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Bog Witch – Soho Theatre Walthamstow
Live theatre artist Bryony Kimmings brings her thought-provoking one-woman show to Soho Theatre Walthamstow for a two-week run.
When on-demand urbanity no longer filled the void in her soul, Kimmings followed her eco-warrior partner to the country to live in a self-sufficient permaculture. We follow her first year adapting to rural life with neither Ocado nor cocktail bars.
Walthamstow’s Soho Theatre, newly reopened in 2025 after major restoration works is a much bigger space than Soho Theatre’s Dean Street venue. At first I wasn’t sure whether Bog Witch worked in such a large venue but much as a fern tendril unfurls itself from a tiny curl to an expansive shady plant, Kimmings’ performance gradually filled the stage with a shadowy roar. The lighting, which starts as mostly a bright white backdrop, evolves through the Bog Witch year to become blacker and scarier, expertly employing gigantic silhouettes. There are a couple of songs – I’d have enjoyed a few more – and a backing track with primary school recorders reminiscent of Britt Eckland’s prancings in The Wicker Man.
Whilst Bog Witch begins with light-hearted humour and folksy silliness, the evening gradually becomes more sombre and turbulent with a Wizard of Oz style storm heralding tragedy. The countryside, we learn, with a climaxing hysteria worthy of Camille Paglia, is no place to shelter from the death and destruction humans are wreaking upon the planet, even if you can still order from the Toast catalogue. I especially appreciated the references to Naomi Klein’s “Doppelganger” evoking the horror of how the actions of our “other self” have a butterfly effect upon nature. Season by season we await whether Bryony will devote herself to a life of repaired shoes, crop rotation and a side hustle of Wicca or return to her Deliveroo-happy city mouse ways.
Highlighting absurdities of modern times, for instance how many food miles there are in a cheese salad sandwich, the plasticity of offerings demanded by harvest festivals, Bog Witch will prompt you to question whether it’s really you that’s crazy or society itself. Kimmings’ portrayal of her experience, at times whimsical, at times harrowing, is a relatable one. Although mostly onstage alone, she brings off-stage characters, a ball of wool black cat, a patchouli scented potential new friend “Aster” and her young son Frank, to life. However, I especially enjoyed the audience participation scene at the end, the various volunteers hamming up their roles as badger, mackerel and mushrooms at a pagan festival brought laughter and rapturous applause.
The merch stand’s Bog Witch slogan t-shirts will appeal to the strongly female audience and there’s a limited-edition Bog Witch brew on sale at the bar too. On press night, a gift of flower bombs in a small envelope was much appreciated. May Walthamstow burst into flower with Bog Witch blooms – and hopefully, as she has been working with Soho Theatre for 15 years, we will be treated to more work by Bryony Kimmings in Walthamstow again soon.
Bog Witch runs at Soho Theatre Walthamstow until 25 October.
Côte, French brasserie, Barbican Centre
City of London restaurant tastes like France
For a reliable French restaurant choice within fifteen minutes’ walk from Liverpool Street Station, Côte Brasserie is an unstuffy option at mid-range price. Within the Barbican Centre complex, this cosy French bistro is ideal for dining somewhere near to Barbican theatre performances or the cinema.
All things French, as you may know, are my passion. Bridging the gap until my next France-fix, French restaurant chain, Côte Brasserie invited me to try their seasonal menu in the run up to Bastille Day on July 14th. The Barbican branch of Côte is the easiest to reach from my home in Walthamstow (sadly the Islington green Côte has closed – during the Covid pandemic – since this review was first published) and quick to reach via the overground Weaver Line then a short walk to the Barbican.
France-themed chains are less prevalent in the UK than Italian pizza pasta chains. I can name check two or three French-influenced restaurant chains, none as high profile as their Italian equivalents. The independent French bistro seems rarer still these days. Yet to my surprise, eighty-five branches of Côte span the UK, with restaurants from Glasgow to Exeter. Quite why I’d not been in one until recently is a mystery; perhaps I was under the misapprehension that Côte was expensive. Cote’s signage and interiors are understatedly chic and plausibly French without being clichéd. My husband who walks past the Barbican branch of Côte most weekdays says it’s always very busy.
With a babysitter sorted we popped along. Would a visit to Côte spirit me to France? We each chose a dish from the seasonal specials menu alongside something more traditionally French. Here’s what we ate…
Opening aperitif of Kir Royale (£4.95) and Piquant Mixed Olives (£3.90)
Charentais Melon (hiding) under Savoie Ham (£6.50)
Tuna Carpaccio (£9.50) – generous slices of seared yellowfin tuna served with black olives, capers, rocket and tomatoes.
Chargrilled sirloin steak with frites, watercress (£18.50) and a choice of sauce – my husband opted for béarnaise (£1.95).
My main course above, Rump of Lamb* (£14.95) served on mash with fennel and a black olive and garlic jus
For dessert we tried a traditional chocolate mousse (£4.95) and…
Lemon crème brûlée with raspberries* (£5.95)
Our review of Côte Barbican
Côte equally suits a smart client dinner, cosy date night or a family lunch. More upmarket than Carluccio’s or Cafe Rouge, yet still casual, it has a gentle hum without feeling rowdy. Service is polished without being stuffy. The menu feels like a treat but won’t break the bank. Lighting is soft, feeling intimate. There’s no loud music trying to make you chew faster. You can imagine the French having a relaxed two-hour lunch over a bottle of wine here. For a three-course meal for two with wine allow £80-£100; for a quick lunch you could do it for £15 each for a main with coffee.
Hero dish was the juicy rump of lamb, which with its black olives and roasted garlic, transported me to Provence. I would go back for this dish in a heartbeat. Portions were generous and good value. The house rosé wine, Cuvée Laborie 2016 (£4.95/£17.95), was a perfect partner with the lamb and also fairly priced. Service is more polished than most restaurant chains: servers put your wine in a cooler on a stand, they notice to pour your next glass rather than you doing it yourself. This level of service would be typical in France, so it’s that type of detail that we enjoyed. Côte had an authentic French atmosphere albeit with a British tone. Which is ironic since chain restaurants in France tend to less soignée than Côte Brasserie i.e. Buffalo Grill and Leon de Bruxelles. My husband’s isolated niggle was steak being cooked to “British medium rare” rather than a redder French version.
Vegetarians don’t always fare well in French restaurants, however Côte has a dedicated vegetarian menu with half a dozen vegetarian options. Current choices include green risotto, braised puy lentils or spinach and mushroom crêpes. A demonstrable effort has been made for gluten-free diners, coeliacs have plenty of choices within French cuisine where Italian pizza/pasta might be less satisfactory. For children, Côte offer several main courses serving size appropriate for up to 7 years; these can be paired with a starter or dessert from the main menu to suit older children. Finally, if you are doing business over lunch in a hurry, Côte highlights several “Plats Rapides” around £12 mark, for those too busy to dine with Gallic languor.
As they say in France, “Au Revoir” – meaning “until we see you again” rather than farewell. We will be back to Côte – and I say that with an air kiss past both cheeks.
Meal hosted by Côte Barbican, 57 Whitecross St, City of London, London EC1Y 8AA. Prices July 2017.
Turtle Bay, Walthamstow
Caribbean chain perfect for East London
Now open for ten years, this restaurant review was published soon after Turtle Bay Walthamstow’s launch but has been updated to remove some out-of-date content. Prices and certain menu items may have changed.
Turtle Bay is a Caribbean-style restaurant chain with a longstanding Walthamstow branch at The Scene, food and entertainment hub (with housing) at the top of Walthamstow Market. Not having eaten much other Caribbean food, I can’t comment on its authenticity but certainly the Turtle Bay chain must be successful, as it has expanded to over fifty branches since. Turtle Bay, alongside Nando’s, is the only original restaurant/bar tenant to remain in The Scene complex ten years after opening.
Walthamstow’s entertainment hub has been a source of much local excitement. Alongside a new multi-screen cinema, Nando’s and burger joint Five Guys, comes Turtle Bay, another chain happy to satisfy local appetites for spicy chicken but with a broader menu than its Portuguese cousin.
Not having eaten much Caribbean food before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My sole experience of jerk chicken was a street food truck hired for a friend’s wedding at which their elderly relatives’ heads were almost blown off with unfamiliar explosive flavour.
Nearly every hour is happy hour at Turtle Bay Walthamstow; there are two for one cocktails virtually all day – apart from peak times (6.30-9pm). We tried the Mai Tai (rum, rum liqueur, apricot brandy, lime, pineapple, mint – left) and Koko Kolada (white rum, pineapple, coconut, cream, nutmeg – right). The skinny straws stop you drinking these too fast. The Koko Kolada, ordered after our main course, is long and rich enough to replace dessert.
The cocktail bar boasted forty types of rum, but bartenders can shake up a selection of alcohol-free cocktails too. Beer drinkers have the choice of Red Stripe, Carib, and pale ale.
The kids’ entertainment pack included the usual pencils but also a cute wallet and paper domino set. There wasn’t a printed kids’ menu although my 7-year-old was offered a non-spicy child-proof choice of burger, chicken and chips or toasted cheese and tomato flatbread. He opted for the latter with some extra sweet potato fries.
Starters or “cutters” were all £4.95. We ordered chilli-fried squid (served with mango mole, fresh lime and coriander mayo) and sweetcorn fritters. An array of hot chilli sauces were available for even greater kick. The fritters were substantial with similar texture to bhaji – filling enough to share between two.
The jerk ribs (£8.95) were served with a choice of rice ‘n’ peas, sweet potato mash or sweet potato fries (I took the latter) and Caribbean slaw. These ribs were sublime. The meat fell off them. I’d have a hard time ordering anything different next time. They’re very peppery and not for the faint hearted.
My husband went for the One Pot Blue Mountain Curry Goat (£9.65) served with rice ‘n’ peas, sweet onion chutney and flatbread. Not having had goat before, I had no comparison point and found it a drier version of lamb.
Both dishes were spicy hot – although no strangers to hot spices we didn’t feel the need to add extra sauce. We joked that maybe we’d turned into our elderly relatives fanning themselves with napkins.
This stuff is HOT. Whilst we greatly enjoyed it and would go again, we’d be wary of bringing anyone unadventurous. Portion sizes were fair to good. The menu was competitively priced, especially the “lunch ‘n’ lighter” options at £6.95.
We were so full after the Koko Coladas that we skipped dessert. My son however, ate most of this lovely, sweet banana and toffee cheesecake. My husband’s coffee was served with a choice of normal or condensed milk.
Turtle Bay Walthamstow has been very busy since opening, there were several large parties there during our visit. Staff were friendly and attentive with food arriving in good time.
Turtle Bay has been an appropriate addition to food offerings now in Walthamstow and has since opened around six other branches in London, the nearest of which is either Romford or Camden.
We were guests of Turtle Bay Walthamstow.
Turtle Bay
The Scene, Cleveland Place
269 High Street
Walthamstow
London E17 7FD
Yo! Sushi for kids, Westfield Stratford
Yo! Sushi at Westfield Stratford occupies a prime position on the top floor of the main shopping mall. Open since the centre was launched in 2011, it’s a popular place to eat Japanese food whilst shopping. Takeaways are also sold from a fridge. Less of a novelty now, diners are now more familiar with the plastic colour coded dishes that you self serve from the conveyor belt. Yo! Sushi has kept changing its menu so this review first published in 2013, has had prices removed and some items may no longer be available.
On the conveyor belt, food slides temptingly past. My five-year-old has always been crazy for sushi. He’s more adventurous than many of my grown-up friends. When any of them are icky about raw fish, I say “You eat smoked salmon don’t you?” Sashimi isn’t so different.
Ted’s favourites are little maki rolls in sets of four; we usually grab a cucumber and avocado set to share half of each flavour between us.
Servers hand out children’s chopsticks although annoyingly Yo Sushi never has any straws. Taps in front dispense water, alternative drinks for kids are bottled real fruit juices although these are pricey. For grown-ups Yo Sushi is licensed.
My recommended kid friendly Yo Sushi dishes are:
- Noodles
- Rice – although not fire cracker version if they don’t like hot stuff
- Pumpkin Korroke (fritters)
- Gyoza (fried dumplings with duck, veggie or chicken fillings)
- Nori maki rolls
- Chicken yaki-tori on skewers
- Pancakes (for pudding)
These were the dishes I started Ted off on, but these days he’ll try anything.
My current favourite Yo Sushi dishes are:
- Tuna & coriander sashimi
- Salmon and cod roe tartare (a yellow banded dish, in some branches)
- Salmon sashimi and nigiri
- Sea-weed salad
- Squid salad (shown above)
Something I do miss whilst watching the calories is Yo Sushi chicken katsu curry (fried breaded chicken slices with curry sauce and rice). Actually this dish is so filling you might only eat 2-3 dishes rather than the 4-5 you could quickly clock up if you hadn’t filled up on this.
My top Yo Sushi tips
- Staff will guide you to a seat, likely on stools at the conveyor belt – or:
- Some branches have tables for groups although you may wait longer to get one.
- Fizzy or still waters are dispensed from the taps in front for a flat charge.
- Miso soup and green tea are also unlimited for a flat charge.
- Dishes are colour-coded according to price bands. Blue and green dishes are the cheapest with grey (and in some branches, yellow) the more expensive ones.
- Sometimes on “Blue Monday” all dishes on the belt are blue making this the cheapest day to visit.
- Some branches do a “Sumo Sunday” with unlimited dishes for around £19.99 although the colour bands picked how good a deal this is.
- Help yourself to dishes from the belt or order from the menu. These days you order (and can pay) via an app or website.
- The conveyor belt may be depleted at the beginning of the day. Depending how adventurous the local clientele are, sashimi and raw fish dishes may not sail past without being ordered. Most dishes arrive in under ten minutes so don’t be put off ordering something that looks complicated to prepare.
- It’s not all fish, there are plenty of cooked fish, meat and vegetarian dishes.
- If you worry how long food whirls round, dishes are covered in plastic dome with “expiry time” stickers so they are removed if not eaten by then.
- To call servers or get the bill, press the button in front of you. Whizzy lights and noises happen but this is all part of the Yo! Sushi experience.
- Yo’s Japanese style desserts may be an acquired taste – they’re less sweet than you expect. My son loves the pancakes but I am not a fan.
Watching the staff prepare batches of dishes can be hypnotically entertaining. All the action goes on in the central area inside the conveyor belt.
Some dishes like these tempera battered tofu cubes come with a dipping sauce; other rolls are a bit unwieldy with chopsticks.
So it’s ok sometimes to use your fingers! Many sushi items make great finger food for kids.
Have your kids ever tried sushi?
With thanks to Westfield Stratford City who hosted this meal at Yo! Sushi.
Leftover lamb curry with mushrooms
Meat from the weekend roast was brought back to life in this quick leftover lamb curry with mushrooms.
One of my new year’s resolutions has been to buy a generously sized joint of meat for Sunday lunch and to use the left overs during the week. So far we’ve done chicken, lamb and pork and next week I will buy beef.
It was actually my first time roasting a full leg of lamb. The joint cost £17 in Waitrose and was enough for 5 meals for 3 people which I think was excellent value. I think my husband even had cold sliced lamb on his sandwiches for work one day although I don’t think this is the best way to enjoy left over lamb.
There was the original roast dinner, two curries, a stew with pearl barley (one portion of which was blended as soup for my lunch the day after) and even enough to pop into some Cornish pasties. I calculate this joint fed us at under £1 per portion and I have lots of other ideas for the next leg we buy. I’ve not even started on Middle Eastern lamb dishes with cous cous!
Since this dish uses leftovers I am sending it to Credit Crunch Munch the new thrifty food event organised by Helen and Camilla.
Leftover lamb curry with mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 small onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced finely
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1 can plum peeled tomatoes
6 decent size button mushrooms cut into chunky slices
100g cooked leftover lamb chopped into small cubes
6 blocks of frozen spinach (or 100g fresh)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a medium size pan and fry the sliced onion, garlic and cumin seeds. After a couple of minutes add the ginger, chilli, cumin powder and tumeric.
2. When all the onion is coated with the spices add the can of peeled plum tomatoes – bash them with the wooden spoon to break up if they’re not ready chopped.
3. Add the mushrooms and leftover lamb and stir. Allow the curry to simmer for five minutes.
4. Meanwhile defrost the frozen spinach in the microwave. Or if using fresh, pop the leaves on top of the curry and put the lid on so the leaves can steam inside.
5. Stir the spinach into the curry. Add the garam masala and ground coriander before serving with rice or flat breads.