Walking past Leytonstone High Road’s Eastern Spoon, with its light restoration and new lick of paint, got me thinking about what an elegant former boozer this new restaurant is now occupying.
A little bit of research on the Closed Pubs website reveals that it was originally built by Stratford-based brewery Savill’s as The Cowley Arms in 1870, before being taken over by Charrington’s in the 1920s. One Peter Gough even writes that he was born in the pub in 1934: “it was then operated by my grandparents, Arthur Andrew Rush and Lilian Maud Rush, who are now buried in Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington.”
Meanwhile, the photo above – isn’t it a beauty? – was taken in 1936, where, if you look carefully, it advertises in the window “luncheons served in the lounge” with “English meat only.” Did this mean that the pub may have had what we would now call ‘foodie’ aspirations? Interestingly, the year 1936 was significant in food writing as a popular new-style London restaurant guide, Dining Out And What To Order, had just been published by the journalist Ambrose Heath, his aim to provide a very basic introduction to eating out, a pursuit that was still relatively new back then.
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Now let’s return to the story of the pub: fast forward nearly a century and the Cowley became a freehouse in 2000 and passed through several riotous-sounding noughties name-changes including, um, Faze II, Erosion and finally the Loaded Dog, the latter a live music venue whose name (apparently) refers to a corrupt practice on greyhound race tracks (and alternatively a hound playing fetch with an explosive). As for these three incarnations – Faze II, Erosion and Loaded Dog – did anyone ever visit or have any info? I’d love to hear any anecdotes (email: info@leytonstoner.london)
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Meanwhile, the Dog whimpered for the last time in 2009, before reopening in 2012 as The Shepherd’s Inn, aimed at the local Lithuanian community. Most readers will have passed by its blood-red exterior at some point: I admit I always meant to try the food – but sadly never did. As you may know, that venue admirably survived over a decade until a year ago.
And so to Eastern Spoon. A glance at the menu and this new restaurant – specialising in “Pan-Asian” cuisine – offers streetfood (papri chat, Punjabi samosa, masala chips), mains like Chicken Karahi, Masala Cod, Makhni Lamb and vegetarian dishes like Tarka Dal and Chana. For biryani fans (see my recent feature), it will set you back a tenner here. Plus, there’s a small, rather added-on Chinese menu which reads like an afterthought. Let’s hope they find their way – and do justice to a building with such an industrious backstory.
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