You might walk past The Abbey Arms a hundred times without a second glance — it sits on a busy Barking Road junction, and from the outside it's just another Victorian pub. But step inside and you'll find the kind of place that makes East London pub culture worth celebrating: genuinely warm staff, well-kept beer, surprisingly good food, and a proper community buzz that's increasingly rare in this part of town. It's a locals' pub through and through, and all the better for it.
A Victorian local on Barking Road where the Sunday roast is called the best for miles and the pizzas draw raves — all with pool, live sport, and prices that haven't gone central.
Head down on a Sunday for the roast — multiple reviewers call it the best for miles, and it gets busy with locals.
A proper East End local with surprisingly good food
You might walk past The Abbey Arms a hundred times without giving it a second look — it sits on a busy Barking Road junction, and from the outside it's just another Victorian pub. But step inside and you'll find the kind of place that makes East London pub culture worth celebrating. The staff are genuinely warm (one French-speaking reviewer noted how warmly they were welcomed), the beer is well-kept, and there's a proper community buzz that's increasingly rare in this part of town.
The real surprise here is the food. Multiple reviewers rave about the pizzas — "perfect" is the word one Tripadvisor user used — and the Sunday roast gets called the best for miles around. That's not what you'd expect from a pub with a pool table and live sports on every screen, but that's exactly the charm. You can watch the match with a pint, then tuck into a genuinely good meal without moving.
There's a spacious beer garden out back, live singers and DJs on weekends, and prices that haven't gone the way of central London. It's a fifteen-minute walk from Canning Town tube, which keeps the tourist crowd away — this is a locals' pub, and it's all the better for it. If you're in Plaistow and want a proper pint with no pretension, this is your spot.