London's best waterside restaurants

The best waterside restaurants in London

• 

  Blueprint Café

   

  Perched above the Design Museum, you need t book early to snag one of the tables by the (often open) windows, although every seat in the room enjoys a decent city skyline views.
• 

  Crabtree

   

  Lounge in the extensive beer garden overlooking the Thames, where many can be seen eating, drinking, and being merry.
• 

  Dock Kitchen

   

  This restaurant, just off Ladbroke Grove, has a terrace next to the Grand Union Canal. Striking design from Tom Dixon provides the backdrop for innovative cooking.
• 

  Gun

   

  It may be tricky to reach, but this Docklands gastropub is well worth the detour. The waterside terrace is where you want to be when the weather is fair.
• 

  Skylon

   

  Choose from the Modern European menu at either the brasserie or the more formal restaurant, and take in the sweeping views of the Thames.
• 

  Stein's

   

  Stein's is a Bavarian beerhouse that doesn't rely solely on its excellent riverside location to draw in the punters. The German menu is a good foil for the free-flowing German beers.
• 

  Marco Polo

   

  The outdoor tables at this Italian restaurant are a brilliant vantage point from which to take in the Thames. There are few better places to enjoy a meal on sunny days.
• 

  Towpath

   

  Just off the Kingsland Road, but right on the Regent’s Canal is the inauspicious setting for a café from food writer Lori De Mori and her team.

• Gaucho Canary Wharf

  29 Westferry Circus, E14 8RR (7987 9494/www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk).

  The riverside terrace at this Argentinian steakhouse chain’s Docklands branch has amazing sunset views over the water.

• Lower East

  28 Westferry Circus, E14 8RR (7536 2862/www.lowereast.co.uk)

  A New York bistro-influenced restaurant overlooking the Thames, which is perfect on a sunny day (and hard to find this far east).