Darcie Green

"Having just survived allergy testing at St Mary's Hospital without a repeat performance of the anaphylaxis which nearly killed me a year earlier, I was always going to enjoy my first lunch as a still living Londoner....but Darcie Green really delivered the goods when my partner and I strolled out of St Mary's Hospital along the wharf of the Grand Union Canal. The two (restaurant and bar) barges are brightly decorated by the British doyen of pop art, Peter Blake and somehow fit seamlessly into the increasingly trendy Paddington Basin area. During a December lunchtime, the restaurant barge was busy with an office Christmas party, but service remained courteous and reasonably efficient. The interior decor is more restrained than the exuberant exterior and despite being a barge, tables are reasonably spaced one from another. The lunch menu isn't extensive, but offers a reasonable selection of vegan, veggie, fish and meat sides, small brunch plates and larger lunch dishes. We enjoyed shakshouka, calamari and halloumi fries followed by a sticky toffee pudding. Prices are slightly on the high side for what you get, but given the out-of-the-norm location and the necessarily limited number of covers, prices aren't unreasonable. Access via stairs from the quay and down into the barge is difficult for those with mobility issues and impossible for someone in a wheelchair - I needed a hand down from my partner."