I was a little pissed off when T Bar closed and Pizza East opened, I have to say. I have had many a good late night at the T-bar, dancing to questionable music after taking one too many shots at the bar. Some people thought it was a bit pretentious, but I never thought it took itself that seriously and it was always a good place to end up late on a Saturday night. Apparently the new one in Aldgate is absolute shite, so I haven’t been. It also isn’t on the N8 bus route anymore, which was always part of its charm for me, I’ll be honest.

When I heard it was being turned into an expensive pizza restaurant, I was not happy. I put off going for ages because if I want a pizza, I can get one half price at Pizza Express, or there’s always the delicious Stringray Cafe on Columbia Road for a cheap and tasty meal. Then the Florist does amazing little pizzas, as well as being a great pub with an occasionally hot bartender, and there’s La Forcetta as well on Bethnal Green Road, which I’ve never been to but have heard is pretty decent. Why do we need another pizza place? Well, I went last night and okay, I guess we don’t need another pizza place, but it was really really good.

I had aubergine and mozzarella to start followed by a spicy sausage pizza with sprouting broccoli and both were delicious. The dough was chewy and light and crispy and the sausage was actually really spicy. The atmosphere in the restaurant was really fun, with lots of people chatting at the bar area, yet still quiet enough for my friend and I to hear one another without shouting. The service was also very good overall, although the woman who brought over our drinks was fairly useless (she didn’t know what beers they sold, even though when the actual waitress came over, it turned out they only sell three - shouldn’t that be part of basic training when you work in a restaurant?).

Good food and I’ll definitely be back. RIP T Bar, but long live Pizza East!