Jason Lam at Olfaclub

On a corner of St James Street in Walthamstow, sandwiched between a dessert shop and a barbers, sits Olfaclub – a cosy wine bar that just a few years ago would have been wholly out of place in its surroundings (‘St James Street? Didn’t get someone get shot there?’ a colleague once said to me). As a local, I’ve been to Olfaclub a lot since it opened in late 2025. When you’re in there, enveloped in its warm glow, drinking one of the delicious wines curated by the owners, Jez and Beth, you notice people stop at the window and stare in, wondering how this bar that could easily belong on a backstreet of Le Marais in Paris, came to be in the once ‘dodgy’ end of Walthamstow.

Olfaclub has a regularly rotating list of 30+ wines by the glass, they don’t do bottles, and they’re walk-ins only. The only exception is when they have a guest chef on – on those special days, you can book a table, but they still reserve space for walk-ins.

On a rainy Sunday, months into a stretch of the worst weather London has ever seen, my partner and I ducked into Olfaclub for a wine (and a reprieve from the downpour) and became very grateful for those walk-ins. This particular day, they had partnered with Jason Lam. Jason is Head Chef at Sushi Amamoto in Mayfair, an omakase which gained a Michelin star (under previous name ‘Taku’) within just 4 months opening in 2023. For Olfaclub, he’d put together a menu of 11 dishes – impressive considering the bar doesn’t have its own kitchen. He artfully prepared morels, tarte tartin, bluefin tuna tartare and a compliment of desserts amongst a dozen or so happy and hungry customers, Herbie Hancock’s Sunlight spinning on vinyl (Olfaclub is also a listening bar, and Jez’s record collection doesn’t disappoint).

We ordered the fried cod’s cheek with kurosichimi (a Japanese condiment made from 7 aromatic spices), and the shallot tart tartine which was served with chicory jam, Bath soft cheese and lemon thyme. The cod cheeks were perfectly crispy with a nice heat from the chilli, ginger and sansho pepper in the kurosichimi, and Jason delivered the tart tartine to our table himself, explaining that he used to live in Bath and had come across this cheese at a market last week and had to use it in something. Conversation stopped as we took in the savoury flavour bomb; we both agreed the Bath cheese sauce was sensational. 

First plates cleared, we ordered the morel – stuffed with a lobster mousse, and sitting in a wild garlic foam, with Jerusalem artichoke crisps on top. My partner tore into it and literally punched my arm after the first bite. The morel was meaty, the lobster mousse was deliciously salty; we both spooned the wild garlic foam out after and practically drank from the bowl. 

‘You picked a good day to come’, owner Jez said as we paid the bill – but every day is a good day to go to Olfaclub. Jez and Beth are friendly, knowledgeable about the wines they’ve curated, and clearly passionate about creating a warm, inviting space that people don’t want to leave. I’d know, because I always sit there for hours. ⚭

Cat Farrell

Olfaclub is open Thursday to Sunday at St James Street, London E17 (tube: Walthamstow Central).
Sushi Amamoto is open Wednesday to Saturday at Albemarle Street, London W1S (tube: Green Park).