Here to Roost: inside the new Algerian-spiced rotisserie under the arches
Plus: wine bar Joyau's 3rd birthday BBQ, Swirl's first ever brunch, Liv's Baked Goodies, the story of Hoe Street arrival Nour and a Beginner's Guide to Tempo
There’s been an onslaught of Tilbury recently — and so this weekend it’s the turn of that other key strip of railway arches to take the limelight.
In recent months, things have slowly been on the up for Winchelsea Road in Forest Gate, following the sad closure of the Wanstead Tap back in the dark days of February.
First up is the grand opening tomorrow of much-anticipated poultry joint Roost, the baby of three local pals — Amil Ourabah, Jake Salter and Andrew Neilson — who have reinvented the former family-friendly cafe Can Club.
Their simple focus is Algerian-spiced 24-hour brined rotisserie chicken, alongside a whole bunch of sides, cocktails, wine and East London craft beers.
Entirely self-funded and renovated, it’s a dream-come-true situation for lifelong besties Amil and Andrew, who “have been meaning” to open their own place for 15 years. “But, you know, life obviously got in the way,” Andrew told me back in March. And to keep things cosy, the third member, BBQ maestro Jake, is even “engaged to one of our friends we grew up with.”
Earlier this week the affable trio invited me down for a tour of the space and a first taste. Little did I know that they’d pull together a whole feast of sides and sauces, as pictured above: find out how it all went in today’s issue, along with interior pics and my tips on both the must-order dishes and cocktails.
Roost opens at 2pm tomorrow at 361 Winchelsea Rd E7 0AQ with 40% off all food, plus £5 pints and £5 chicken salt margs. It’s then open from midday to 4pm Sunday, follow @roost.london
Joyeux anniversaire à Joyau
Another essential happening on Winchelsea Road this weekend is the third birthday of Francophile wine bar Joyau — French for ‘jewel’, of course.
Owned by couple Immy and Jack Lawrence (whose story I covered last autumn here), its instantly appealing Scandi-style interior is complemented by outdoor decking whose colourful planters add to the Mediterranean feels.
This week, I swung by for a light lunch, my eyes firmly fixed on the seasonal special: pan con tomate with anchovies on sourdough. And not only was it deliriously photogenic — see the above pic — it also delivered a quiet hit of sweet, salty and earthy as balanced as any I can remember eating anywhere.
What’s the secret? “Brush the olive oil on the bread, then griddle so it gets nice and charred,” said head chef Eleni, who has previously worked at famed spots like Towpath, Honey & Co and Trullo. “Then a brush of garlic before grating the Vesuvio tomatoes, seasoning them with really good oil and straining to take away some of that water. Then layer the Cantabrian Yurrita anchovies on top.” It’s a hard recommend from me.
Meanwhile, the focus on tomorrow’s birthday BBQ is on three items: firstly, smoked chicken in a marinade of “chipotle chillis and spices including fennel seeds, allspice, cumin, two types of paprika,” she says. “That’s served with sweet and sour cucumber pickles and hot sauce.”
But there are also squid brioche buns. “We prep and then barbecue the squid, before tossing it in a sauce made with long green silvery peppers thrown on the barbecue and chopped down into a paste seasoned with herbs, oil and lemon,” says Eleni. “And [sous chef] Stevie is making the buns, because she previously worked at Wood Street Bakery.”
Impressive stuff. Plant-based diners can tuck into popular Provençal snack fried panisse (chickpea fritter) buns, with peppers and green sauce, while sides will include summer slaw and potato salad.
Best of all? They’ll be “pouring champagne by the glass until it runs out.” Cheers to that. 353 Winchelsea Road E7, Saturday July 4th, 2pm-9pm, @joyau_wine
This section is sponsored by KERB Francis Road
Over on Francis Road, this is my final monthly column in collaboration with KERB so I wanted to give a shout out to a handful of producers I haven’t yet mentioned in the last six months.
First up? It has to be Liv’s Baked Goodies: this Istanbul-raised, Leyton-based former Michelin-starred chef sells her simply astonishing creations every week in the market — try the Basque cheesecake, for example, the brown butter cinnamon bun, or if in doubt, the light-as-air tiramisu: I don’t even have a sweet tooth, and yet it’s like nothing else I’ve tried this year.
“I used to work at a three-star Michelin restaurant, Eleven Madison Park,” she told me the other weekend. “Just before the pandemic, I came back, and when lockdown hit, I was like, let’s get on my bike and start delivering.” The rest is surely history.
I’m also a huge fan of Blackhorse Road-based Wild Grains Bakery’s miso sesame sourdough — chewy, salty and delicious — as well as their high-quality tinned white tuna fillets, while next door Fosse Meadows butchers sells tender marinated flattened chicken breasts, amongst other carnivorous delights.
A final recommendation? Greek olive oil purveyors The Devil’s Village. This cold-pressed single origin from Diavolitsi in the hills of Messinia is so piquantly delicious — smooth and peppery — it can almost be sipped like wine or dunked readily with the aforementioned sourdough. Better still, it’s a “proudly a women-owned business”, as they say on the label, pressed at the village factory by founders Tess, Maria and Zahra.
Despite the end of this regular column, I’ll still be covering KERB Francis Road’s constant evolution — and in the meantime can normally be found outside Tamping Grounds or Dreamhouse most Saturdays.
As well as the produce, streetfood stalls tomorrow includes Borobudu, Hanoi Ca Phe, Kolkati, Mexclub and Utopia Food. KERB Francis Road runs 10am to 4ppm, follow @kerbfrancisroad
Welcome to issue 87. And so now onto Leyton Midland’s Tilbury Road — well, we had to get there at some point, eh? — where it’s another big happy birthday to cafe-bar Tun, which turns one. Owner Ed is celebrating with an all-day free party tomorrow (July 4th) with DJs, cake, coffee and of course local booze (midday-late).
And for the first time in its history, the street’s wine bar Swirl is hosting brunch this Sunday, July 5th. The unique NYC-style pop-up is from Kuchisabi (aka chef Lana Matsuyama, ex-Sessions Arts Club, Brutto and Moro), who blends Japanese-American flavours to create plates like eggs benedict with onsen (slow-cooked) eggs and yuzu hollandaise, wasabi sausage gravy and biscuits, duck karaage and waffles, and kuromitsu milk bread french toast. It runs 12pm–4pm only, bookings advised.
And yet that’s not all. The hardworking Leyton Midland bar has also just started a three week-run for kitchen residency Swilipino, whose cooking blends chef Tintin Jonsson’s dual Swedish and Filipino heritage. The menu features lumpia (spring rolls) with spiced vinegar, seabass kinilaw with coconut milk and herb oil, and mussel Bicol express (stew) with cold noodles and prawns. Swirl is open Wed-Sun at Arch 148 Tilbury Rd E10 6RE, follow @swirl_e10
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In this week’s issue for paid subscribers:
An inaugural feast at Roost. I sit down exclusively with the three owners to try the rotisserie chicken, along with the lunchtime menu, sides and dips. Find out what I recommend most below.
The story behind Nour, an elegant new Middle Eastern cafe between Bakers Arms and Walthamstow Central. But which locally famous chef is behind the menu?
A beginner’s guide to Tempo in Bethnal Green, whose head chef Eric Wan is known round here for hit pop-ups at Swirl and Loop. What’s his new Paradise Row joint like?
Side Portions: it’s Pride in London all weekend. Plus food & drink gossip, opinion, news, pop-ups, one-offs and foodie titbits.