This is a great little pub, a proper back street local which is friendly enough to passers by…read more It's split into two halves, with the bar down the middle and it makes a lot of effort with nights devoted to live bands and stand up comedy. It's in a very quaint sidestreet, just off the main high street but feeling like a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of it all, which is perfect for a pub where you can escape and relax. They have a good range of real ales, which change often enough and now seem to be consistently kept well which is a must for a good pub. There is a juke box and a dart board, plus a seating area outside which although not huge has had quite a lot of seating space added in providing plenty of seats without feeling too over crowded. There are also a couple of benches out front where you'll also usually find a few locals standing around, giving you the impression that this really is their second home, as the local pub always should be to its loyal locals. All in all, a charming pub that does make an effort, but there are a couple of things that do knock it down from being a 5 star establishment. One is the TV screens, they have one in each half of the bar but will often show the same sporting event on both, which really seems to spoil the whole advantage of having two separate halves. Often the pub won't even be that busy, so all could comfortably fit in one half, leaving the other for more peaceful drinking. However they don't do this, and if you've made the effort to head up there and are not into sports it can be a real let down to find that there's no space away from them. Another odd thing, and this is probably harder for them to do anything about, is that very often there's one or two incredibly drunks guys in there - and you could understand this if it was late in the evening but this seems to regularly be the case at about 5 or 6, early in the evening. Quite often they'll be shouting or jumping up and down causing a racket, never in a threatening way but just very out of kilter with the atmosphere in the rest of the pub. I think it's a sign of it being very much a locals' pub, and perhaps this is something the other locals are happy with, but as someone who visits less regularly it really makes the place seem less inviting and certainly not so easy a place to kick back and relax in. It's definitely a 4 star pub, many excellent reasons to go there but one or two minor foibles that keep it from being a top place. Perhaps they prefer it that way though.

Great service and atmosphere at this pub. The staff are always very friendly and ready to help you…read moreout. They've been working here for a while now and know their stuff, so you won't be left waiting for your drink more than a few minutes and even when it gets crowded they serve you just as quick. The prices might seem a bit high for some people, but it's understandable. The location is pretty good, so the pub is really easy to find. Atmosphere is very warm and welcoming, good for groups. The whole place is decorated in a very traditional style, with lots of wood panellings and old artwork. Totally recommended!

Many a pleasant evening (and afternoon) has been spent in the red lion. It's one of two really good…read morelocal pubs (along with Leyton tech) that I frequent regularly and is actually my preferred choice food wise. The portions are generous and tasty and all the times I've taken others down, they have been equally impressed, even family members with lots of opinions! The bar is good and its open late with a Dj on some evenings and a pub quiz on Mondays. The garden is huge and they have an outdoor cinema in the summer and frequent craft fairs and craft beer/cider festivals. I can't review this place without a mention of their new years parties which have been amazing the last two years. They're themed and fancy dress is encouraged. The large back area has a marquee and outdoor bar. There's always a great atmosphere. The real perk as a local, is its easy to stagger home!

Friendly staff, amazing vibe, plus a street-art adorned courtyard - what's not to love about The…read moreRed Lion? Oh yes, the good grub. Forgot about that. Settled in on a dewy Saturday evening (as in, the clouds opened about an hour into our meal) for a delicious pub dinner of steak onglet and lamb chops. A little disappointed by my "side salad", which really consisted of a handful of limp watercress, BUT, the steak was cooked to perfection and those chips ... errmygawd those chips!!! So, so good. Lamb chops were the real winner though, and paired with a glass of Cote du Rhone, we were set for the evening - even when it began to rain. Staff were so nice and apologetic about running out of my first choice (err, the lamb chops - I was generous and let my husband have his!) and replacing it with the steak instead. Rare to find in any pub, let alone one this far east! Definitely worth stopping by - live music on select evenings and the big space means it doesn't get crowded too easily.

Great atmospher! it's a very cosy venue by the canal which hosts many unique bands. I had the best…read morenights there

Grow is a new venue just opened that joins the selection of hipster venues in Hackey Wick…read more Just like Number 90, Crate Beer and Turntables, Grow is located right next to the canal, with a lovely outdoor beer garden, right on the canal edge, full of plants. Stocking a selection of craft beers and ciders, with an outdoor BBQ including Mezze and wraps, it's a lovely venue to spend a lazy afternoon wistfully by the river. The beer garden however does close early evening, but the indoor remains open and has space for live bands. This is a charming venue, very much in keeping with its local counterparts and prices are very reasonable for both food and drink. I'm loving grow right now because I don't think many people know about it and it's hidden and off the beaten track, so it's reasonably quiet and you can get a seat very easily, however I am not sure what it's going to be like when people realise it's here as I expect it'll get busy as soon as people do. Whilst I want them to succeed, I just hope it doesn't grow too much to ruin it's character.

came to see birthplace of Iron Maiden and were not disappointed! The owner was incredibly friendly…read moreand helpful. Guinness poured the correct way! unfortunately no food available until later in day. great place to hang out!

There is a very good reason why this pub happens to have Iron Maiden playing on repeat - this was…read morethe pub that they played at before they because one of the biggest heavy metal acts of the 80s. Yeah, this is basically the pub that every Iron Maiden fan ends up at when they go to London (though I mustn't be such a huge fan because, well, I didn't realise that this pub existed until recently). Mind you, it isn't the easiest of pubs to get to, but it isn't bad. Hey, they even have some good beer on tap, but yeah, it's the Iron Maiden that attracts me.

Great pub, great beer, all Brodies at £1.99 a pint, from 3.2% to 11%, how bad is that…read more... 5 mins walk from Leyton Midland overground ,15 mins from Leyton tube, bit of a schlep on the bus, 55 from town could take a while,East London well served though. Now doing guest ales all at £1.99, including Jaipur IPA!

This pub can be a bit tricky to get to. It's not really near any stations, but the area is very…read morewell served by bus. This is a large pub, with a dartboard and a couple of tellys. The décor is Victorian and the walls are covered with various beer memorabilia, most coming from somewhere else of course, but that doesn't make it look any less impressive. The drinks are cheap, about 2 pounds a pint for the ales. The lagers are a little more. The reason why the ale is so reasonable? Well it is brewed just out back. This pubs small beer garden separates the pub from the Brodie's brewery. They do make some excellent beers. The Blonde and the sunshine were my favourites but I managed to sample most of them and they were all pretty decent. The Thai food here is reputed to be excellent. I'm afraid I only tried some prawn crackers but they were certainly decent so I'd be keen to try a full meal here sometime. This is a really excellent pub, very close to a 5 rating, but I'd like to come back to be sure.

I popped into here Friday night after work to get the wild mushroom lasagna for takeaway (brought…read moremy own Tupperware as they only have foil). The place was buzzy but not too busy; it has a good pub vibe. Staff were friendly. It took a while for the lasagna to come out. I also got the charred broccoli with chili and lemon as a side and that came in foil. Decided to take advantage of the 2 for 1 happy hour deal whilst waiting: £6.50 for two rose fizzes was a steal! I ate at home. The lasagna was fantastic! Each bite was bursting with moreish flavour and rich cheesiness. The portion size was not too big to feel gluttonous. I ate it all! My only complaint is the broccoli portion size was WAY too small for the £3.5 price tag. It was tasty but super dinky.

Went here last week for the Blues Jam. By a bit after 8pm, the place had a good amount of people,…read morewhich I found surprising, since England was playing Spain in football in just a few. There is a good selection of beers on tap as well as wines and mixed drinks. I was set with my Worthington's Cream Ale for the night. After chatting with friends and meeting new people, we headed in for the music. A couple very solid bands. Since it was a jam session, my mates were trying to push me to get up there and play a bit. Oh darn, no bass or amps for me to play here. Too bad. ;) Even though Leyton in general is a bit of a trek from Central London, it was a good night all around and I enjoyed myself here. The staff is friendly, speedy and the drinks are cheap!

Food was delivious Service was also good…read moreAmbiance are great Peacefull environment I am satisfied with forest tavern, i urge people to visit once here.

So glad we've found this great pub. It's probably going to become our new local, even though it's…read morehalf an hour away on the bus! It has everything you want a good pub to have. Good selection of craft beers - check Nice wines - check Places to sit, not just stand - check Live music sessions - check Friendly staff - check Delicious food - check Board games - check It also allows dogs, and they have water bowls for them if you have a dog or want to go and coo over someone else's! We went for a Sunday roast and it coincided with when they had a live jazz band playing. It's quite shabby chic, but really quite big. There's a room out the back which is more of a dining room but we stayed in the front bit as that's where the music was. It was busy but we got a table and people came and went so there was normally space for those arriving. The roast dinner was the best I've probably ever had out, certainly in London and at £12 each it wasn't bad at all. There was so much meat (we both had the lamb) and it was so tender and juicy. It had the largest, tastiest homemade Yorkshire pudding I've ever seen, crispy goose fat roast potatoes and perfectly cooked parsnip, carrots and cabbage. It had really delicious gravy too. The drinks were cheap and the jazz band were brilliant. When they weren't playing, there was a guy in the corner with decks playing LPs. There have been some comments on here from other reviewers about the toilets. The ladies were really clean and nicely decorated so may have been refurbished recently. My boyfriend went to the men's and said they weren't the best but not that bad so they may have had some work recently too. This pub is really handy for Forest Gate station and also Wanstead. We had a lovely walk around Wanstead Flats before going to the pub so there's lots to do if you travel to the area. We'll definitely be visiting a lot more.

This pub has a nice olde look to it and the beer selection was way way more interesting than I…read moreanticipated. Lots of new ones for me and I followed the crowd in selecting Buzz Light Beer, the honey-est flavoured bee-er I hive ever tasted (haha sigh). It was rather nice. The icing on the cake? A falafel tent erected outside the pub. You can order there and they will bring the delicious result to you at your table in the pub. Not sure how often that is the case of course, but if its outside I would recommend it.

I've known this pub for three years now. As an essential aspect of the Walthamstow community, it…read morehosts a range of pop-ups, gigs, etc. I've been to both the pop-up Thai restaurant and wood oven pizza, which were fantastic. Unfortunately, the actual pub doesn't serve food. The pub staff are always really nice even when they're busy. The clientele range from older men to hipsters to young professionals to everything in between. It's a really good place to grab a pint and they even allow four legged friends. I had a lovely time here last night listening to a blue grass band. There was lots of people there and even some dancing. The atmosphere was great and we really enjoyed ourselves! Now that I've listed all the positives, I do need to talk about the negatives. The pub needs a restoration as it is beginning to look a little worn. For example, the carpets need to be replaced and it could do with a fresh coat of paint. However, the place is pretty clean for a pub! This is pretty minor as the other elements are way more important to a night out. On the other hand, this is also part of the vibe. Overall it's a charming aspect of the community that I'm glad is around!

In my opinion, this is the greatest pub in the area. They…read morehave a huge selection of ales, and I can't decide which to drink each time, so I end up combining a few. The staff are impressively patient and always ready to call a taxi for you, if you are too drunk to do so for yourself. It is open all week, but the best time to visit this place are Saturday and Sunday nights, even though it can get a bit crowded.

An old friend of mine dragged me for a drink. The pub is decent, a typical interior, drinks are…read moregood, prices are ok. All in all a good place to kill some time in.

The local pub in Stratford No frill or spills…read more Sport, music, quiz, pool, darts Dj and late license Friendly team! Great Drink prices ( which nobody can beat) Check it out!

The other half of the two 'boozers of Stratford' is this, The Queens Head. Sitting only a stones…read morethrow from bitter rival, The Princess of Wales, this pub offers a different kind of appeal. The place is a little bit decrepit - renovation works advisable, to the management. Look past this minor flaw however and it's just as publike and denlike as anything else you'll want to find in East London. The people are friendly and the rates of busy-ness fluxuates between quiet lunchtimes and the revelries of a weekend night. You get some live acts and DJ's playing on some weekends as well so definitely give it a visit during one of those times - it's where all of the big bands started after all, and you'll always want to be able to say that 'You knew those guys when..'. A nice little place.