The Coach & Horses should and could have been E10’s flagship pub since construction in 1863. However in living memory it always fell well short. For years it scraped by thanks to a loyal band of locals drinking in gloomy surroundings sharing the space with away fans visiting Leyton Orient’s Brisbane Road on a Saturday afternoon.

The building had seen close to zero investment in twenty years. Wallpaper was peeling from the walls, the toilets should have been condemned, her interior was filthy and you’d be forgiven for likening the “garden” with a World War II POW camp. With nothing more than reams of barbed wire, a dumping ground for pub junk and a place for the Guv to park his battered motor it was a barren sight. The F&B offerings weren’t anymore appealing and the flavour of the wine was often noted to taste like petrol.

After the rebirth of other Leyton pubs in the shape of the Leyton Star (formerly King Harold) and the Northcote I was delighted to hear the Coach had new owners with big plans.

I know the pub well from pre-transition and had kindly been invited mid-works to document the changes. The difference in the 3 states is night and day and a testament to months of labour and a dedicated team investing fully in the project. All the changes have been carefully thought out and perfectly executed. Everything from the flooring, to the crucial change removing the overhead glass shelf and opening up the main bar has been well executed and enhanced the pub experience. The back bar, which nobody ever used other than on match day, now feels bright and open and witnesses regular patronage. Local suppliers are used for the drinks choices, culinary ingredients and even the pub flowers come from Edie Rose on nearby Francis Road. The Coach, like Leyton Orient Football Club at the end of the road, values the importance of community

The pub had seen decades of under investment which I had regularly commented on @londonpubexplorer on Instagram but is now a roaring success and, due to heavy investment, I’m confident predicting will be the leading pub in a densely populated hostelry area for many years to come.,

The elegance of the building and its ability to feel warm and snug in all seasons will see it being a pub local people will repeatedly flock to. It’s worth noting too that from season 2018/19 onwards the pub finally reverted back to home fans only again for O’s games. Exactly how it should be!

The garden has been beautifully decked out and I can happily confirm no longer looks like a POW Camp. The local fare is first class and easily washed down with several pints of equally local Signaturebrew Roadie which many residents with local pride cannot get enough of. There is always something on, whether it’s live music, the quiz, comedy or the buzz of an Orient matchday.

The biggest endorsement this pub can receive is from its fortnightly visitors, mostly exiled to leafy Essex, who come into town to cheer on the Mighty O’s. As a collective many of them grew up in the area and moved away but have seen the pub change over often 60+years. People that leave an area (particularly very urban moving to the shires) can quickly form a negative opinion of somewhere as a lack of frequency changes your perspective as gradual changes aren’t witnessed. I’ve not heard one negative comment about the latest incarnation of the Coach and feedback is always positive. People that stopped coming here for twenty years now return and it has become their match day pub of choice once again.

The Coach & Horses is finally that pub on the High Road which is a local landmark to be proud of and, like Hackney, the Leyton pub revival continues at pace.