East London Food & Culture

OMG! Filly Brook’s revised menu. Plus The Drum Leyton and more

Exciting new small plates, a revamped boozer in E10, and new E11 health food store

1. New menu: Filly Brook

We probably ate at Grove Green Road’s Japanese kitchen Filly Brook more times than anywhere else in 2021 (with the possible exception of Yardarm’s wine bar). But by the year end we did feel the menu would benefit from either chalkboard specials to keep regulars coming back, or simply new items.

And lo and behold! That is indeed what’s now happened. We’ve enjoyed a couple of exemplary lunches on chilly weekends this year so far, including the two best plates we’ve eaten to date at the restaurant, steered by talented chef Sho Foo Doh.

Firstly, outstandingly tasty chicken wings are glazed with ponzu, honey, aonori (seaweed) and chilli sauce – fingerlickin’ does not come near to capturing their deliciousness; and secondly, half a dozen exquisite, perfectly pin-boned fillets of mackerel tempura (main pic, above) with sour plum and shiso. Keep ’em coming! Follow @fillybrook for more.

The Drum Leyton
The Drum reinvented as Sparkhouse from today. Photo: SE

2. New Boozer: The Drum Leyton

On the busy thoroughfare of Lea Bridge Road, a minute’s walk from Bakers’ Arms, stood one of the first-ever Wetherspoon pubs for nearly forty long years. Its name allegedly derives from the fact that it was converted from a bar which had had a display of drums hanging from the ceiling.

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It closed last month and will now reopen, after a spruce-up, under the Laine’s pub group, the people behind what we think is Leytonstone’s excellent local, The Birds. We look forward to seeing what they do with their E10 sibling. No Insta as yet.

3. New Store: D’Vine Nature

Meanwhile, over on rarefied Wanstead High Street – still E11, lest we forget – is the soon-to-open D’Vine Nature, a wholefood store and cafe that will specialise in fruit and vegetables, natural products, an off license and more. Spoilt for choice in Wanstead, aren’t you? Still, it always makes a pleasant 8000 steps round trip from our little patch of E11. “You can expect organic groceries, vegan and gluten-free options, eco refills and pet food,” they explained on DM. “There’s no café for now, but maybe in the future we would add one in.” It opens late Feb. Follow @dvinenature21.

Know of a new opening? Email us on info@leytonstoner.london. Or are you a new opening and want to speak directly to our thousands of East London readers? Email us and we can explain more how it all works.

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