Newham
Pasta Remoli

Pasta Remoli

14 Fresh Food, Newham, United Kingdom

Pizza • Sushi • Asiatic • European


"I discovered this venue quite by chance, more because it was in a quieter part of Westfield, away from the crazy fast-food frenzy of the food court which is menacingly dominated by now ubiquitous giants of McDonalds, KFC and Burger King. For my part I have never even heard of Simone Remoli, although I am reliably informed, according to this restaurant 's signage, that he trained in the kitchens of the finest restaurants in Rome, then decided to travel to London to 'extend his knowledge '. That strikes me as a somewhat random choice, given that he was disappointed by what he found. Apparently, that was what prompted him to open his own restaurant, which is how the company came to be. A commendable, if very unoriginal aspiration, I 'm sure. Intrigued by the 'mix match ' concept of the place, I decided to give it a try. I liked that you are able to choose your pasta and your sauce separately, and everything is neatly categorized on a set of menu boards (see pictures). In the event, to save having to make a series of choices, it was easier to order one of the special 'signature dishes ', in this case the spaghetti aglio, olio e pepperoncino (spaghetti in garlic with olive oil and chilli). I also ordered some olives and bread on the side. The bread was a selection of focaccia with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip (see picture), coming in at an extra £3.90. The olives were all very firm and green (see picture). also at £3.90. They were nice, but not worth the price tag. The spaghetti came with optional clams, adding another £4.90 to the £11.60 for the main dish, meaning the spaghetti alone cost £16.50! I was surprised at how quickly the pasta arrived, not having considered pasta as fast food before, but I guess it could be. To be fair the pasta was perfectly cooked (no less than I would expect) although it was only lukewarm. But it was good (see picture). The venue itself is actually quite an awkward shape, shoehorned as it is into the side of the thoroughfare, and on a kind of corner, and because of its position by the entrance it is a little drafty. Theoretically, it should be a pleasant vantage point from which to watch the passers-by, but in reality you are simply disturbed throughout your meal by an endless succession of groups of lairy and excitable youths. The chairs are all metal as well, so it isn 't an ideal venue to spend a lot of time in. With drinks, the entire bill came to £30.40 in the end. That is a lot for lunch. It is overpriced, and the portions are not overly generous, but I like the concept, so probably would return. Pass on the side dishes and extras and it would be far more palatable."

The Fox, Excel

The Fox, Excel

Warehouse K 2 Western Gateway, Newham, United Kingdom, E16 1

Pub • Steak • Seafood • British


"We visited this place as we were staying close by on our business trip and have arrived late to go to the Chinatown, as we used to do every year. So this Chinese would do we thought. The service was medium, we ordered a set menu for two, which is overpriced in comparison to others. The crispy duck was a disappointment, dry and tasteless. The following two dishes, chicken and beef were full of hot spice, so hot that it was impossible to eat, I have spice intolerance, so I couldn 't eat any of that, ended up eating just the vegetables. My husband had some of the chicken and couldn 't take the heat either. Never in my life I had such a spicy Chinese dish. When the waitress came to collect the full plates, didn 't bother to ask if everything was OK, considering the beef we didn 't touch and the chicken was barely eaten. I told her I have spice intolerance and she just went ohh and collected the plates. We asked for the bill and just wanted to leave. They brought the POS and it wouldn 't work with our business card, which we used only an hour ago and it was fine. She kept rubbing it on the table and passing it again and again, 'no its not working '. We asked her to change the POS as the card was fine. Same thing, we gave her another card and the same was going on, rubbing the card on the table and no its not working. Ended up paying with a personal card which finally went through. A complete shambles for a business. Same card was used later on and it was just fine!! All they wanted is to take the money and didn 't care in customer satisfaction. 100 pounds for a small starter, 3 dry and tasteless duck pancakes and vegetables is a joke. Never again."

Ruskin Arms

Ruskin Arms

386 High Street North, Newham, United Kingdom

Pub • Arts • Coffee • British


"The food is great, with a decent variety of traditional English pub food as well as some Indian dishes. During our stay at the hotel we ate here twice for dinner. The first time we ordered the beef lasagne and steak pie. We ordered at...the bar and were given a number to take to our table, where our food was quickly brought out to us. Hot and tasty. We also took advantage of the deal where hotel guests receive a free drink with purchase of a main dish. An older gentleman took our order and the service was great. The second time however, was pretty awful to be honest. We went up to the bar and started to order fish chips, a beef burger, and two drinks from the younger man working. I don't know what his deal was. He interrupted us halfway through ordering, turned to the girl that was working with him, and started speaking fast and angrily in another language to her, completely ignoring us. We had to get his attention again as he showed no signs of stopping his rant to finish helping us. He entered our order into the till and tried to make us pay for the drinks too, even though we were hotel guests (even if we weren't, the deal was advertised on posters all over the pub to the public for Mon-Fri and it was a Monday anyway). He seemed pretty upset that we wanted the advertised discount. He started talking to the girl again, then stormed off without another word to us. The girl came over to continue our order, and she seemed angry as well, like we were being difficult. I felt like I was being very polite through the whole thing, and once she saw we actually had a simple order, she was much more pleasant. This time I was not given a number to take to the table, so I asked for one. They brought us the wrong food anyway and almost forgot the fish chips. The breakfast buffet was lovely. An awesome variety for the price I think, but free for hotel guests including tea, coffee, OJ, milk, cereals, toast, beans, hashbrowns (sometimes there were chicken nuggets instead, heck yeah), scrambled eggs, mystery meat sausage with the consistency of a blended gym mat, pancakes, crumpets, jams, meat and cheese, yogurt, fruit, berry scones, and even salad, cupcakes and cookies. So, good food. Good value. Good service from most of the staff. Not good service from the younger fellow working that night."

The Second Wife

The Second Wife

40 Upton Lane, Forest Gate, Newham, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pizza • Halal • Seafood


"The Second Wife had, in my view, cornered the 'big breakfast ' market in East London when I visited it last year and it is a crown which it still maintains in the halal food market which, let 's face it lacks in imagination in E7. 12 months on though and things have changed. The owner has installed a wood fired pizza oven and an array of toppings to satisfy the most challenging palate; and if you can 't find a pizza to your liking you can create your own toppings. I opted for the seafood pizza but there 's beef, chicken and even a breakfast pizza. Again another winner in the halal food market. And if you 're lucky you 'll even get service with a smile ... quite a change from the grumpy crew I met in 2014. I might not wait another year before returning to Upton Lane in the eternal E7 search for decent cuisine and cheery staff. There 's a charming courtyard at the rear if you fancy eating Al Fresco or if you want to spice things up there 's a Moroccan themed dining room downstairs. The prices are probably among the cheapest in London and so The Second Wife could be the place to go if you have a large family and fancy a treat. You don 't have to book at the moment as evenings are pretty quiet but once London 's best kept secret gets out be warned The Second Wife 's all day breakfast is a winner but the handmade, hand baked pizzas could corner the Italian market in the district. And smiling staff is an added bonus."

Comptoir Libanais

Comptoir Libanais

Stratford Westfield, 2, Newham, United Kingdom

Tea • Kebab • Asiatic • European


"Comptoir Libanais is a franchise which has lots of branches in UK, its everywhere from streets to airports. Kudos to their marketing team, the appearance is always attractive and presents Lebanon beautifully, unfortunately their food is usually average, the Westfield Stratford branch though is worst...of the lot. I have visited the place twice and will base my review on most recent visit. The Westfield branch of Comptoir is pay at counter and self service style, in synchrony with Westfield food court. The staff seems tired and plain but they can be given benefit of doubt because its a busy mall and food court. What can't be forgiven is what they serve to customers. We ordered their Mezze platter for 2 with Mixed grill. Both were epic fail. Hommos was pasty and bland, falafels were hard and seemed reheated rather than fresh, Cheese samboussek was only above average thing in the Mezze. The grill was equally disappointing with under-seasoned and dry meat. Lamb kofta was dry and over burned while Chicken taouk was like eating stones. Growing up in middle east and being a big craver of Labanese food, I cannot recommed Comptoir Libanais to anyone who knows the cuisine or even to introduce a lad to Labanese food. Labanese pictures and flashy colors might reflect the management and owners love for their roots, unfortunately love for Labanese food it doesn't. Head to Edgeware road instead and you might find a street full of Labanese food and its beautiful aromatic taste."