Few London pubs can match the pedigree of The Grapes, a narrow riverside pub on Limehouse Reach that’s co-owned by actor Sir Ian McKellen. There’s been a pub on this spot since 1583, and the current building dates from 1720 - old enough for Charles Dickens, who knew Limehouse well, to write it into the opening chapter of Our Mutual Friend.
It began life as The Bunch of Grapes, pouring for the dockers and sailors of the Limehouse Basin, and it came through the Blitz intact. These days it’s still a local for Limehouse residents, albeit one with a steady trickle of Dickens devotees and Gandalf fans - the wizard’s staff hangs behind the bar.
The building is barely one room wide, so the ground floor is essentially a single long Victorian bar: dark wood panelling, bare boards and walls hung with Limehouse art, including Napier Hemy’s oil painting of the river, Louise Hardy’s watercolours of Limehouse Reach and Nick Cuthell’s Dickens at The Grapes. The rear rooms open onto a tiny deck hanging over the Thames, where you can watch the tide come in around Antony Gormley’s figure standing in the water. Arrive early if you want one of its few spots.
A steep, narrow staircase leads up to the first-floor dining room, where tables look straight out over the river. Food sticks to pub classics, with fish and chips the go-to order alongside white bait, toasted sandwiches, and a big bowl of apple crumble and custard for those wintery evenings. At the bar, cask ales sit alongside a short list of wines by the glass and bottle.
The pub is small and fills up fast, especially on Sundays. Note that the toilets are upstairs and there’s no accessible toilet.