Nearly five years ago, during peak Covid, a former gymnasium just behind the buzzing Ravenswood Industrial estate in Walthamstow received a glow-up. With an eye-catching revamped exterior dominated by a vast mouth-and-fork-in-hand mural, created by the illustrious Wood Street Walls collective, inside was new Italian restaurant, Arte e Pasta. And word quickly spread.
Originally founded by couple Ben and Joanna Anastasiou-Milne, it was the ambitious sister of Wanstead’s more established Bombetta, which had opened next to Snaresbrook station in 2016 and attracted both rave reviews and a regular clientele.
Sadly, Bombetta closed in 2024, while Arte e Pasta vacated its Walthamstow premises this summer due to rent hikes. The good news? After a series of successful pop-ups at its new home opposite Hollow Pond, it’s now a permanent fixture — with longstanding chef Victor Garcia Diaz at the helm.
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The interior is similar to its previous incarnation, the Rear Window, with its comfortable vintage peach banquettes and glass roof, and airy atrium-style space. But new shelves, filled with books, lanterns and more plants, break up the windows. And the central cherry blossom tree is now flanked by houseplants, fiddle-leaf figs and bananas lending suitably Mediterranean vibes.
With the original owners Ben and Joanna Anastasiou-Milne no longer involved (they left in 2024), the operation is headed up chef Victor Garcia Diaz, who has previously worked with Gary Rhodes, as well as running the kitchen at the now-closed Bombetta in Wanstead.
Oh, and to clarify, Arte e Pasta are only running the rear room, not the pub’s general food offer, which includes burgers, schnitzels and steaks.
The current menu features classics like antipasti like focaccia with rosemary (£4.70), meatballs in tomato sauce with parmigiana (£8.50), and mozzarella with caramelised orange, toasted fennel, fresh mint, drizzled with honey (£12.50).
For pasta there’s vegan farfalle with cavolo nero and hazelnut pesto topped with hazelnut crumble (£15), pappardelle with slow-cooked beef ragu and parmigiano reggiano (£18.50), and squid ink linguini with prawns in a citrus, chilli butter white wine sauce (£19).
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Secondi — which they always suggest to share if you’ve ordered pasta — includes a triple-cooked deconstructed cauliflower (£18), butterflied sea bass (£30) and dry aged 500g Scotch ribeye on the bone with salsa verde (£46), while Italian-style roasts sound tempting too, include a half chicken £21.50 and porchetta (£29).
Bear in mind that the menu changes often – but whatever the daily mutations, this leafy tucked-away oasis will once again become a destination dining joint for Leytonstone.
From tomorrow, Arte e Pasta is open Tuesday-Saturday 12-9:30pm at The Hitchcock Hotel, 147 Whipps Cross Rd, London E11 1NP
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