The last time I compiled a round-up of the area’s best outdoor eating and drinking spots was over five years ago.
The tortuous 2021 winter lockdown was about to end and I tentatively put together a rollcall of 18 venues, all respecting social distancing of course, for those “suffering from a mind-blank or sheer unbridled panic at the pressure of booking a coveted outside spot.”
Looking through the edit is a reminder of how much has changed: there’s now no Solvay Society (one of E11’s earliest taprooms), for example, and the wine bar To Be Consumed has been through a couple of incarnations since (it’s currently craft beer bar Calamity Tank). And no Jellied Eel at Strange Brew, either: remember how thrilling that short-lived cocktail pop-up was on Francis?
On the upside, there has been a positive torrent of new arrivals, many with sizeable outdoor spaces, from sunny corner cafe Unity and the soon-to-close Back To Ours to the sprawling warehouses that comprise Blondies Brewery.
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A key alfresco thoroughfare in 2026 we can all agree on? The arches west of Leyton Midland, where, in addition to long-running Gravity Well taproom, you can take your pick from natural wine bar Swirl, cocktail joint Leyton Calling, Chop Shop Tavern, or devour jerk chicken at Ochi’s open-air tables under the flag-strewn railway bridge itself.
Over on Francis, in addition to Yardarm, Phlox, Scottalia and Marmelo, all with pavement terraces, there’s the multi-tasking Dreamhouse Records, which pivots into a corner pub on sunny evenings and weekends. And Saturday’s KERB market sees the whole stretch morph into one long buzzy open-air hangout.
Elsewhere across the area, Blackhorse Road has continually upped its game, its warren of taprooms and bars all with significant outside spaces (some sunny, like Pretty Decent, some less so, like Signature Brew), while nearby Crate St James boasts an established raised terrace that’s handily west-facing.
Over in Walthamstow, the pedestrianised Orford Road offers ever-evolving pavement dining — a cute spot is Bern’s lattice wood parklet — while the area’s pioneering boozy industrial estate, Ravenswood, has long been an alfresco destination. And both the front and rear terraces at the nearby Nag’s Head are my go-to.
Finally, Forest Gate’s outdoor hotspots span both the Avenue Road arches (see Ramble Cafe and Fiore Truck) and the more well-known Winchelsea Road, equally seductive for a fresh-air tipple, whether it’s southern French cuisine at Joyau or South African at Wild Goose. And not so far away, both Here East and East Village on the edge of the Olympic Park have long been popular extramural haunts, the latter a reliably peaceful enclave around the rolling inclines of Victory Park.
But I’m guessing you know all this. So, in today’s issue I attempt to put the spotlight on the venues you may have walked past.
With that in mind, all the familiar contenders — including the businesses mentioned above — are conspicuous by their absence. In this alternative guide there’s no Leytonstone Tavern, Coach & Horses, Holly Tree, or Filly Brook. No North Star (although that achingly hot terrace is arguably my favourite in the whole area). And no Red Lion, despite its big-budget makeover last year from dustbowl to mini resort with all-weather heated wooden huts.
And furthermore, there’s no Northcote (yep, I love its walled courtyard, too) or Heathcote & Star, with that capacious garden that’s like a slice of rural Essex.
Instead, I’ve collated a bunch of less heralded and hopefully less predictable recs that may — or may not — surprise you. And if you know all 22 already, bravo.
At the top of the pile? Leytonstone’s low-key Birkbeck Tavern, pictured above. Heroically saved from being turned into luxury flats in 2012, its pastoral walled garden offers an almost timeless way to spend a lazy sweltering afternoon, as I did earlier this week.
Read the full list in this week’s issue here.
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