Star Rating

* * * * * * * * * *

Eat17 Bar and Restaurant

28-30 Orford Road, 

Walthamstow 

London, E17 9NJ  map

Tel: 020 8521 5279

Web Site

Eat17 has reopened after substantial changes to the premises. The old deli is now an inviting bar area where you can pop in just for drinks or to peruse the menu for future reference. The area that was once the bar (and toilets) has been razed to the ground to provide a completely open plan restaurant. The decor is as tasteful as ever with contemporary furnishings in time-honoured chocolate brown and it has a new corporate ID. The menu had changed a little from our visit of last month, though.
At the time of writing the new web site is being constructed - as are the the toilets! Don't worry you won’t have to dash into the tapas bar next door. Eat17 has hired a most lavish portaloo for our convenience which currently takes up the space that was previously the garden. As you've probably guessed, Eat17 isn't quite finished as yet. 
The staff at Eat17 have always been warm, pleasant and seemingly relaxed and this contributes to the calm, friendly atmosphere that the restaurant undoubtedly has. 
Time to eat. Having had a drink at the bar beforehand we sat down to eat about 9pm and by 9.15pm the waiter appeared with pad in hand and took our order. It's unusual not to be asked for the drink order first but the staff are relaxed - as I said.
Starters comprised sardines in breadcrumbs with a tomato relish, which were pleasant enough, and a leek and black bomber cheddar tart (otherwise known as a quiche) which was most favourable.
Having just realised we had been waiting rather a long time for our main course the waiter approached and told us that our order was just two minutes away and apologised for the delay, offering us a drink on the house - which we refused. Five minutes later the pacific salmon with parsley sauce on bed of spinach and chicken breast with girolle crème fraise sauce arrived but without our side dish of runner beans. We were again offered a drink on the house which at this point we accepted. The beans arrived five minutes later by which time we were half way through our meal - we were not charged for the beans. 
Not every restaurant would offer a compensatory drink when things go awry and we appreciated the gesture. But you can’t help wondering if the kitchen will be able to keep up with demand - the restaurant was about half full when we ate there and it was the third night after the refurb. 
The food was very well cooked and the potato that accompanied my chicken was one of the crispiest and carefully seasoned roasted potatoes I've eaten. The generous portion of chicken, although succulent, was a little bland despite the crème fraise sauce. The also generous portion of salmon was moist and cooked with care but the parsley sauce was barely detectable making the dish a little tame.
Although feeling quite full after the first two courses (despite the time to digest) we decided to try an apple and blackcurrant crumble with ice cream for sweet. The filling was delicious but let down somewhat by a slightly floury crumble - we were full anyway.
It would be cruel to suggest that the most exciting part of the evening was discovering the portaloo but the food did lack imagination this time. There is a great deal of promise here, though, and all in all the evening was most pleasant. Oh, and the bill excluding a drink at the bar was just over £50.

October 2009

New decor at Eat17

Eat17's new alfresco eating area. (May2010)

Below are reviews of Eat17 before the refurbishment.

I have been meaning to visit Eat17 for dinner (5pm till 10pm) for quite a while now and yesterday was the day - and only just in time to catch it in its current guise.
Plans are afoot (and in progress) to expand the restaurant into the adjoining Eat17 deli and to move the deli into a new Spar grocery store next door (currently Paul's Wines). This store will also have bed and breakfast accommodation, with a hearty breakfast at Eat17 no doubt.
As I mention below, Eat17 have a website where you can look at the menu and keep abreast of news about the restaurant and check out upcoming live music events, billed as 'Gig17'.
Having been to Eat17 a few times for lunch I felt that it would be a completely different experience to eat there in the evening without the danger of bumping into prams - and it was. 
Our waiter greeted us warmly and offered us a napkin or two to mop up the rain that was dripping from our brows on this most inclement evening. 
He then offered us the 'bait' table near the door (that didn't close properly). You know, the table where you're made to sit to make restaurants look busier than they are to lure in more customers. We've all done it. ''Oh this place must be good, look at all those people sitting in the window!”
We accepted the table and began to peruse the menu which for the first time since the restaurant opened did not have a waffle option! At last the waffle hangover has been eradicated (phew). From this point onward the evening began to improve and the fact that my socks were wet began to become far less important. 
We chose a bottle of Peter Lehmann, Barossa Valley Grenach from the wine menu - a beautifully fresh and fruity number. 
The soup of the day was very tasty tomato and pepper soup. Pan-seared scallops with pancetta and saffron mayo was served with watercress and pea puree, the scallops being very good and expertly cooked. If I were to be critical, which obviously I am, the pancetta was a tad crispy. On the whole, though, a good start. 
Main courses were bubble and squeak cake with poached egg, asparagus, welsh rarebit sauce and crumbs; and trout with crushed herb potato, also served with watercress and pea puree (can’t get enough of it!). 
The trout was perfectly cooked with a crispy salt-seasoned skin and the herb crushed potato was a kind mushed up jacket potato with herbs (parsley and chives I think) and ah!…peas. The potato crush was superbly seasoned and a welcome rest from boring old mashed potato (in any of its guises).
The bubble and squeak cake was very tasty and pink on the inside, made with sweet potato without a trace of cabbage - but this surely has to be a good thing? The asparagus and poached egg were perfectly cooked and the rarebit sauce a good and tangy complement to the dish.
The bill was about £43 with the wine alone £15 (£6.79 online).

I would say that on the evidence of this one visit the chef at Eat17 is one of the best in the area, producing uncomplicated food cooked with care. Let’s hope that nothing changes too much when the new plans come to fruition.

The service was friendly without being pushy - but can we a better table next time please? (Ooh, I think my socks have dried out now.)

September 2009

Eat17 prides itself on 'homemade' locally-sourced produce. Are we to assume that the chef lives on the premises? Or am I being too literal? Anyway, this restaurant/cafe opened at roughly the same time as the Orford Saloon and, on opening, was a Thai snack bar owned by VK (the Village Kitchen group). After the demise of VK Eat17 took over and it became a waffle restaurant! I don't think E17 residents quite got the waffle experience and since this realisation the menu has evolved into what it is today. Waffles are still served but more as a sweet than a savoury. Food is good although the choice is not vast. The decor is fresh and bright with contemporary furnishings (which means brown) and the ambience is very 'Village'. The adjoining deli offers local, fresh and interesting produce and is definitely worth a visit. Lunchtimes are very popular  with Village mums and their pushchairs. Unfortunately service can be painfully slow which if you're on your lunch break can make this place a no-goer. Save it for the evening.
Eat 17 is open at 7am. Breakfast is served until 2pm, lunch is from 12 noon till 2pm and dinner is 5.30pm until closing at 10pm.
Eat17's specials board is currently offering themed cuisine - Roast Sunday, Curry Monday, Steak Tuesday, Seafood Wednesday and American Thursday. The two days that are left, we assume, are busy enough to offer a more varied range of specials.
There is also a garden at the rear with ingenious heated umbrellas for chilly summer evenings.. 
Eat17 have obviously tried very hard to attract the 'right sort of crowd' and to a large extent have achieved it although to some this could be considered as politely intimidating.  
Click here to download a copy of the menu or take a look at Eat17's rather snazzy and informative web site at www.eat17.co.uk for lots of other information including catering services and details of the deli.

Sept 08