London Wapping Restaurant Guide

2019 Review: Overlooking the marina at St Katharine Docks, this “cosy and romantic” modern Basque venture serves “brilliant tapas, including some unusual items”. “Often busy”, it “recently expanded by taking over the sushi bar next door”.

2021 Review: This three-year-old in the picturesque surroundings of St Katharine Docks is “still serving great, home-made pasta”. It’s had a spin-off nearby in Aldgate since February 2019: “a welcome addition to the original (where you can’t always get a table), with the same fab food”.

“Super views over the river, Tower Bridge and The Shard” add to the atmosphere at this rather glam brasserie, “right on the river” in Wapping (the offshoot of the well-known Ongar veteran). You can get a “decent steak” here, but it is primarily recommended for its “excellent fish and seafood”, “beautifully cooked”.

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”.

“The stunning sourdough pizzas are a proper treat” at these “fast and delicious local favourites” which are a “great addition to the burgeoning London real pizza scene”. There’s a “particularly interesting menu with a variety of crusts including charcoal (looks burnt, tastes like chewy pizza heaven)”. The original Islington branch now has an adjoining home-made pasta specialist, Berto, from founders Claudio Vescovo and Gianluca D’Angelo, while the group’s sixth pizzeria opened on Balham High Road in autumn 2021.

“You can’t beat the amazing views” over the Thames at this D&D stalwart near Tower Bridge, although the golden glow that made it famous, when it was launched at the heart of the late Sir Terence Conran’s 1990s ‘gastrodome’ – has somewhat dissipated nowadays. It still has real attractions – a large outside terrace, “outstanding wine”, and Gallic cuisine that’s fair-to-good – and, given its convenience to the City – it’s “especially good for entertaining overseas clients” (as Tony and Cherie Blair did Bill and Hillary Clinton back in the day).

Known for its “great view” of nearby Tower Bridge and menu of British carnivore classics (“it serves what it says: meat, meat, meat, with limited veggie choice)” – this D&D venue was conceived by the late Sir Terence Conran as part of his 1990s ‘Gastrodrome’ food complex. A typical assessment of the food is that results are “OK for work purposes, but expensive”. A big plus in the era of outdoor dining was that the terrace is “comfortable and warm” even in cooler months, thanks to “heaters that really work!”.

2019 Review: Mark Sargeant’s starry name helped draw attention to this May 2018 opening under Tower Bridge, with an outside terrace looking onto the wall of the Tower of London (a venture between caterers CH&Co and Historic Royal Palaces). Stylewise, the menu seems somewhat ‘wrapped up in the Union Jack’ – e.g. cod ’n’ chips, toad in the hole, treacle tart – but early press and online reviews suggest an all-too-traditional rendering of our nation’s culinary classics.

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.

2019 Review: This bright, attractively decorated, new Middle Eastern café opened in Whitechapel in early 2018. No survey feedback yet, but its modern take on Moorish cuisine looks promising.

A Victorian vaulted wine cellar near Tower Hill offering a “unique service”: a “fascinating and wide-ranging list” of 300+ wines “sold at off-licence prices with a modest corkage charge” (£9.50), to enjoy with a “tasty selection” of French cheeses, game pâtés, rillettes and charcuterie.

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!

“Very good Italian food made from the freshest of ingredients, prepared simply but with imagination and great care, and nicely served” wins good all-round ratings for this small Bermondsey Italian, a short walk down the South Bank from Tower Bridge.

2019 Review: “Pittas of pleasure” – “Mediterranean/Israeli street food of the best type (vegetarian, fresh and bursting with taste)” – keep office workers healthy and happy at these City-based “pitstops”. “No wonder there’s always a queue at lunchtime.”

2019 Review: At the foot of a new aparthotel near Aldgate East tube, this year-old venture comprises a coffee shop and terrace downstairs, and a restaurant and bar upstairs, which – under seasoned chef George Tannock – tries harder than you might expect in this location: “a welcome, local, go-to business lunch place, with an excellent and varied menu and staff who are efficient but welcoming”.