London’s best riverside restaurants for dinner by the water

Breakfast on the towpath overlooking the Regent’s Canal near Whitmore Bridge is a cracking way to start the day, and once you’ve bagged a table you may be tempted to linger for hours – especially if the sun is shining. This self-consciously low-key café has always been a favourite with passing dog-walkers, runners and cyclists, who stop off for coffee and snacks, rustic but skilfully cooked hot lunches and light-as-air cakes.

Caravel is a restaurant on a boat, but don’t expect any ahoying. It’s on a boat with a vibe so distinctly unboaty that you’ll forget you’re floating on Regent’s Canal until the moment you need to climb back on to dry land to pop to the loo. If you’re a fan of St John, Jolene or Rochelle Canteen then you’re probably going to love the menu here. Caravel is run by brothers Fin and Lorcan Spiteri, the sons of two of London’s most renowned restaurateurs (mum Melanie Arnold is the co-founder of Rochelle Canteen and dad Jon Spiteri is the co-founder of Session Arts Club).

An easy-going bar/eatery in a one-time art gallery by the banks of the Regent’s Canal, but don’t expect to see any gondolas floating by – this is Bethnal Green, not Venice, after all. Edgy interior design, tall windows and tables painted in garish high-gloss colours set the scene for cicchetti nibbles, plates of pasta and a tip-top selection of traditional spritzes.

Climb aboard The Prince Regent for a posh lunch. Moored up next to Paddington station, the barge chugs along the Regent’s Canal to Camden Lock and back again, taking in sights such as London Zoo and Regent’s Park while guests partake of the classiest seafood boozathon in town. 

Moored on the Grand Union Canal outside Paddington Station, Darcie Green and May Green aren’t simply floating barges; they’re also floating pieces of art designed by the legendary Sir Peter Blake. With owners from Australia, it’s no surprise that there are flat whites and slices of banana bread for breakfast, plus bottomless Aussie brunch and a menu of Antipodean-inspired dishes. The combined 50-metre upper deck is perfect in summer.

This classy Thames-side beauty is a looker inside as well as out. There are sweeping views of Tower Bridge and beyond, and Le Pont de La Tour touts a sought-after terrace, a conventional brasserie-style Bar & Grill and a posh restaurant majoring in elaborately plated modern dishes with a French flavour.

Things don’t get much more bucolic in London’s East End than at this hip warehouse-style pizzeria-cum-brewery on the banks of the Lea. In summer, arrive as early as decency allows, bag a reclaimed riverside bench, then proceed to order your first pint of Crate’s own craft beer, lager or cider (with perhaps a pizza on the side). After that, sun yourself, watch the birds and gaze at the boats bobbing past until last orders.

Sitting glamorously beside Tower Bridge, this branch of Gunpowder, the home-style Indian sharing-plates joint, is split over two floors. Their riverside spot is much bigger than the Spitalfields original, features stylish design, an old-school Indian soundtrack, and best of all, a delicious menu of both traditional and more innovative spicy dishes.

Set back from the Thames Path, the River Café is a celeb in its own right, and something of an icon when it comes to riverside dining in the capital. Warm, buzzy and casually expensive, it’s dedicated to serving unfussy yet stunning Italian food based on artisan seasonal ingredients. Ok, the prices are excruciating, but portions are generous – so go for a summer lunch, sit on the terrace, order a plate of pasta and live like the A-listers do.

Rotunda really embraces the potential of its Regent’s Canal location: the dining room gives wide-angled views of the aquatic action outside, while the large shaded terrace is a lovely spot on warm evenings. In the kitchen, the focus is on quality meat from the owner’s Northumbrian farm (think sirloin steak, rib of beef and slow-cooked shoulder of lamb) backed by elaborate desserts and excellent wines. 

Oxo Tower is a bona fide London landmark, so it’s no surprise that its eighth-floor restaurant, brasserie and bar emanate a sense of occasion. A glass frontage makes the most of the river views, and the plum vantage point allows you to fully appreciate the splendour of St Paul’s (note that it’s first come, first served for terrace tables). The food has an adventurous global slant, with accompaniment from a jazz trio in the evening.

You guessed it: handcrafted pasta takes centre-stage at this charming little restaurant overlooking St Katharine Docks – and they take the whole business of rolling, shaping and cooking very seriously indeed. The menu is short and familiar, but the results are so unpretentiously delicious you’d think they’d come straight from nonna’s hob. Staff are sweet, the vibe is cosy, and prices are rather reasonable.

Way out east, far away from the City’s maddening crowds, this early 18th century pub, which is now owned by Fuller’s Brewery, nevertheless gets rammed with people who have made the pilgrimage. It has many charms: the vast outdoor terrace (nearly opposite the O2 complex in Greenwich), washed over by bracing breezes; the smart gastro menu and seriously good bar bites; the globe-trotting wine list, the beers and the riverside views unspoilt by tourists.

Billed as a ‘bar and kitchen’, this all-rounder sits right beside the Regent’s Canal – no wonder Hackney Wick hipsters crowd around rough-cut communal tables and lounge in old-school deckchairs within a toe’s dip of the water. Popping here for a Sunday roast can herald the start of a lost afternoon, with craft beers, cocktail coolers and a full programme of leftfield cultural events on offer to keep punters entertained.

With its first-floor wraparound terrace and an alfresco area overlooking Regent’s Canal, this capacious bar-restaurant hybrid is a magnet for waterside drinkers and diners. The Lighterman’s alfresco spaces all operate on a first-come, first-served basis, so prepare for a bun fight on hot days. Happily, the canal views from inside the beautifully decorated dining rooms are just as soul-restoring, while menu highlights include wood-grilled meats, superfood salads and flatbreads topped with thoughtful, seasonal combinations.

Seafood specialists Wright Brothers have washed up by the water’s edge in Battersea with one elegant-looking restaurant: glossy marble tables, dark wood and walls peppered with illustrations of crustaceans. This site is home to the group’s first Josper charcoal oven, too. Everyone is here for the immaculate oysters, however. 

It’s not a bracing Cornish seascape, but we doubt you’ll be disappointed by the views from the London outpost of Rick Stein’s empire, right by the river in well-to-do Barnes. Ask for a window table to make the most of the Thames-side vistas while gorging on plates of messy, finger-lickin’ Cornish lobster, Indonesian seafood curry, and other fabulous seafood favourites from the TV chef’s worldwide travels.

What’s in a view? A great deal, judging by this restaurant attached to Shakespeare’s Globe on Bankside. Bag a seat facing the window if you can – by night, the riverside aspect of St Paul’s in all its illuminated glory is stunning. As well as making the most of its watery backdrop, this venue also allows visitors to feel part of the bustling walkway. It’s a win-win situation.  

A fail-safe on the first floor of the Royal Festival Hall, Skylon’s wow-inducing views of the Thames and the South Bank make it a permanently spectacular venue, day or night. The restaurant’s menu is sufficiently fancy to underscore those vistas, offering dishes such as trout in champagne sauce, crab and prawn linguine and a spring set menu.

For a waterside dining experience straight out of ‘Downton Abbey’, head to this stately, country house-style hotel bordering the Richmond towpath. The spacious, gold-accented restaurant is lit by impressive chandeliers and has huge windows overlooking the river, while a decked patio brings you closer to the water’s edge in fine weather. The modern European menu is as highbrow as the surroundings; dishes such as halibut with jersey royals, confit fennel and fennel velouté are priced accordingly.

It may date back to Victorian times, but this Putney institution has moved with the times – note the spruced-up parquet floors, dangling metal lamps and gallery of modern artworks. It’s not quite on the water’s edge, but it certainly gets into the riverside spirit – especially when the Boat Race is on. Seasonal dishes go down the gastro route: think home-smoked duck breast with chicory, kohlrabi and apple salad or roasted duck leg with beetroot and orange sauce.

If you’ve never been to a German beer garden – and don’t fancy a trip to Munich – you could do worse than Stein’s, a live-wire ‘outdoor’ restaurant promising ‘the Bavarian experience’ beside a stretch of the Thames towpath. Its huge riverside space can seat up to 300 alfresco diners at shared wooden tables, many of which offer some shelter from the elements. Don your lederhosen for the menu, which features doughy pretzels, gigantic wurst and steins of Continental beer.

Looking for a stylish Thames-side riverside restaurant that promises equally stunning views inside and out? Then try this Tom Dixon-designed dining room, where the shipping-themed decor nods to London’s docklands and you can watch the joggers while ticking off the notable sights on the opposite riverbank. Don’t miss a cocktail in mixology maestro Ryan Chetiyawardana’s Lyaness bar, either.

Enjoy Lebanese delights in a riverside garden at this appealing Harlesden restaurant. If you go in the morning you can enjoy breakfast items like labneh, eggs and balilah (lemon and chickpeas), while later in the day you can get your hands on hot and cold mezze, salads, kebab platters, burgers and wraps.