The people of Bethnal Green can’t get enough of the generously filled wood-fired sandwiches at Rogue Sarnies. Since opening in summer 2023 as a small sister site to its restaurant Rogues on Hackney Road, the business has expanded to a larger space on Poyser Street, popped up across the city and delivered platters of fresh sarnies to anyone lucky enough to live in a four-mile radius of its Bethnal Green HQ.
Now, co-founders Zac Whittle and Freddie Sheen have decided to open late for the first time on Fridays and Saturdays – starting this weekend. Instead of closing shop at 4pm, the Bethnal Green warehouse space will stay open until 10pm. It was a decision, explains Sheen, inspired by evenings spent there recently during the World Cup.
“We found ourselves hanging out at the shop most evenings with friends, and it made us realise just how good that little strip of Poyser Street is later in the day,” Sheen tells Broadsheet. “It gets the sun well into the evening, it’s tucked away from the main road, and it’s a little quieter than the rest of Bethnal Green.”
To start, the pair will serve their current classics menu (including the Beef Dip, with sticky braised shin; or The Chook, with roasted lemon and herb thighs), then begin switching things up with some evening specials. “We’re also speaking to loads of friends from across the industry about collaborations and pop-ups over the coming weeks and months,” he says.
To drink? The new draught beer set-up is already “flying out as expected”, plus there’ll be low-intervention wines on tap from Uncharted Wine, £6 Negronis, and a selection of what Sheen calls “the strongest boozy slushies London has ever seen”. It’s worth the risk of brain-freeze to sip the frozen Margaritas made with Desdeya Blanco Tequila and strawberry daiquiris made with DropWorks Rum. Plus, for the first time, Sheen will be bringing his selection of house-made limoncello spritzes over from the Rogues restaurant – “a real passion project of mine since we opened back in 2021”. Champagne is also available by the glass, plus a “bloody lovely brut cava for something on the slightly more affordable side of life”.
“We’d love the shop to become somewhere people can meet for a quick bite and a beer on the way home, grab dinner with the gang before a gig or a night out, or stop by to sober up after one too many post-work pints,” Sheen says.
Rogue Sarnies (263 Poyser Street, E2 9RF) will open from 9am to 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays from this week, and close at 4pm every other day.
