The Gun

Excellent pub

Great place – good beers, food and views of the Thames. Book a table on their deck and try a fish special for lunch. Perfect!

Pub with a view

The gun is a gastropub a short walk from canary wharf with great views of the thames and the O2.
The food was good though maybe slightly overpriced for what it was.

The Gun is a beautiful old Georgian pub right on the river in docklands, a few mins walk from Canary Wharf. Its unexpected location makes it feel secret and certainly worth finding. The pub has tons of character, its been carefull restored but they have kept the original features and real working fireplaces. The dining area is fairly formal but there are pub tables too if you just fancy a drink and at the back, their terrace has the best views in the house. The food we tried from their British menu was expertly cooked, the menu is varied and interesting and the service was excellent all night. It is not cheap but certainly worth it. Try it!

I visited The Gun on a Friday night and the place had a great buzz and there are lots of different rooms and areas to explore. They also have an outdoor restaurant that opens in the summer which serves Portuguese food which we are definately going to try on our next visit here, if the weather gets better!!

We thought the food was stunning, the flavours were really interesting and there was great choice on the menu.

Overall a lovely place which we will definitely come back to and certainly recommend to others.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh deary dear. Perhaps we were just exceptionally unlucky, and I know a lot of other reviewers have had nice things to say about The Gun, but it’s amongst the worst 3 experiences I’ve ever had in a restaurant and I would never return – not even if I was personally invited there by Scarlett Johansson in order to pick up the keys to my new Bugatti and my cheque for £5 million that I’d won.

I’m really not sure, as it was so utterly catastrophic that it’s less shooting fish in a barrel than launching a nuclear strike on it, where to start but let’s go for the atmosphere. We went on a mid week evening when the English summer time, such as it is, was trying to put in an appearance – none of us had ever been but it gets good feedback and the Times had it in its top 30 best pubs to go to when the sun is out. It was packed and the tiny dining room – which is just one end of the bar – was cramped, so hugely noisy we had to shout at each other across the table and because so many tables were rammed in every time any of the staff or customers went past we got jostled. Not a good start, but maybe the food, drink and service could rescue things? Or maybe not!

Let’s do the service next – I’ve never refused to pay a service charge and demanded it was removed from the bill before – but there is a first for everything and this was that first. On arrival despite having a reservation we were just left to stand around for several minutes, when we got to our table we were promptly abandoned and a menu only made an appearance when we asked for one. Drinks didn’t arrive, water took ages and was warm when it did arrive, bread only turned up after we’d finished our starters and only then as we’d asked for it yet again, white wine was served warm and an ice bucket wasn’t offered – again it had to be asked for. When one of the main courses was sent back – more of which later – we got a distinctly surly challenge around what the problem was. Everything took too long, we sat with empty plates in front of us – in fact the only thing that did arrive quickly was the bill, and this is the only thing they do get some credit for – they at least had the decency to apologise for it being a disaster and took the bottle of wine off the bill, its the only reason I’ve gone as high as 2 for service.

The food was awful. We eventually got starters – I’d gone for Cold poached Scottish salmon, Jersey Royal, bobby bean and quail egg salad, crisp shallots – the salmon was ok, the rest appeared to have come from packets in a supermarkets bargain range with limp salad and hateful potatoes that simultaneously managed to be cold, greasy and undercooked. The bread when it arrived were, I believe, those part baked rolls you can buy in a supermarket and stick in the oven for a few minutes – sadly they hadn’t gone in for long enough and were undercooked. Then having endured this we went for a main course – in retrospect this was a serious mistake and we should have just got in the car and gone. My main course was Slow roast Middle White pork belly, crushed Jersey Royals, glazed carrots, red wine jus – for the first time ever I sent a dish back: the first time it appeared I suspect, although I’m not a pathologist so cannot be certain, the pig whose belly I was eating had been run over by a rusty van, cremated following its death and then handed to me to eat. Having sent it back the second version wasn’t a whole lot better, it at least wasn’t so crisp that it looked like an English football supporter on holiday in Spain, but it still left a huge amount to be desired having just about reached edible status. I can’t comment on dessert – by that stage of the evening we just wanted to go and so summoned the bill, refused to pay the service charge and made a swift exit never to return.

Perhaps you’ll have more luck, but if this is a gastropub then perhaps I’ve got a chance of Miss Johansson making the call to ask me out to pick up my prize! Avoid this at all costs, ii thought it was a disaster

A good example of the classic gastropub. Used to eat here monthly, but have only been here 2-3 times in the last 6-9 months.

The Gun has a great river side position, in a building which retains its old pub charm.

With the exception of the odd glitch in choices on the menu, the food is consistently good. We prefer their classic gastro pub dishes (like rib-eye or rump of lamb), and tend to stay away from their more complex offerings. Had some very good simple starters, but a recent terrine was simply bland.

Front of house management is usually very good, professional and charming. However, on recent visits we have found many of the other staff to be much less impressive – not as friendly or engaging, and less evidence of good training. We were particularly unimpressed on a visit last year when they adopted a “wine bottle on the table” approach to marketing wine, which the waiter then tried to push. Fine in Pizza Express, but not a gastropub. Luckily, this seems to have been dropped.

We normally pay £65-£70 for 2 for 2 courses, inc service ex all drinks. Seems fair value. A good wine list, from the low to the top end prices. Can normally find something I'm happy with for c£35.

A big downside is the inconvenience of getting a cab home or getting back to Canary Wharf at the end of the evening. In the past, staff would always offer to order a taxi when you asked for your bill. They didn't offer last time.

A decent gastropub. Recommended. Especially if there is ever any sunshine for a weekend lunch !

The Gun is my local… how lucky am I?! A gorgeous old building in good condition, right on the waterside. It feels like a proper pub, but definitely has the wow-factor of a well maintained modern gastro-pub at the same time (contradicting I know!).

You are spoilt for choice – a seat in the front or back bar areas, or the main dining room or private room, or even on the terrace? In summer you even have a Portuguese barbeque area (with a pub quiz on Mondays!) The Gun has so much to offer its unbelievable. Good value for delicious sophisticated pub grub or a more gourmet British menu in the main restaurant, alongside well priced drinks. For a relaxing meal or a few drinks, in a stunning location in this area, there is no where better to go!

We are so grateful to the wonderful staff at The Gun for helping to make our wedding party in March 2009 a fantastic, friendly and wonderful evening. Almost 2 years on we have great memories from the evening and all of our guests remarked on how well they were looked after by the attentive staff, who were happy, smiley and got involved to make it really special. The canapes were also excellent and plentiful.

I thoroughly recommend the venue for anyone who is planning a special party or wedding. We hired out the terrace and additional rooms which meant that the other half of the pub was open as usual but the locals (as it was a Saturday) were great and very charming. The Gun have put a great emphasis on making sure that arrangements are discussed thoroughly before the occasion and go out of their way to make sure everything is taken care of leaving you able to relax and enjoy it for yourself – we didn't need to ask for anything.

Even an incident with red wine spilt on my wedding dress by one of our amorous guests proved no problem for the bar staff who were quick to rush to it's aid with salt and white wine (and the stain vanished! – thank you!)

So thank you everyone at The Gun for a wonderful memory.

a few summers ago this was my favourite “pint in the sun” escape-away lunchtime retreat. On a sunny warm day very few places compare in the capital. and despite the waste of tax-payers money, the dome/O2 remains a stunning backdrop. the quality of the food here has never been in doubt.
And one Sunday we popped in for a “late lunch” ahead of an O2 show, as we have become dispirited by the rubbish and cost of feeding under the tent. My current wife having never been there, I was excitedly looking forward to her reactions.
Initially i “threw the toys out” a little as i was advised that it would be “Sunday lunch” menu only and no a la carte treats for us – and then the bar steward brought be the wrong beer. My wife sensed trouble brewing…but I self calmed, in truth becuase I couldnt be arsed to look elsewhere.
the food then started to come.
from warm “breads” to perky espresso to close it was brilliant. no point in going into massive details – as the menu will change week to week. But there was wonderful taste in the belly of pork. the vegetables and accompanying apple compote balanced perfectly. the broth I started with was actually perfect. as i say I was up for a fight and then ended up leaving a tip.
The manager here – whoever they are – runs a ship tight enough for the Admiral himself. responsive staff and a well numbered team. And ive only marked the service down because of the early cock up on the drinks.
Most importantly my wife loved it – and what initially looked like letting down my “bigging-up” of it on the way over, became a warmly basked “told you so” on leaving. not the cheapest – but the better ones shouldnt need to be.

as always lovely food & wine – Service could have been better this time as we had to ask twice for our missing dish. This is one of my favo places their sunday roast is just super nice best in london. I love this good gastropub, one of the originals in London, wvery modern decor. Around lunch time very very busy