So farewell then, Wanstead’s Green Fish restaurant.  Even though the blackboard outside still proudly advertises a £16.95 Sunday lunch special, there’s a “closed” sign on the window, and the decor is being removed. It’s a little over a year since the restaurant opened.
Soon to fill the Cambridge Park spot once occupied by Applebees is – wait for it – an Indian restaurant to be called Zainab (the name feeling perhaps a bit more E20 than E11?).
Fans of Indian restaurants in Wanstead are becoming slightly spoiled for choice. Nearby there’s Purbani, Cinnamon, 52Spice, Bipasha and The Lane, with the Tiffin Tin delivery mopeds never far from sight. Some might event think a bit more diversity in menu choices would be a good thing; the market however seems to be able to support the current number of players even though some rarely appear to overflow with diners.
One Wansteadium reader tweeted his reaction:
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/pvmullen/status/151430372872294402″]
Ironically, the Southend Echo seems to be hinting at a similar but slightly different situation there, as Robins Pie and Mash announces another branch there. Once councillor told the paper: “It is another pie and mash establishment. We already have one or two in the town.”
Suki Orange, Wansteadium’s food blogger, adds:
It’s always sad to see something you admire fail, so I’m sorry to see the Green go. But of course I wish Zainab well. I can’t help thinking, though, that from a customer’s point of view, we just don’t need any more choices for Indian restaurants in Wanstead. I know I’ve said it before, but what we could really do with is something a degree or two more mainstream – though with two restaurants closing in the past 18 months this does not appear to be the ideal spot. Â There’s clearly a demand for weekend lunches – just look at the Cuckfield on a Sunday after Desert Island Discs. Wanstead is brimming over with young families and not many places for them to eat comfortably together. At the risk of looking spurned, I’ll repeat my invitation to Strada. It’s a chain, yes, but it might be just want our menu needs.