Last month, we revisited The Hitchcock for the first time since previous managers Will and Ruth left several months ago. It’s now reverted to its former pubby feel, albeit with the smartened interior that the duo implemented (the rebooted dining room, still mostly intact with its central plants and blossom tree, is now compromised by reinstated banqueting chairs). Thankfully the fireplace is lit daily in this weather to instil some atmosphere within its historic nooks and crannies.
But the best development is the addition of the ‘snack shack’ at the front, which I returned to eat at the following week. Called The Wrong Man, it only opened at Christmas, a much-needed coffee stop after a circuit of the lake. Although the black-and-white 1956 Hitchcock film, which its name references, is a minor classic, I did wonder if Cafe Vertigo might have had a better ring to it, as we’re near the area’s loftiest point, the landmark High Stone itself?
That aside, the Wrong Man is doing almost everything right in its chic log-cabin interior. In particular, genial owner Kevin Holroyd, who lives in South Woodford, believes he’s the first in East London to serve ‘jaffles,’ the Antipodean toasties that are also popular in his native South Africa.
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“I lived in Leytonstone for ten years before moving back home, where I managed safari lodges in the bush and also worked as a guide,” he says. “ And then I returned here last year with the idea to do this.”
Made using a jaffle iron, and sealed all around, the neatly spiral-shaped toasties are piping hot: a vegetarian option comes filled with cheese, generous chunks of roasted butternut squash “and rosemary from my garden.” Other fillings include a ‘cheeseburger’, ham hock and kimchi, and chicken curry. And at just £5.20, they’re both delicious and good value.
Unlike the adjoining pub’s now rather basic list of beers – whose interest peaks at Camden Hells – out here on the terrace Kevin is prioritising East London beer, coffee, produce and companies, including locally made candles and honey. So expect Perky Blenders beans and Leyton-based East End Lager at just £6.20 a pint (fact: East London Brewing is situated just off the Lea Bridge Road).
The Wrong Man isn’t yet on social media, but is open all day till 6pm. And locals are already won over: on a Thursday lunchtime there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
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