'Every meal celebrates the resilience of Afghan women': Azra opens in Leyton's arches

On a sweltering evening this week, I was fortunate enough to be invited to dinner at Azra, the stylish new Afghan restaurant in Tilbury Road’s railway arches.

Regular readers will have followed Azra’s trajectory and their mission to be “a contemporary interpretation of Afghan hospitality,” as locally raised owner Waheed Kazemi explained. And this Leyton Midland newcomer is a family affair: he’s launching it alongside brother Rohullah, sister Zohra and their mother and head chef Sakeenah.

The word Azra, incidentally, is “another word for Hazara,” he says, an Afghan ethnic group with a large global diaspora. “We’re a community known for resilience, kindness, and determination in the face of hardship. For us, Azra is about more than food. It’s about hospitality, community, and creating a place where people feel welcome.”

With the restaurant now nearly finished, a handful of us eagerly gathered around the tables in front of its newly installed window, pictured below, with its globe pendants and counter overlooking the slim urban thoroughfare.

The 40-capacity interior is inspired by the mehman khanah, “the guest room in many Afghan homes,” says Waheed, with traditional platform seating at the rear, along with upholstered banquettes, wooden tables and blue spindle-back chairs.

The menu promises timeless cooking that cannot easily be found on restaurant menus in this part of London, especially since Leytonstone’s Afghan kitchen Red Camel closed earlier this year.

My personal highlight? The mantu, pictured above, delicate steamed dumplings filled with spiced beef and onions, and layered with yoghurt and tomato and lentil sauce: they’re utterly moreish. An easy entry point for newbies to Afghan cuisine, there’s also a vegetarian option that replaces meat with leeks.

But that’s just the start of it. In today’s issue the family talk me through the intricacies of the menu, ranging from stuffed flatbreads and the many plant-based options like borani banjan (aubergine with garlic sauce and mint) to the signature dish, lamb kabuli pulao, which takes hours to prepare.

And head chef Sakeenah tells me why an all-female kitchen team is especially meaningful with the current crisis for women’s rights in Afghanistan. “For me, every meal is a way to preserve our traditions and celebrate the resilience of Afghan women,” she says. “These are the simple freedoms that have been taken from so many women in Afghanistan over the years.” Scroll down to read the full feature.

Azra opens on July 17th on Tilbury Road E10, from 12 to 10pm Fridays to Sundays initially. While there’s no app booking platform yet, they have asked readers to feel free to DM them to book a table. Follow @azra.leyton

Elsewhere in the neighbourhood, foodies should gravitate towards the Forest Gate Festival tomorrow (11am to 6pm), which boasts 30 streetfood stalls as part of “the ultimate community street party.”

Highlights include takoyaki (grilled Japanese octopus balls) from Hiden Curry, pictured above, who have outlets in Coal Drops Yard and on Stroud Green Road, both of which I’ve enjoyed visiting.

There’s also Thai and Malaysian streetfood from HeSheEat, Pakistani BBQ at Bhookbusters — which is “seriously good,” according to organiser Jonny — beef brisket from Super Beef Bros, Jerk Kitchen, Locanda Badin’s arancini and The Bakeress on cake duty. As for coffee? It’s courtesy of local beans slingers Tamping Grounds.

And that’s not all. Sunday sees annual carnival Leyton Mas take over the central section of Leyton High Road around Coronation Gardens. There’s the usual mix of culture, streetfood and live music, with the after party at Chop Shop Tavern on Tilbury Road from 7pm. Follow @forestgatefestival @leyton_mas

Welcome to issue 88. This week, I read that Belgravia institution Zafferano had closed down after three decades (thanks to fellow Substacker Marshall Manson’s comprehensive Professional Lunch restaurant round-up).

You may well say: so what? And yet while an upmarket trattoria best known for its original Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli has very little to do with this part of East London, it played a surprising role in my own history as a food and restaurant writer.

Back in 2006, during Zafferano’s most garlanded era, I shadowed then head chef Andy Needham to put together a cookbook proposal, learning their classic dishes and recipes, from risotto to osso buco. While it was eventually rejected by publishers (largely because it was the same year as Locatelli’s seminal Made In Italy came out), the wealth of material landed me my first ever food story in Time Out magazine, entitled “A Day in the Life Of a Michelin-starred Chef” (no online link, alas).

This in turn led to me writing restaurant reviews and food-based features for Time Out (and many other titles in the two decades since). And so there we have it: the missing link between a just-closed SW1 pioneer and Leytonstoner.

Speaking of which, thanks again so much to everyone for supporting this newsletter, which hit 10k free subscribers last month for the first time and continues to weave in and out of the Global Top 100 Food & Drink charts.

But I can only afford to continue writing it thanks to the generous paid subscribers. So as usual, if you enjoy the value you get from this weekly read and can afford to upgrade, it really would be so appreciated.

Paid subscribers have access to the entire archive of 85 issues, with hundreds of frank restaurant reviews, interviews and food stories you won’t read about anywhere else. No other title writes in depth about the swathe of East London from Stratford, the Olympic Park and Forest Gate to Leyton, Leytonstone and Walthamstow.

Other ways to support include hitting the heart button (for the all-important Substack algorithms), or sharing with friends for up to six months’ credit. And don’t forget you can listen to this newsletter like a podcast on the Substack app (press the play button top right).

In this week’s issue for paid subscribers:

• A comprehensive debrief and tasting of Azra’s new menu. Plus why it’s so important for a female kitchen brigade to be at the helm of Leyton’s new Afghan restaurant.

• CCP Home Kitchen: why its lunch menu excels. And what to order.

• The South Leytonstone Romanian bakery that is worth a detour.

• Hon’s BBQ is about to take Hackney Wick by storm. I get a sneak preview

• Side Portions: Back To Ours closes, plus food & drink gossip, opinion, news, pop-ups, one-offs and foodie titbits.