This historic pub has been round for practically 500 years and the present proprietor is a British icon.
I paid £18.50 for these fish and chips (Picture: Steffan Rhys)
Few cities worldwide showcase the juxtaposition of latest life and historical past fairly like London. A short stroll from Canary Wharf’s famend skyscrapers (immortalised by these sweeping aerial views in The Apprentice) brings me to a pub that stood right here when Sir Walter Raleigh’s third expedition departed for the New World from the Thames immediately past its doorways in 1587.
The Grapes has occupied this spot for practically 5 centuries. It reveals. It has survived numerous different pubs, historic and up to date, which have opened and closed throughout the capital throughout that interval. And Raleigh is not the only real outstanding British determine related to its story. In 1661, Samuel Pepys’ diary paperwork his go to to lime kilns on the jetty located close to The Grapes.
Charles Dickens frequented the neighbourhood and allegedly featured The Grapes, “scarcely disguised”, within the opening chapter of his novel, Our Mutual Pal, describing it as “a tavern of dropsical look… lengthy settled down right into a state of hale infirmity” (while perched on a stool, leaning over a barrel desk, I noticed a whole assortment of Dickens novels displayed alongside the wall instantly behind me).
The Canary Wharf skyline seen from close to The Grapes (Picture: Steffan Rhys)
However inside it feels a world away from fashionable London (Picture: Steffan Rhys)
Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle and painter Francis Bacon are additionally believed to have been captivated by this nook of London, and the pub’s partitions show oil work and watercolours alongside books. In the present day, one other British icon holds robust connections to The Grapes.
He occurs to be a knight of the realm and extensively considered a nationwide treasure. The present leaseholder is Sir Ian McKellen, the celebrated stage and display screen performer who has collected seven Olivier awards for his theatrical work however is probably most recognised for portraying Gandalf in Lord of the Rings (once I talked about my vacation spot to my barber, he drew a clean on “Sir Ian McKellen” however turned much more animated once I mentioned “, Gandalf from Lord of the Rings”).
Departing Cardiff at 3.30pm, I arrived on the institution by 6pm (I might sooner be in Mordor than navigate the London Underground between 5pm and 6pm on a weekday). Inside moments of escaping the hectic Canary Wharf tube station, I discovered myself within the comparatively peaceable streets of Limehouse, reaching the pub the place its vibrant hanging baskets and alluring amber mild filtering by way of frosted glass proved totally welcoming in London’s mid-Autumn nightfall.
I believed I might been intelligent arriving earlier than 6pm, but each seat within the intimate downstairs bar was occupied and I started to worry lacking out on my fish dinner. Then I found a slender staircase tucked away behind the bar and climbed it to seek out an out there desk (truly a big picket barrel) in one other charming and intimate room upstairs.
Gazing by way of the window, nightfall descended throughout the Thames and the Canary Wharf skyline past as I made my manner downstairs to the bar to position my order for supper and a pint of Guinness. At £6.15, the pint nonetheless leaves me considerably shocked as somebody who recollects paying £1.10 per pint throughout my youth, although it is hardly unreasonable by London requirements. In the meantime, fish and chips for £18.50 in such a surprising pub owned by a real Hollywood star feels remarkably good worth.
The specials board is surrounded by copies of books by Charles Dickens (Picture: Steffan Rhys)
The fish arrived alongside thick-cut chips, accompanied by a hearty serving of mushy peas and a reasonably typical facet salad comprising rocket, diced cucumber, onion and tomatoes.
It proved completely satisfying, if not extraordinary. What did strike me was how the fish and its delicate batter contained no hint of grease in any way, which means I averted that barely disagreeable sensation that may often observe a greasy fish supper. The Guinness was wonderful as properly.
The outside of Sir Ian McKellen’s pub, The Grapes, with vibrant hanging baskets and frosted glass home windows (Picture: Steffan Rhys)
I put my pint of Guinness immediately above the spot Sir Walter Raleigh set sail within the sixteenth century (Picture: Steffan Rhys) Recipe inspiration for the entire household plus chosen presents and competitions Subscribe Invalid e-mail
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Then I took it inside to a comfortable room upstairs (Picture: Steffan Rhys)
Nevertheless, finally, except they’re designed to focus solely on excellent delicacies, pubs and eating places succeed based mostly on the environment they create. At The Grapes, I felt fully content material. Certainly, I will summarise my expertise in three phrases: gutted to depart.
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