Groups of people sat at long wooden benches in a beer garden, with trees on the left, rows of lightbulbs overhea, a large sign saying 'The Ship Pub and Dining' and a pink sunset over the river Thames in the background
Photograph: The Ship
Photograph: The Ship

London’s best riverside pubs and bars

Few things in London beat a pint by the river Thames (or, indeed, one of many canals). Here's our guide to the city's best waterside pubs

Leonie Cooper
Written by: Laura Richards
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There's nothing to get you building up a thirst like admiring a beautiful body of water. And fortunately, London's full of places where you can soak up some riverside or canalside atmos while sipping a crisp and delicious pint.

In our guide to the best riverside bars and pubs we provide top-notch Thames-side drinking spots, as well as some first rate canalside pubs and bars fit for a pleasant day of drinking in the capital. The list below runs from west London to east London and takes in the Thames, the River Lea and the Regent’s Canal.

RECOMMENDED: Check out London's best rooftop bars and best beer gardens.

Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

The best riverside boozers in London

  • Greenwich

Thanks to the Thames lapping against its wall and the resulting busy tourist trade, this place is something of a local landmark. Built in 1837 and regally restored in 1968, it feels more historic than it is, with photographs of maritime scenes and portraits of braided admirals aiding the illusion; there are rooms named after Nelson, Hardy and Howe. Draught beers include British ales and Belgian brews, and they still serve whitebait among other traditional dishes.

River Thames

  • Gastropubs
  • Barnes
  • price 3 of 4

With a kitchen led by Sam Andrews (former head chef at The Camberwell Arms and Soho’s Ducksoup), The Waterman's Arms takes the concept of ‘Pub?’ and elevates it to the nth degree. The drinks – from aperitifs to wine and beer – are a well-curated mix of standards, and the food is made up of seasonal small and large plates. A daily chalkboard of specials features market meat and fish, mostly designed for sharing. 

River Thames

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  • British
  • Wandsworth
  • price 2 of 4

This local, founded as a waterman's inn around 1786, shines like a riverside beacon. The peaceful and relaxing front bar is ideal for reading or quiet conversation, whereas the much larger conservatory by the Thames attracts a lively mixed crowd, which means seats are always at a premium; an excellent garden overlooks Wandsworth Bridge. 

River Thames

  • Breweries
  • Hackney Wick
  • price 2 of 4

This is one of the few success stories of the great Hackney Wick Olympic boom. While many of the area’s newer cafés and restaurants have floundered or closed since summer 2012, Crate is more popular than ever – especially among the Wick’s young creative types. This hip canalside pizzeria and microbrewery has high-vaulted ceilings accompanied by bare light bulbs, benches made from recycled coffee sacks and a bar pulled together using railway sleepers.

River Lea

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  • Gastropubs
  • Twickenham
  • price 2 of 4
White Swan, Twickenham
White Swan, Twickenham

Set on a particularly rural bend of the Thames, the White Swan is in a peach of a spot, and the views over the river are wonderfully bucolic. But if the weather rules against sitting outside, the interior’s far from ugly, wearing its 300-year history with ease. The offerings from the kitchen are a bit more adventurous these days – but you’ll still find scampi and chips, crowd-pleasers for locals and the occasional interloping tourists like it.

River Thames

  • Pubs
  • Greenwich
  • price 2 of 4

Three floors of bow-fronted Georgian magic, with the top-level room in particular giving fantastic river views both upstream and downstream. Secure a window seat, or a table on the cobbled street outside, and tuck in to some better-than-average grub and a decent, if unadventurous, selection of ales and wine.

River Thames

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  • Pubs
  • Mile End
  • price 1 of 4

It’s not your traditional riverside charmer, but the Palm Tree has a style of its own, a relic of a pub with an old-school, East End vibe. Get your pint poured into a takeaway cup to carry outside to this stretch of canal and while away the day. Then by night, retreat back indoors and be prepared to discover an East End knees-up you won’t believe.

Regent’s Canal

  • Pubs
  • Wapping
  • price 2 of 4
Prospect of Whitby, Wapping
Prospect of Whitby, Wapping

Drink in London history at the Prospect, a building in Wapping that dates back to the 1520s and claims to be the city’s oldest riverside inn. Luminaries together with altogether shadier characters have found refreshment in the dark wooden interior and contemplated the views from the terrace.

River Thames

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9. The Anchor & Hope, Clapton

One of east London's best kept pub secrets, The Anchor & Hope is right on the banks of the Lea and full of characters – including lots of folk who dwell on the boats moored nearby. The pub itself is tiny, but it's the outdoor benches right by the water where everyone wants to sit. Come on a sunny day and stay for hours – there's a jerk stall nearby to keep you fed. 

River Lea

  • Gastropubs
  • Kingston
  • price 1 of 4
Boaters Inn, Kingston
Boaters Inn, Kingston

Owned by the Metropolitan Pub Company, the Boaters Inn sits on a quiet stretch of the river in Kingston. Sup local ales (Twickenham and Sambrook’s) while sitting under dappled shade on the large riverside terrace. Or visit on a Sunday for a loaded pub roast by the water. 

River Thames

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  • Pubs
  • Rotherhithe
  • price 2 of 4

Dating back to 1620, the Mayflower certainly looks the part: appearing suddenly along the Thames path, its white and black-timbered frontage set with diamond-leaded windows positively oozes tradition. Inside, beyond the counter, the small main bar area (cosy alcoves, open fire) leads to a deck outside at the rear. This waterfront terrace makes up for any disappointment you may have from the 21st century prices for food and booze.

River Thames

  • Pubs
  • Hammersmith
  • price 2 of 4
Old Ship, Hammersmith
Old Ship, Hammersmith

It’s a long walk from Hammersmith Bridge along a lazy bend in the Thames, a world away from belching buses and snarled-up traffic, but if you bypass a few pubs in favour of this one, you’ll be pleased you’ve made the trek. The boathouse feel of the airy building is continued in the maritime-themed decor with sailing paintings and iconography. Book a spot on outdoor seating, upstairs or down.

River Thames

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  • Gastropubs
  • Chiswick
  • price 2 of 4

Beside a muddy but peaceful stretch of the Thames, facing a little island straight out of fiction, this higgledy-piggledy pub offers tranquillity both inside and out. Artefacts related to the location – sepia waterside scenes of yesteryear, an old wooden ‘Beware of the Weir’ sign – decorate the raised main bar area, leading to the back terrace.

River Thames

  • Barnes
White Hart, Barnes
White Hart, Barnes

Right on the river, this capacious barn of a bar makes best use of its prime location. It provides a decent range of ales, as well as reliably satisfying steak and Sunday roasts. What really brings in the punters, though, is the chance to sink into a chesterfield by the fire, or find a spot on the river-view first-floor veranda.

River Thames

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  • Gastropubs
  • King’s Cross
  • price 2 of 4
The Lighterman, King's Cross
The Lighterman, King's Cross

With its first-floor wraparound terrace taking in the waterways, and a canalside alfresco area, this gastropub is convincing competition for the more established terraces on Granary Square. All its alfresco spaces are first come, first served, so prepare for a bun fight on hot days. Enjoy menu highlights including wood-grilled meats, superfood salads, and flatbreads topped with thoughtful, seasonal combinations, teamed with fresh juices, wines by the glass, or on-trend cocktails.

Regent's Canal

  • Pubs
  • Hammersmith
  • price 1 of 4

Several pubs stand amid the rowing clubs, dog-walkers and strategically placed park benches on the Upper Mall embankment upriver from Hammersmith Bridge; this one is perhaps the best (and certainly a prime spot from which to watch the Boat Race). Inside, it’s basically a classic duck-your-head heritage pub experience, but most drinkers come here to sit in the vine-entangled conservatory or the riverside terrace overlooking the houseboats.

River Thames

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  • Gastropubs
  • Richmond
  • price 1 of 4

Optimism is creating an entirely outdoor establishment on the Thames. At this German beer garden in Richmond, the wursts are pretty great, especially washed down with a weissbier und sauerkraut. There are plenty of picnic benches to fight over, and parasols create a Continental vibe in this plummy part of London. 

River Thames

  • Hammersmith
Blue Anchor, Hammersmith
Blue Anchor, Hammersmith

There's a fair bit of history to this riverside pub and kitchen in Hammersmith – it was first licensed back in 1772. The food and drink offering is handsome – wash down harissa-marinated chicken with a Bordeaux Negroni. Its expansive views of the river and Hammersmith Bridge make it a west London draw, especially when sunny days hit.

River Thames

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  • Richmond

The White Cross stands on the site of a monastery. A big, handsome boozer, it has large bay windows that offer none-closer views of the river. Crowds flock here in summer to bask on the waterfront with a cooling drink, but fires and little nooks in the many rooms keep things cosy in winter. 

River Thames

  • Gastropubs
  • Fulham
  • price 2 of 4

Situated on a fine stretch of the riverbank between Hammersmith and Putney bridges, this vast Victorian venue is within shouting distance of Craven Cottage. On a sunny day, find locals in their droves enjoying some of the nicest waterside drinking in the city. The seats under the weeping willow deserve particular mention. A gigantic beer garden, bedecked in wood and stylish shrubbery, flows down to the riverfront.

River Thames

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  • Putney
Duke's Head, Putney
Duke's Head, Putney

If you’re a fan of rowing (and rowers) make a dash for the Duke’s Head, where the lads and lasses of the nearby LRC (London Rowing Club) can often be found quenching their thirst. To watch them in action, book an outdoor table to cheer on the crews. No training on? Pull up a pew in the dinky patio area, and drink in the views.

River Thames

  • Pubs
  • Islington

A posh Islington pub on a prime stretch of the Regent’s Canal, visit The Narrowboat to convince yourself you’re not in London any more. The focus is on seasonal grub, fine wine and dog-friendly, daytime sessions. A few tables on a tight balcony that juts out above the water are the place to be come summer.

Regent's Canal

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  • Gastropubs
  • Clapton

This pub isn’t exactly brimming with character but it has a wonderful lockside location on the River Lea to compensate. Sit at one of the many picnic tables and survey the vista – a seat in the conservatory does the job in bad weather.

River Lea

  • Limehouse

The downstairs room of this riverside pub – which is owned by Sir Ian McKellen and which dates from 1720 – is all wood panels and nautical jetsam (and is mercifully devoid of mobile ringtones and music); a tight stairway leads up to a more plain restaurant room that accommodates the Sunday roast overspill. Watch out for your shoes if you step out of the main bar room on to the tiny deck at high tide.

River Thames

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  • Eclectic
  • Hackney Wick
Number 90, Hackney Wick
Number 90, Hackney Wick

A Hackney Wick bar and kitchen, Number 90 boasts a great canalside location, on the banks of the Lee Navigation. Drinks by the water prove popular when the sun shines but food is a draw, too. Expect a menu ranging from chicken wings and deep-fried halloumi to salads, burgers, a range of fries and indulgent desserts. Keep an eye out for DJ sets from credible acts, too – plus a rare thing right now, a licence until 4am.

River Lea

  • Gastropubs
  • Isle of Dogs
  • price 2 of 4

The devotedly lazy may baulk at the 10-15 minute walk to the Gun from the nearest tube or DLR station, but trust us – it’s well worth the pilgrimage. Once there, you’ll find few tourists (not something you can say of many riverside pubs – Mayflower, we’re looking at you) and plenty of outside space, all washed over by river breezes and the wafting smells of fish dishes and steak dinners.

River Thames

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