Westerns Laundry

Despite a “rather lonely” location in suburban Drayton Park, this sibling of Stoke Newington big hitter, Primeur, is already proving its worth as a local destination that’s “something a bit different from the rest”. Occupying the ground floor of a 1950s industrial building, Westerns Laundry’s fashionably stark interior is brightened up with jugs of flowers, blue velvet banquettes and vivid paintings, while floor-to-ceiling glazed doors open onto a wide terrace. The daily blackboard menu focuses on small plates of seasonal food (chiefly fish) and the results are “absolutely delightful”: oysters are perked up with finely chopped shallot and lemon; home-salted sardine fillets are elegantly dressed with white balsamic vinegar; wild sea bass is accompanied by ribbons of sweet onions, artichoke hearts and succulent olives. Also, don’t miss Westerns Laundry’s version of fideuà, a traditional Andalusian one-pot dish of short pasta baked with seafood. If fish isn’t your bag, there are other beautifully composed dishes including creamy gnudi served with colourful courgettes and chopped hazelnuts. Wines are on point, with the emphasis on low intervention and small-scale producers.