KERB to launch new Francis Road market - and Calamity Tank roars into E11
Plus: Leyton Star's hot new gravy pop-up, Apus reviewed, Pretty Decent's revamped Forest Gate taproom, Joyau - and supporting Blondies Brewery
It’s serendipitous that today’s issue glows with positivity — right at the start of the longest bank holiday weekend of the year.
The hot news in Leytonstone? Why, the former Mammoth bar, tucked away in the railway arches by the Overground, is soon to reopen as Calamity Tank. The best way to describe it is a local craft beer destination with a difference: find out exactly why this will be the area’s quirkiest new arrival in my in-depth interview with its three founders below.
But first up is another impressive coup for Leyton. This week KERB, the team behind some of the capital’s most pioneering food markets, confirmed it is launching a weekly edition on Francis Road. This is surely a brilliant way to increase footfall — not to mention the weekend vibes — on E10’s scenic tree-lined street.
Founded by Petra Barran, the collective launched back in 2012 with early markets in a fledgling Granary Square and elsewhere (I remember writing about their relatively short-lived mid-teens takeover of Camden Market, whose streetfood stars back then included Bill or Beak, Donostia Social Club and Mother Flipper). Fast forward to 2025 and their small, but well curated, roster of street markets are located on Fleet Place, Cowcross Street, The Gherkin and down in Gipsy Hill, as well as permanent set-ups at the National Theatre and Seven Dials in Covent Garden. Heck, there’s even a KERB Berlin.
Their nurturing side is underlined by an InKerbator scheme offering promising young chefs three weeks to learn the ropes at their HQ followed by a six-week residency at a market. So far there have been a hundred graduates, all fuelling our capital’s dynamic hospitality scene.
With their weekly markets averaging three to eight traders, and around six as standard, I imagine that’s what we can expect on Francis Road, although exact details are not yet confirmed. I’ve been told they hope to announce a finalised list of vendors in the next couple of weeks — but to give you an idea, key operators at the other sites include Filigrillz, Hanoi Ca Phe, Chulo, The Duck Shed, Voodoo Chicken, Tribeca Deli, Rice Bandits, Mr Porchetta and Harissa & Lemon.
Oh, and one thing is for sure: Tilbury Road’s own speakeasy Leyton Calling will be on hand with a weekly pop-up bar offering cocktails, beers and soft drinks to keep us all refreshed as we mooch (and munch).
In short? Sounds like a blast. So pop the last bank holiday in May in the diary as KERB on Francis launches on Saturday, May 31st, while the line-up will be announced by May 12th. Follow @kerbfood
Hello, and welcome to this week’s bumper holiday issue, a day early as Easter is upon us. Once again, thanks to those who continue both to read and support this entirely reader-funded newsletter. If you’re still reading for free and might just be a tad disappointed if it was no longer around, then to help you consider upgrading today I have a special offer today:
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Behind this week’s paywall in the bumper bank holiday issue:
Calamity Tank - an exclusive interview with founder Matt and his co-owners on their ambitious new Leytonstone destination
Remember 2023’s Best Sandwich winner It’s All Gravy? The lowdown on founder James Moody’s new concept at Leyton Star
Apus Teahouse: what works (and what doesn’t) at E11’s constantly evolving Church Lane dim sum joint
Inside Pretty Decent’s new-look Forest Gate taproom — and Joyau on nearby Winchelsea Road
A bank holiday river hop from Barking Riverside to Woolwich
Why we need to support Blondies Brewery — and this week’s many Easter weekend pop-ups, one-offs, new openings, local gossip and more
Calamity Tank: Mammoth 2.0 this is not
If you follow the trajectory of the area’s food and drink scenes, you’ll know that Tilbury Road’s hit brewery and taproom Libertalia was the first of the alleyway’s current spate of buzzy independent businesses. Although a newborn Gravity Well had occupied the same spot several years before, for most of the early 2020s, streetfood operations filled the arches.
That all changed in August 2023. The Libertalia vibe was all about being as DIY as possible, whether that’s their own merch, pictured above, or signature lager. The name came from the idea of Libertalia, a mythical colony in the 1600s, “a kind of anarchist commune,” founder Matt told me at the time, hinting at their fresh approach to all things craft beer.
And now they’ve their sights set on the former Mammoth, the craft beer bar that closed last summer in Leytonstone High Road’s railway arches. I caught up with Matt and his Calamity Tank co-owners Chud and Vera to get the lowdown on what we can expect (and why this is way more than just another craft beer bar). He also tells us why they’re closing the current Libertalia taproom.