Forest Tavern

🚇 Forest Gate 🍺 £5.50 Notting Helles The Forest Tavern is located in the heart of Forest Gate in East London. The nearest station, Forest Gate, is just across the road. The pub first opened by 1851 as The Railway Tavern, named in reference to its proximity to Forest Gate station. The pub was rebuilt in 1925 by Cannon Brewery and renamed the Forest Tavern by previous owners Antic in 2013. Today, the pub is operated by @portobellopubsandbars. This is a good-sized, one-bar pub with two adjoining rooms. The servery is located in the main bar area and features a solid wood counter with spherical pendants above. The decor is contemporary and colourful, with a boarded floor, panelled, tiled, and wallpapered walls, plenty of comfortable seating, and an exposed brick fireplace. The rear room is set aside for dining and has exposed ceiling beams, brick walls, curved banquette booths, and large Georgian-style windows. At the back of the pub, there is a patio beer garden with a covered section to one side. The beer selection is solid, offering a range of well-known beers, craft options, and three cask ales. I went for a Notting Helles, a lager from Portobello Brewing, my pint hit the spot and cost under six quid. The food menu features Mediterranean-inspired small plates, classic British mains, and a selection of burgers. I arrived at 11 a.m. on a warm and sunny Saturday morning in August. I was the first punter through the door, so I had the place to myself and enjoyed a good mooch around. I was soon joined by two locals who pitched up in the garden with their pints. The service was excellent, I had a lovely chat with the friendly manager about the comings and goings of the pub. The Forest Tavern markets itself as a gastropub, but it feels more like an all-round pub with plenty of space—whether you’re here for a beer or fancy a bit of grub. The beer line-up and price point are good, the food receives very positive reviews, and you’ll be well looked after. I really enjoyed my visit here—it’s a must if you’re in the area. Follow @e7foresttavern for updates. 📅 23rd August 2025 If you want to see all my pub reviews in one place, head to @londonpubmap on Instagram or Facebook. 🍻

Proud to have the Forest Tavern as our local go to pub. We did go one time and the food wasn’t that great. The feedback was taken onboard & rectified. The pub is very LGBTQI friendly and hosts a monthly queer night (kick down the closet) and Forest Gate pride annually.

Yet another great evening spent in the forest tavern enjoying there live music on a Saturday night. Check the board for the band list. Tonight was the snake oil band, playing the best blues. There is also an acoustic jam session alternate Wednesdays from 8 pm. Food is served at your table or they have a separate dinning area. Easy to get to as close to forest gate and wansted Park train station. Don't miss this one.

Fabulous pub! Having been born and raised in Forest Gate, but moving away 10 years ago to live abroad....my first visit back after years this weekend gone... highlight of the the trip was cold beers and delicious food in the lovely garden, with great service and positive vibe! Prices are great, team is super welcoming, keep up the great work guys and see you in November when we travel again for a weekend. First stop after airport will be here!

I visited the Forest Tavern for a Sunday roast with my family. The staff was very friendly, especially the tall man with the great moustache. My daughter had a chicken roast, huge portion and cooked perfectly and my wife and I had beef roasts also cooked perfectly. We also shared two desserts, a cheesecake and a sticky toffee pudding. Both homemade and very tasty! Thank you and we will be back!

Nice, relaxed, family friendly pub. I dropped in to watch a bit of football while waiting to get the train. It was early evening and the place was not too busy. The staff were friendly and service was quick. Other customers also seemed friendly. The place also seemed friendly for families and there was, what looked like, a parent and baby club on one of the tables. The beers were served in icey glasses, which was a nice touch on a hot day. They had a good range of beers from well know brands to seasonal specialities. I didn't try to food but the food I saw being delivered to other tables looked good. Every table had a dinner reservation for later in the evening. I plan to return and try the food.

This pub was my go-to pub before returning to my hotel at night. What a splendid place. Good beer for under a fiver. Good music with live bands on Friday. A feeling of a community pub, not the tourist stuff you find near Whitehall. Thinking of it, it's the pub I wish would exist where I live.

Vege roast was tasty and felt very virtuous though found the gravy quite watery. The sticky toffee pud was 👌👌 Nice selection of beers and a couple of alcohol free options (Guinness, lucky saint). Service was casual but staff were friendly and attentive. We were inside on a rainy summers day and would have loved to be able to crack a window, very stuffy. Some music would have been great too.

So glad we've found this great pub. It's probably going to become our new local, even though it's half 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.

So impressed with this place! Very near 5 stars, an easy 4.5, but only fair to round up. I'm not sure what the place used to be like, but having walked by this past Saturday a friend and I decided to pop-in for one after visiting a pet shop in the area... the one turned into many and some food, as is often the case for good finds. The place has a great community vibe and look to it, with a great atmosphere and small fire going up front by some couches to a more formal (loose use of the word, still very laid back) dining type area in the back. Both had a great feel to them, and there's a decent size beer garden for days that allow it out back. They had a good selection of beers for the type of pub, and the food that we tried (various starters) was all good enough for us to vow a return for a Sunday lunch which, on paper at least, sounded fantastic. The only downsides I would say we noticed are that the "Fat Chips with Herb Salt" that we ordered didn't seem to have any salt much less an Herb Salt, and as someone else mentioned the toilets (while clean on my visit) didn't seem match the standard of the rest of the pub. Those small gripes aside, the staff were STELLAR and I've heard many good things about the food so I'm letting them slide this time... (it's where the docked .5 would come from). Back to the staff, they were beyond friendly which seems to be a lost art at some pubs these days... granted they weren't slammed, but it was still quite busy and they effortlessly managed to be chatty without delaying service to the next customer... a definite mark in their favour. All said and done, this may be our new local away from home... it's two stops from Stratford on the TFL (and right near the station exit at that) and no more expensive than a tube towards the city where you'll likely face far more crowded establishments... if you happen to be in the Stratford area for a bit and looking for something different it may be worth checking this place out if you're looking for a real pub that's just enough Gastro without being too over the top or hipster.

This is a true gem in Forest Gate. From the outside it looks like a normal pub. But it is only when you truly walk in and take your time to enjoy the food and drinks, you realise this is quite an amazing place. Very relax, non pretentious, quirky but its subtle. Its spacious with a sit down resturant at the back, there is also a garden, I guess which opens in the summer. High ceilings and cool decor with attention to details. The food is great, pub classic, bistro style but with a couple of modern twists, and its not over priced at all. Coupled that with a good selection of ale and wines, I think this could be my second home. They also do quiz nights and have DJs with sofas and fire place. All pubs need to take note. I guess my only neg, is that there is no parking, although opposite the station, it is very difficult to park, and it opens at 4pm.

A wide selection of beers and incredibly pleasant staff. The Tavern resembles more French than Greek style - every chair is different, music is unobtrusive and charges you with energy, although we failed to identify the genre. Just the toilets resembled public toilets at the poorest village station in the Balkans. Just because of them - one star less. Široký výběr piv a neskutečně příjemná obsluha. Taverna připomíná víc francouzský než řecký styl - každá židle jiná, hudba je nevtírává a vyloženě nabíjí energií, i když se nám nepovedlo identifikovat žánr :D Jen toalety dost připomínají nádraží v nejubožejší vesnici na Balkáně :D Jen kvůli nim hvězda dolů...

Great venue in east london. A bistro pub that programmes live music, has vinyl record fayres, and djs. Situated in forest gate, east london. Great food, live music and DJs.

Great pub with stripped back walls, fireplace, lovely beer garden, quality food and drink and live music, with a late licence on Fridays. It is located in the heart of Forest Gate and is a key community resource, hosting vinyl and record fairs, gigs and other events. The Tavern is by far and away the best pub in Forest Gate and the Stratford / East of Stratford area.

This newly revamp Gastropub has been reopened to serve a alternative style of food for the local area. Not only does it offer brunch, but also roast dinner. I was shocked to see muscles on the menu, so will be revisiting it again to try the other weird and wacky food.