Just under three months after sharing the news that their fourth shop would be in E11, Yard Sale Leytonstone is open. Drum roll.
They’re kicking things off with a soft launch week with 50% off dine-in and takeaway. Delivery starts next week, with a Willy Wonka-style giveaway of £1000 in Yard Sale ‘dough’ vouchers, hidden in takeaway boxes at random for lucky Leytonstoners to find.
We bagged a preview of the latest addition to the YS family on Thursday evening. Sitting between Peacocks and Paddy Power on the High Road, the backlit sign is like a beacon luring pizza-loving locals. The interior has a kind of diner-with-a-dash-of-Hackney-plant-shop vibe: think dark blue walls, neon signage, checkerboard flooring and hanging plants-a-plenty.
There’s a mixture of seating options – counter tables and high stools down one side of the room, and blue-and-white tables made from recycled chopping boards, with diner-style seating and chairs, down the other. The open kitchen is at the far end of the room with a smart dark-wood counter, white tiled walls and pendant lighting framing the this-is-where-the-magic-happens Gozney pizza oven.
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Whilst we dithered over the eight-pizza menu and wondered whether there’s more pizza in one 18” pizza or two 12” pizzas (clue: the latter), we knocked back a glass of house red, a bottle of Session IPA by Forest Gate brewers Pretty Decent Beer Co and shared a portion of juicy Gordal olives aka The Best Olives In The World.
Minds finally made up, we went for a 12” TSB – tenderstem broccoli and pinenuts, with the manchego swapped for vegan cheese – and a 12” Holy Pepperoni, as it comes which is with two types of pepperoni and a spicy nduja sauce, plus a chimichurri dip.
The Neopolitan-stye pizzas were all crispy base, melty cheese, tomato-y paste and tasty toppings. Not for nothing have Yard Sale won a host of awards including Best Cheap Eats at the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2017. Ordering a dip is a smart move if, like me, you tend to leave your crusts in a Jenga-like pile, the parsley-packed chimichurri dip lifted them from meh to must-eat.
We finished our meal with the indulgent, almost toffee-like brownie and a pot of London’s own Nonna’s Gelato Salty Toffee Apple ice cream. Rolling off into the night, I was already planning a return visit, and crossing fingers my address will make the cut and they’ll bring pizzas direct to my front door when deliveries are up and running.
