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Food Going out Kids

East Village

Rafael running around E20
Photo by me

Typical weekend conversation in my house: “What shall we do today?” “Don’t know.” “E20?” “Sure.”

The site of the 2012 London Olympics has everything we need to hang out with Rafael: cheap parking (or more expensive parking if we feel like charging our electric car), nice coffee places, large enough areas that are safe for a toddler to scoot and run around, green spaces, ducks, a playground, it’s not too far from home, Westfield Stratford shopping centre for some more hardcore shopping, the Sunday market, a bike shop, a kids shop, nice restaurants. I could go on.

We usually try to think of something different to do, somewhere else to go, but the fact of the matter is that E20 is becoming one of the best places to spend a few hours with my family. And we keep coming back.

Categories
Food

Leyton Food Market

Leyton Food Market in Coronation Gardens
Photo by me

Our new ritual every Saturday afternoon is to go to the Leyton Food Market in Coronation Gardens and either grab some lunch or a coffee and some sweet treats (or both!). Rafael gets to run around the park for as long as he wants, and we get to enjoy Leyton in a very pleasant setting. The first time we went, I was surprised at the number of babies and children that were there — it seemed like all the children in Leyton had descended into Coronation Gardens, which was very lovely.

Recommended especially on a sunny (or just dry) day, for anyone looking for something to do. Bring the kids!

Categories
Food

Yardarm

Yardarm in Leyton, Francis Road
Photo by me

Here is another Leyton gem, and probably the local business we spend more money on (if you exclude Rafael’s nursery…).

Yardarm, in Francis Road, started as a wine shop and now it has expanded into a very friendly wine bar (soon to have its own beer garden). But the thing is they don’t just sell wine. They sell beer, gin, vodka, bread, cheese, sausages, croissants, custard tarts, chocolates, coffee, water, and many, many other delicious treats.

The shop is dangerously close to our house, but luckily it’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we can only empty our wallets there on the other 5 days of the week.

They sell Rafael’s favourite bread, my favourite wines, and Nicklas’s favourite beers. We go there often, sometimes for a loaf of sourdough, more often than not for bread and wine, and other times for a cheeky G&T (Rafael is in love with the tonic water). I love how you can just grab any bottle from the shelf and know it will be delicious (tip: try the Portuguese ones!).

If you’re ever in the area, be sure not to miss it.

Categories
Food

Marmelo Kitchen

Photo by Calum Pringle
Photo by Calum Pringle

There are a handful of gems around Leyton where we love to go for a coffee, a glass of wine, or food. One of them is Marmelo Kitchen, in Francis Road, where you can taste the most delicious eggs and other brunchy bits on Saturdays, roasts on Sundays, and sharing plates on Thursday and Friday evenings.

Marmelo is dangerously close to our house, but luckily enough, it gets full very quickly (it’s not big).

I think Rafael ate his first piece of meat there!

Categories
Food

Palmeira

Delicatessen Palmeira in Leyton
Photo by me

Following my last post about Oceano Restaurant, I think it’s appropriate to mention another key factor that led me to move to Leyton: the Portuguese delicatessen in High Road Leyton, Palmeira.

I go there any time I need a quick fix of Portuguese goodness, be it a galão, a rissol, a cod cake or a delicious beef sandwich. And at £1.10, it’s home to one of the cheapest espressos you’ll find in London.

Categories
Food Going out

Oceano Restaurant

Sardinhas assadas
Photo by me

I am delighted that Oceano got the award for best restaurant in Leyton and Leytonstone in the Time Out Love London Awards. We have been going there since we moved to London — not as often as we wished, but as often as we can. The food is tasty and it makes me a little less homesick.

We tend to go quite early in the evenings, around 5.30pm so it’s usually quiet by then, but it can get pretty busy, especially if Portugal are playing and everyone is out to watch the game.

If you go there, don’t forget to try the soup.

Categories
Food Going out

The Red Lion

Photo by me
Photo by me

If you’re trying to figure out where to get a scrumptious Sunday roast, look no further than Leytonstone. I can recommend The Red Lion, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the tube station. The pub is big and beautiful, with a large outside space for when the weather allows, and the roast is excellent — even Rafael approves. If you arrive at 12pm you probably don’t need to book, but any time after 1pm I’d say booking is a must. Go there.

Categories
Food Going out

All You Read is Love

Rafael and Nicklas in All You Read is Love
Photo by me

It was only in the last couple of months of my maternity leave that I found All You Read is Love, a super cool café in Leyonstone that has everything I could ask for: cocktails, wine, coffee, teas, cakes, biscuits, sandwiches and even books, if I’m that way inclined.

We go there often now. Sometimes for a tea or a coffee, sometimes for a cocktail or a beer. Rafael loves the little play area at the back, with Lego and children’s books. And it’s on the way to his nursery (a total coincidence…).

I bought an English copy of José Saramago’s “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ” for Nicklas there once — one of my two favourite books and one of my two favourite authors.

Our fingers are crossed for more places like this to open in Leytonstone and in Leyton, but in the meantime, we have everything we need over on the side of the train tracks.

Categories
Food

Milk

Tea cup
Photo by Tom Godber

In 2009, over a year after I first landed in London, I still hadn’t acquired the taste for milk in my tea, and I said so on this blog. I feel I must now update that detail regarding my tea-drinking preferences: I rarely (or ever) have my tea milkless.

Categories
Food

Earl Grey

Earl Grey Sorbet Ingredients
Photo by Emily Barney

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here, but I know I’ve said before, a few years ago, that I didn’t understand how anyone enjoyed Earl Grey, as it tasted of soap. Well, those days are long gone, so I feel like I need to make things right and let everyone know that Earl Grey has, over time, become my most favourite tea. How about that?