The Parade Gastrobar has only been open for a few weeks now and occupies a strategic point in George Lane South Woodford, very close to the cinema and the George pub.
It has a clean, modern feel, the walls are khaki with small brown wood tables and a long bar along one side. Oddly enough a chandelier hangs from the ceiling, which does throw the contemporary feel into confusion.
The staff from the outset were pleasant and friendly. The menu had some very interesting sounding dishes like Grilled Saudi Tiger Prawns and Confit Duck for starters, or Lemon Marinated Chicken Breast with tabbouleh and riatta for main. It was good to see seafood featuring strongly and it was difficult when selecting, as they all sounded worthy of sampling.
Always being on the look out for a decent risotto I ordered one for the first course (£4.50). My partner chose the Carpaccio of Beef (£6.00). The wine selection was fairly good though we opted to have glasses and not a full bottle.
The risotto with wild mushrooms was beautifully cooked albeit a tad salty. The Carpaccio of Beef was enhanced by the pickled aubergines, rocket and truffle oil as the meat itself lacked any real flavour.
For the main courses we chose Whole baked Sea Bass with slow roasted tomatoes and thyme (£15.00), and five spiced crusted salmon with fennel and a pine nut salad (£10.95), with a serving of seasoned chunky chips on the side (£2.75).
Any additional vegetables had to be ordered separately, which of course ratchets the price up for the cost of your overall meal.
The whole sea bass was served with a dressing of olives and roasted tomatoes with a wedge of lemon.
It was cooked to perfection and the finest fish I've had the pleasure to consume for a while. Succulent fish fell off the bone and there was plenty of it too, which just about justified the £15 price tag.
My partner's salmon was delicately spiced and very enjoyable although she did prefer dipping into my sea bass while I wasn't looking. The chunky chips were chunky alright and tasted superb especially when dipped into our side pot of mayonnaise.
The only real disappointment came with the dessert. We order a rhubarb and apple crumble with ice cream to share. It was warm as requested but the trouble was the crumble was more of a mush then a proper crumble and we were hard pressed to find any apple in it.
The Parade Gastrobar deserves a look in as the food is extremely good overall, the staff were charming, friendly and attentive. Together with the cool jazz they had playing as background music it was great and I can see it becoming a favourite haunt for the people in the area. The meal for two came to £56 including the two glasses of wine we each had.

You can find the Parade Gastrobar at 17 Electric Parade, George Lane, South Woodford.

Tel 0208 530 2010. check out their website at www.paradegastrobar.com