Limehouse
London's orginial “China Town” is now setting-trends in loft-living and waterside dining.
Nearest tube: Limehouse (LDR)
Watch narrowboats and sea-going motor cruises tackle the tidal Thames from one of the smart bars and restaurants surrounding Limehouse Basin.
Booty's
Address: 92a Narrow Street
E14 8BP
T: 020 7987 8343
A popular bar / restaurant which takes you as close to the river as you can get without falling in. The building was once part of the empire of the formidable Tugboat Annie, and from here she commanded a fleet of 200 barges. Today, the views are wonderful, and you can order eight different wines by the glass. The food is simple and satisfying. Real ales include Bass, Tetleys and cask beers. Every Friday there is fresh fish from Billingsgate market.
La Figa
Address: Unit 1, The Mosaic
E14 8DN
T: 020 7790 0077
A recent addition to the Wapping and Limehouse international eating out scene, La Figa is contemporary Italian at its coolest. A sister restaurant to the immensely popular Il Bordello nearby the more prudish might prefer not knowing how La Figa translates into English! You can eat in or take away and the choice is simply mind boggling.
Soups, pasta, salads, antipasti, fish, meat, poultry and sweets options range across Italian cuisine. Service is attentive, décor airy and relaxing. Main dish prices stretch from Spaghetti Al Pomadoro at £7.75 to Saltimbocca Alla Romana at 14.95 or grilled swordfish at £18.50. The selection of wines and beers is excellent and it would be difficult for even the most selective customer to remain unsatisfied.
The Narrow
Address: 44 Narrow Street
E14 8DB
T: 020 7592 7950
Situated in the old dockmaster's house where Limehouse Basin meets the Thames tideway, The Narrow enjoys one of the best waterside locations in London. Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay opened this, his first pub - in spring 2007 and the menu happily lives up to expectation.
The Grapes
Address: 76 Narrow Street
E14 8BP
T: 020 7987 4396
Very possibly the pub Dickens called The Six Jolly Fellowship Porters in Our Mutual Friend. He described the red curtains as matching the customers' noses. Today's customers, much more refined, come for the peaceful atmosphere, helped by the deliberate absence of any noisy fruit machines or juke boxes. They also come for the fish led bar meals, and even more for the fish restaurant upstairs. A bar meal will cost about £7, one in the restaurant £30 or more, depending on your choice of fresh fish. A notably good idea is to offer a choice of three quite different house whites and reds, each at £10.95 the bottle. After that, the wine list goes into areas which, not so many years ago, you would have been lucky to find in the West End, never mind Limehouse.
The House
Address: 27 Ropemakers Fields
E14 8BX
T: 020 7538 3818
Rope fibres were once laid out to be twisted together in Ropemakers Fields. Hops grew outside the pub for use in the Limehouse Brewery in Fore Street. Today's pub has an international menu, with main courses costing from £6.50 upwards. In the summer, you can play boules outside.
Verde Delicatessen & Cafe
Address: Unit 3, The Mosaic
E14 8DN
T: 020 7702 8803
Whether you're going out for a snack a meal or shopping to cook at home Verde, has everything from flowers and newspapers to paninis. This Mediterranean style provisions outpost is just 2 minutes walk from Limehouse DLR. The owners bake their own bread daily and their croissants and cakes are simply delicious. Lots of fresh organic fruit and vegetables plus a mouthwatering array of succulent cheeses. Fine wines and olive oils bring an air of Tuscany to Limehouse. Open 7 days a week from 8am - 10pm you can just drop in for a coffee or ice cream, arrive early for breakfast, take lunch or dinner. If you can't linger to enjoy your purchases, there are take away and delivery services.
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