Advertisement

Waltham Forest area guide: Best restaurants, pubs, bars and more

If there’s one place you really need to get to know in 2019, it’s Waltham Forest.

Recently named as London’s first Borough of Culture, the area is set to celebrate the title throughout the year, with plenty of events and celebrations planned for the next 12 months.

It’s the perfect reason to become familiar with a part of London that has perhaps been unfairly underappreciated in the past — and which, as any local will tell you, has a huge amount to offer.

The borough — comprised broadly of Leyton, Leytonstone, Walthamstow and Chingford — has a sparkling array of restaurants, some of the best pubs in London and a plenty more cultural delights to get stuck into.

This is our guide to going out in Waltham Forest.

Restaurants

Yard Sale Pizza
Yard Sale Pizza

Yard Sale Pizza is delighting Londoners with stone baked pizzas across two locations in Waltham Forest (Leytonstone and Walthamstow), and another two further afield. Offerings range from the Holy Pepperoni made with London-based Cobble Lane pepperoni, to the vegan Herb Your Enthusiasm, topped with grilled artichokes, kalamata olives, red onions and salsa verde.

SpiceBox, one of the capital’s most popular vegan street food stops, is currently hosting a pop-up at the organic Hornbeam Cafe, but will open its first restaurant on Hoe Street in Walthamstow at the end of January. The menu features the likes of a hot and spicy jackfruit jalfrezi with green peppers and onions, a cooler, creamier cashew and coconut korma with seasonal veggies, and SpiceBox’s award-winning tarka dhal.

Gokyuzu started life 20 years ago in Green Lanes. In 2015, the family-run Turkish hotspot opened its second restaurant in Chingford, and has since added Walthamstow and Finchley sites to its roster. You’ll come for the succulent, charcoal grilled kebabs, but find yourself piling the table with pide (Turkish pizza), and specialities including a sarma kuzu beyti of marinated minced lamb wrapped in lavash bread and cheese.

Spend your bees and honey on a traditional East End serving of pie and mash at L Manze on Walthamstow High Street. This historic cafe specialises in pie, mash and liquor – parsley sauce, no alcohol involved – as well as jellied eels. The shop has been open continuously since 1929 and is even Grade II-listed.

[[gallery-0]]

Want to hunker down in a pub for a proper Sunday roast? The Queen’s Arms knows how to deliver them. Rounding off the week with lunch in this Walthamstow food pub means the pickings of Galloway rump of beef with horseradish and Yorkshires, chicken with pork and herb stuffing or slow roast pork belly with crackling and apple sauce.

Meanwhile, Leyton Technical, the Leyton pub housed in the former town hall, is catering to vegetarian roast lovers with aplomb. Sundays see the popular spot serve up a roasted vegetable strudel – or Wellington, for traditionalists – with a roasted pepper sauce. What’s more, you get to enjoy it amid the pub’s unique surroundings: mosaic floors, high ceilings and chandeliers.

Swap Waltham Forest for the West Indies at Rhythm Kitchen, where founder Delroy Dixon cooks up Caribbean food inspired by his mum’s old family recipes. Alongside curry goat, braised oxtail and saltfish fritters, jerk is the top priority. Grab it in the form of chicken wings with sweet and tangy glazes, as a whole jerked fish of the day or spicing up an entire chicken. There are more than 60 rums to choose from, too.

Walthamstow pizza spot Sodo (which has three further locations in Hackney) makes all its bases using sourdough, cooking them at more than 450 degrees to keep them light and airy. Curiously named features on the menu include the John Bon Chovy with anchovies, olives, capers, chilli and fresh parsley, and the hot and fiery Wicker Man with nduja and scotch bonnet chilli honey. Eat in, and you can also enjoy Sodo's selection of natural wine and craft beer.

Eat17, in Walthamstow Village, is known for one thing above all: bacon jam. It’s as curiously delicious as it sounds, skirting the boundaries between jam, relish and spread — in fact, Eat17 claims it’s actually all three. The place itself is primarily a cornershop, selling a broad range of British produce, but there’s also a small restaurant serving up meat, fish, veggie options, with a cheeseburger that comes lathered in — you guessed it — bacon jam.

Pubs and bars

Leyton Technical
Leyton Technical

Leyton Technical isn't just about the roasts. A quirky place, full of knick knacks and oddities, various clashes of interior design and a chandelier to finish it all off, it's perfect for a pint too. The beer selection is excellent, especially when it comes to real ales.

Formerly known as the King Harold, the Leyton Star reopened a couple of years ago and has since attracted a new legion of regulars. It’s a popular place to watch the football, and on Thursdays, a loyal crowd enter for its pub quiz — but the best deal for a local comes around on a Wednesday, where you can get 20 per cent off selected food and drink if you live nearby.

For craft beer, head to the Red Lion in Leytonstone, which offers five keg options on rotation, alongside plenty more boozy delights on tap. The Victorian boozer runs lively DJ nights on a Friday, and excels during the summer when the huge beer garden comes into its own.

William the Fourth, a big Victorian corner pub, is operated by Brodie’s brewery — meaning there is nowhere else in the country that you can find a broader selection of its beers. There are plenty of other options too, meaning no beer-drinker should go unsatisfied. The terrace round the back is a popular haunt when the sun’s shining.

[[gallery-1]]

Up in Walthamstow, Ye Olde Rose and Crown feels like the hub of the area. It’s a big old place, hugely popular with the locals and bustling with activity at prime time. The beer selection boasts plenty of interesting options on tap, while there are also a decent number of whiskies available. It is much more than just a pub though, with various music, theatre and comedy nights — more on that below.

Another classic corner pub is the Bell. The decor inside has a traditional, but not dated feel — lots of exposed brick and wooden furniture make it a welcoming place, as does the bubbling, laid-back atmosphere. If you’re in Walthamstow, grab one of the superb ales on tap and, if it’s summer, head outside to the garden.

The Castle is tucked away within the rows of terraced houses in Walthamstow Village, but it’s well worth seeking out. It’s a big hit with families, meaning you’ll often find toddlers waddling around — although they’ll be kept entertained by the toys and books stored in the pub. For the adults, it serves proper coffee thanks to its espresso machine, which can’t be said for all of the pubs in the area.

For wine lovers, Yardarm is the place to be. It’s predominantly a shop that sells all sorts of delicious morsels — bread, cheese, charcuterie, chocolate and so on — but it also has a sharing table at the back, excellent for enjoying a glass of vino from its selection. There are regular ticketed tasting events, too.

Gin and lots of it can be found up at Mother’s Ruin Gin Palace. It’s a small place, with plenty of people crammed inside to get a taste of the cocktails made using own-brand gins and liqueurs. During summer, the crowds spill out onto the tables outside the bar, making it a delightful place to spend a balmy evening. In fact, it’s right near God’s Own Junkyard and a number of breweries — it would be rude not to try them all while you're there, no?

Coffee shops and cafes

Deeney's
Deeney's

Coffee enthusiasts may well have come across the punnily named Perky Blenders, an east London roastery known for its supremely flavoursome beans and subscription delivery service. If you want to try the coffee fresh from the source, it has a number of coffee bars around Waltham Forest — one in Leytonstone station, one on the High Road in Leyton and another on Farnan Avenue in Walthamstow.

Lighthaus in Walthamstow is another good spot for a cup of caffeinated goodness. As the name suggests, it’s a bright, airy place, perfect for whiling away a few hours over the course of a lazy afternoon. The drinks are superb and are matched in equal measure by the food on offer, which ranges from hearty sandwiches to indulgent cakes.

For scrumptious pastries, breads, cakes, coffees and more, head to the Wild Goose Bakery. It’s got a quaint feel to it, with old-fashioned furniture and dainty bone china, ideal for spending a couple of hours in, catching up with friends. There are plenty of options for coffees and loose leaf teas, too.

Any Scots looking for a wee taste of home should head to Deeney’s Cafe in Leyton, famous for the hangover-tackling haggis toastie. Yes, that’s the Scottish delicacy crumbled onto slices of sourdough, and heated with oozing cheddar, caramelised onion, mustard and rocket. There are multiple variations on the haggis theme, as well as a veggie option called the Lady Macbeth, which features vegetarian haggis, cheddar, caramelised onion, mustard and rocket. Marvellous.

Music venues and nightlife

Walthamstow Assembly Hall (Alexis Nethercleft/Creative Commons)
Walthamstow Assembly Hall (Alexis Nethercleft/Creative Commons)

Walthamstow Assembly Hall — now officially known as WAH17 — is something to marvel at even for its architecture. It’s a huge, imposing building, designed with a sleek art-deco flourish that inside boasts a huge main hall. That space is the hub of the venue’s cultural output, which is incredibly varied, hosting everything from jazz festivals to techno raves to stand-up comedy.

Ye Olde Rose and Crown is a great place to grab a drink, but there’s plenty more going on to keep you there beyond the pints. It puts on regular theatre performances, holds gigs as part of the Walthamstow Folk Club and, most impressively of all, pulls in some huge names to do stand-up at its Red Imp Comedy Club — Stewart Lee is a returning favourite.

Down in Leytonstone, Luna puts on live music every night of the week — and the best part is, it’s all entirely free. Each night has a theme: Monday is blues jam, Tuesday has the singer songwriters, Wednesday is the open mic, Thursday brings in the jazz and Friday always has a live band on, completely free. The weekends are a little more flexible, but all details are on their website.

When it comes to purpose-built nightclubs, Waltham Forest is somewhat lacking. However, if you venture just outside of the borough limits and into Tottenham Hale, you’ll find The Cause. It opened in April 2018 and has already made a name for itself as one of London’s best clubs — well worth the extra couple of quid on your Uber fare.

A gig in a church is always a special experience and, as luck would have it, there are two venues in Waltham Forest that offer exactly that. Both St Mary’s in Walthamstow and St John’s in Leytonstone host regular performances of contemporary music, each with a sound system that makes the most of the buildings’ excellent acoustics.

Arts

William Morris Gallery (PA Archive/PA Images)
William Morris Gallery (PA Archive/PA Images)

God’s Own Junkyard is one of London’s more peculiar attractions, but entirely worth a visit. It’s a neon paradise, made up of various luminous signs that cover the walls and ceilings. It’s an excellent spot to grab an Insta snap in, and even if you’re not looking for some top notch social content, it’s great fun to wander round and marvel at it all.

For a rather more traditional cultural excursion, head to the William Morris Gallery. It’s housed within a delightful Georgian building — Morris’ family home for eight years in the mid-19th century — and is dedicated to the life and working of the hugely influential designer. It features everything from wallpapers to carpets, alongside the work of artists indebted to Morris.

For a journey back into the history of Waltham Forest, pay a visit to Vestry House Museum. Going there feels like you are transporting yourself hundreds of miles away and into the countryside, thanks to the abundant greenery and beautiful old architecture. It’s packed full of photographs, clothes, toys and more, all of which paint a vibrant picture of the area from yesteryear.

The Granada Cinema in Walthamstow has been a cultural landmark since the 1930s, but now it has a new lease of life. With a new name — Mirth, Marvel and Maud — it still offers regular cinema screenings, but there’s now a lot more to it. There are three bars, a restaurant and various spaces that host everything from panel discussions to cabaret.

Most Instagrammable spots

God's Own Junkyard

Walthamstow Wetlands

Vestry House Museum

Walthamstow Village

And one more thing...

They may be easily missed by hurried commuters racing through to catch their trains, but it's worth taking the time to enjoy the mosaics that line the walls of Leytonstone Underground station. They're in honour of the great filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock — born in Leytonstone in 1899 — and each depict a scene from one of his classic films, from Psycho to The Birds. Find them in the walkway that leads in and out of the station.

How to get there

Tube: Leyton, Leytonstone (Central line), Walthamstow Central (Victoria line)

Overground: Leytonstone High Road, Leyton Midland Road, Walthamstow Queen's Road, Wood Street, Highams Park, Chingford