What?!?!?! I thought it was thriving. Always seemed busy.

Apparently it may be turned into a curry house – competition hotting up there with Dil, The Star of India, Golden Curry, The Eatery and Baburchi. We’ll be giving Brick Lane a run for its money at this rate!

If It brings people to the area I’m all for it – especially as the quality of the nosh in Brick Lane has nosedived.

Any idea what’s happening to Lincoln’s? I thought it was meant to be reopening in autumn as a ‘proper’ pub.

Not sure about Lincoln’s, I heard the plan was to re-open in autumn as well but nothing recently.

The sign outside Lincolns has been there for weeks. The pub is owned by Trust Inns, but there’s no info on their website, either. I did hear that there’d been problems with squatters – next time I’m in Marios’s for a haircut I’ll ask he knows anything.

I’m intrigued by “The Olive”. If it’s any good it’ll be a real asset. Hopefully the size of the premises won’t be the handicap it is to the always-empty Seebo’s.

Anything that brings families and decent folk to Leytonstone town centre rather than drunks causing mayhem at all hours of the night is a bonus!

The Olive is now open – I had a squint through the windows last night. Looks very nice indeed. Menu is a bit on the pricey side. Considering Mezze round the corner is doing similar stuff cheaper and is always pretty busy, I’m wondering what The Olive’s USP is. I hope it does well though.

We ate in The Olive on Friday and were very happy overall.
Very nicely done inside, attentive staff and a decent selection on the menu. Price-wise it’s about right for what it is – it’s worth it just to have a nice restaurant to sit in (although their wine list could be a little more expansive!).
We were particularly pleased to see how busy it was, most tables were taken.
Our hope is that potential investors will realise that they could make a killing by introducing a little variety to the restaurant offer in Leytonstone.
Seebo’s was supposed to be a Mexican but is really just an overpriced curry house.

I also noticed that Zulus seems to have closed – there’s a sign up saying “closed for the forseeable”, or words to that effect. Much as I don’t like so-called Gastropubs (i’m a spit-and-sawdust man), this would be the perfect place to put one.

Am going to The Olive tonight, will report back. Looks nice from outside, and good to see plenty of tables occupied on a Thursday evening.

re gastropubs, wonder if someone will think about the British Queen on New Wanstead. Not too far from the High St, plenty of parking and easy enough to get to from Leytonstone?

Went to The Olive last night. What a great addition to Leytonstone. It’s run by the nice woman from Bumblebees florists (another of E11′s gems) and is bright, smart and very welcoming. Negatives: service was very slow and the staff can be a little uncomprehending, but both should improve as they bed down (it was very busy, which is of course a good thing). Pluses: the food is attractively presented, plentiful and tasty. Pricing is fair. And it was full of the kind of Leytonstonies you’d see in Ichiban, Singburi etc glad to have another option. Best of luck to the owners, you deserve it.

Found this website whilst looking for reviews for The Olive, and I agree with most of the contributors that Leytonstone is in dire need of some quality eating/drinking places. A good start would be for someone to upgrade the Hitchcock which is in a stunning position, but is currently a completely wasted space. We went in there between the Christmas and New Year break and although it was lunchtime, they were not set up ready for customers. The fire was not lit, there was no ice available, the glasses in which the drinks were served were filthy and the experience in all was not a pleasant one. Maybe that, apart from us, they only had one customer tells its own story. The whole place could do with a thorough wash and brush up, but a far better alternative would be for an All Bar One or similar establishment to replace it!

I’ve eaten at The Olive and thought the food was good for a local restaurant. I agree that this is the kind of establishment that we want to see in Leytonstone. Hopefully they can survive in this recession. I know far too many Leytonstone residents that spend all their time in Wanstead. You all know the type I mean!It’s these very people who need to support this establishment!
We didn’t meet the lovely lady from Bumblebees, but were welcomed by a smiling waiter whose command of English wasn’t great. He couldn’t elaborate on the menu and was unable to engage in polite chit-chat. I also think that they’ve missed a trick by not being incredibly child-friendly. And one last thing, I think the prices could be just a little cheaper; after all it is Leytonstone and not Wanstead!

Katy, I’m with you on the Alfred Hitchcock. Such a waste of a pub – it could be a really superb asset with a bit of imagination, effort and yes – cleaning.

Speaking of waste, does anyone have any updates on Lincolns?

We’ve been in The Olive recently and thought the food and service was great(except they did not have the cheesecake which was written on the menu)…Really enjoyed the dinner and thought it’s good place for Leytonstone.I didn’t see the woman from Bumblebees either but were welcomed by a young waiter with the glasses,he was very polite from the first moment to the end.They’ve quite big menu and wine list was enjoyable.We’ll certainly be returning.Hopefully everything goes well in there,good luck!

The Olive is a really nice restaurant. Pity about Kirkdales though. A few of us now go to the Hitchcock bar which is under management and is much better that it used to be.

Went to Olive last night. Great to have a decent restaurant open in Leytonstone.
It was busy, – good atmosphere, attentive service and good food – especially the starters. I hope people use it and it encourages more to open.

We had a party at the Hitchcock under new managment really nice people much cleaner than past and very friendly new owners the buffet we had was fantastic!!
Shame they can’t fix the front up but that’s down to the owner unfortunetly.

Just back from The Olive restaurant in Leytonstone, and am thoroughly impressed with the place!

The food was fantastic – very similar to the sort of stuff you’d get in Turkish/Middle Eastern restaurants in posher parts of town for double the money, in addition to which the service was faultless.

I’m slightly concerned that there weren’t more people in there on a Friday night – c’mon ye denizens of Leytonstone! Get out and get into the Olive sometime soon. Don’t let it go down the pan! It really doesn’t deserve it.

I’m going again for lunch next week – that’s how much I rate this place.