Where to dine out in Walthamstow

Sitting proudly on a colourful corner of Wood Street, Dudley’s is a laidback all-rounder of a restaurant. Within its hefty brunch menu, you’ll find the cure to any degree of hangover: its smooth coffee is a must, followed by its highly-praised three cheese toastie or a very special sausage and egg brioche creation with a punchy in-house sauce named ‘The Dogfather’.

Later, natural wines and small plates make for an excellent date night or relaxed catch-up with close friends; scallops are presented prettily in their shells and tender bavette steak melts in the mouth. It’s quite a small space, so you might have to wait to be seated or dine al fresco in the outside area. If you really want to secure a space though, nab a ticket to one of their monthly day parties, which feature guest chefs and DJs!

You get a little bit of everything at Bargo. The seasonal signature cocktail menu features some stunning creations, including the Amazon Rain that comes served in a tropical tiki mug. They’re also pretty well-versed in shaking up the classics too, so you can be safe in the knowledge that they’ll be able to make your go-to tipple. You’ll find a particularly extensive snack menu, if it’s just a cocktail and a nibble that you’re after, but if you are looking for a more substantial meal, then you can tuck into tempting delights such as wings, burgers, cheeses, arancini and even lamb chops. Plus, there’s live music every Thursday night, so you can really settle in for the evening!

Those who are not so familiar with Walthamstow probably wouldn’t expect there to be a fully-fledged winery in the area! You’ll find Renegade Urban Winery in an industrial estate, where all of the wines—around 12 to 14 per year—are produced by hand and on site.

You might recognise some of the bottles: they all feature the eyes of a different person living in the UK and you can actually apply to be one of them yourself! In addition to the intriguing and pretty reasonably-priced wine list, which includes pet nat and skin contact variations, there’s also food on offer here. Embers London are the current resident chefs and from them you can expect smokey, flavour-packed bites that will help soak up all the wines you’ll inevitably want to try. If you want to learn more about wine-making or tap into your creative juices, the winery also hosts tours as well as sip and paint events.

On a striking corner of Walthamstow, just east of the Ravenswood Industrial estate, you’ll find the eye-catching muralled home of Arte e Pasta. The art continues through its airy, laidback interiors, making it one of many esteemed creative hubs in the area, alongside the likes of neon wonderland God’s Own Junkyard. The menu here revolves around fresh pasta which is prepared in wholesome and unpretentious dishes such as beef cheeks and parmesan polenta, pappardelle with slow cooked ragu and butternut squash stuffed ravioli. At £25pp for the three-course set menu, this is very good food at a very reasonable price. 

At The Lacy Nook, Macedonian chef Elena Smileva brings the vibrant flavours of the Balkan Peninsula to East London, transporting diners to sundrenched tavernas by the ocean. Its light and laidback interior makes for sunny brunches and languorous summer evenings, while the menu offers slices of sourdough piled high with zhuzhed up toppings like tornado scrambled eggs and chorizo and feta hash. There are moreish sharing plates to dig into come evening too, including charred sea trout, BBQ smoked pork belly with a Basque stew, and beef cevapi — a kind of sausage made from minced beef which is served with red pepper relish and a traditional Balkan soft cheese. 

Another unusual setup in the area is SlowBurn: a pop-up restaurant that moonlights in a working denim factory, which makes dining here feel a little bit like you’ve stumbled across a secret supper club. Eating while surrounded by sewing machines and garment-making remnants certainly makes for a conversation starter! While there is meat and fish on the menu, the restaurant focuses predominantly on carefully sourced plant-based dishes that feel healthy yet still pack a punch—think moreish cauliflower fritters with creamy aioli, crunchy broccoli with aromatic Thai red curry and sweet carrots on a bed of tangy whipped feta…

You’ll find another outpost of the popular Green Lanes restaurant Gokyuzu in Walthamstow. In fact, this family business has five restaurants in the capital, so they must be doing something right! The sprawling, glam space serves up authentic Turkish fare, from freshly baked bread, pides and lahmacun to succulent grilled meat. This spot is particularly popular with groups who can dig into sharing platters and mezes overflowing with freshly whipped dips and other morsels. Leave room for dessert too, as traditional Turkish treats of kunefe (a sweet cheese pastry) and sütlaç (similar to rice pudding) will satisfy those with the sweetest of palates.

Housed in an airy warehouse, Big Penny Social kind of does it all. It has an onsite microbrewery, but if craft beer isn’t your thing then you can choose from an impressive selection of cocktails and wines instead. It’s the sort of place you might settle in for a weekend afternoon of catching up with friends or watching whatever sporting event is taking over the country, and so the menu caters for all kinds of cravings—from brunch and Sunday roasts, to vibrant salads, pizzas and stacked burgers. It also puts its sprawling space to good use with a packed calendar of events, including vintage markets, comedy nights, beer festivals and quizzes!