of wine. According to Susie Dent’s and Gyles Brandreth’s etymology podcast Something Rhymes with Purple - which is where Snaith heard about the word - nobody is allowed to leave the table until the Sesta is finished.
52 Wilton Way, London E8 1BG
