London Wapping Restaurant Guide

“Excellent pasta” is the straightforward proposition at this Italian trio, with a flagship in Canary Wharf, which takes its name and inspiration from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region.

“A top selection of fish” – “simple and so fresh” – is served at this smart, white-tablecloth restaurant in a “fantastic setting, on the Thames at Wapping, with great views of Tower Bridge”. “Service is slick and the atmosphere reflects the bright, buzzy feel of the whole place”. The only drawback is that “it’s always full and difficult to get into”. The original Smith’s was founded 66 years ago in Ongar, Essex.

2021 Review: “Sensational Asian-fusion cooking, with the freshest of ingredients” creates an “exciting” culinary experience at this small waterside café, in St Katharine Docks. “The team is friendly and you can chat to the chef – who is a real artist – as he works in the open plan kitchen area, adjacent to your table”.

“It’s hard to be ‘special’ with pizza these days with so much competition, but the eye-catching options give an edge” to this popular nine-strong chain, whose calling card is a choice of four different 48-hour fermented pizza bases, including the distinctive black vegetable charcoal. Their latest opening is in Canary Wharf.

“An outside table on the lovely riverside, complete with the spectacular and iconic view of Tower Bridge” is the best way to visit this D&D London venue (where the Blairs once entertained the Clintons, when both were in office). With its modern French cuisine and heavyweight wine list, there was a time when this was both the jewel in the crown of the late Sir Terence Conran’s restaurant empire and the City of London’s favourite entertaining spot. Times have moved on, though, and nowadays its middling performance gives it a dwindling reputation. For fans, it’s still “worth it for a really special treat”. Others, though, “won’t be rushing back: the interior ambience is nothing to write home about and the food is pricey for what’s served up”.

“Handy for the location” by the Thames, with spectacular views of Tower Bridge from its terrace, this modern take on the British chop house was created by the late Sir Terence Conran as part of his ‘Gastrodome’ complex in the 1990s. Nowadays owned by D&D London, it is a useful spot for tourists and business diners.

2021 Review: “One of the best views in the capital”, over Tower Bridge and the Thames, is the highlight of any meal at this venue from D&D London, on the first floor of the former Design Museum. Beyond that, there’s “no problem with the food or cooking”, which can be “surprisingly delicious” nowadays.

“Back to being busy, bubbly and bright” after the bleak pandemic years – this vaulted 19th-century cellar near Tower Hill offers a “great and interesting selection of wine”, served at retail prices plus £9.50 corkage, with “informative staff” to help you choose. A “help-yourself” menu of cheeses, cold meats and other nibbles is on hand to provide ballast.

2022 Review: East London’s oldest Indian (established 1939 in Whitechapel) briefly found fame in late August 2020, when it was reviewed by Marina O’Loughlin for The Sunday Times. Run by four generations of the same family – and with somewhat antediluvian decor – it’s not the place to uncover the latest in food fads; or as Marina eloquently put it: “it tastes like the past, deliciously”. Reports please!

“The tiny kitchen in this intimate restaurant” in Shad Thames, near Tower Bridge, “produces the most imaginative and delicious Italian food”. “It’s run by a talented chef who will go places”, Matt Beardmore, previously of Trullo, alongside founder Jay Patel, a former Barrafina manager.

2023 Review: “Sustainable, fresh, well-cooked with interesting Korean and Caribbean influences” – this avant-garde seafood operation in Wapping, from Dorset-based fish supplier Shaun Henderson and chef Neil Wager, opened in stages through 2022. The chippy came first – “but what fish ’n’ chips!”, with ten chip varieties, including ‘extra-large smoked with togarashi and okono sauce’ – followed by a full-service seafood restaurant and a ‘butchery’ specialising in dry-aged fish. Reports are too limited for a rating but initial feedback is very positive.

“A well composed panoply of flavours from Southeast Asia” – curry puffs, crab dumplings, lobster, ox cheek Penang curry – have won a loyal following for Peter Lloyd’s South Bank fixture, and over time fans “have become enamoured, and no longer mourn the loss of RSJ” (which preceded on the site for over 20 years). “Nothing is extraordinary, but it is our current first choice pre the National Theatre”. He must be doing something right, as expansion is coming fast, with a sibling to open in July 2023 on the former site of Cantina del Ponte, RIP, with a large terrace overlooking Tower Bridge; and another in Islington later in the year.