Why now is the time to explore outer East London

Connecting Stratford, the Olympic Park and Walthamstow is Leyton. This once-maligned area is now home to one of the most up-and-coming strips in East London. Previously more synonymous with fly-tipping, Tilbury Road railway arches (a narrow alleyway opposite Leyton Midland Road station) has been transformed by new arrivals in the last year alone, including three bars, a bakery, a Caribbean restaurant and two soon-to-open artisan cafes. The opening of two popular microbreweries in the last few years on the same stretch sparked this sudden transformation: Gravity Well, nestled in the station arch itself, and the edgier Libertalia taproom, named after a mythical anarchist colony in the 17th Century.

For Leyton-raised Danny Saunders, owner of tropical cocktail bar Leyton Calling (which opened in summer 2024) and cosy candlelit pub Chop Shop Tavern (which opened in February 2025), it’s a personal coup, having known the area since the 1980s. “I’ve come full circle,” he said, with a smile. “My latest bar is in the actual arch where I set up my first car repair business back in the day.”    

Leyton’s rise as a whole has, however, been something of a slow-burn. Back in the mid-2010s, nearby Francis Road began to be taken over by independent creative businesses. “I opened here in 2017,” said Aimée Madill, who owns Phlox, a bookstore, cafe and wine bar. “It was risky as it was still a ‘less-developed’ part of London, but local indie bookshops are more than a business, they’re a sign of confidence in a community.”  

Pedestrianised in 2017, the tree-lined street has since blossomed with chic cafes and bars: two of the latest openings are vinyl store-cum-craft beer bar Dreamhouse Records and Loop Dining, a pop-up space launched in summer 2024 to host weekly residencies from buzzy up-and-coming chefs.