All Aboard: 4 Floating Restaurants to Try in London

Did you know that the River Thames is the longest waterway in England? Along with being home to approximately 125 classifications of fish? Any notion of where we’re going with this yet? Riverboat dining, the countryside pub and rooftop bar’s slightly more innocuous cousin, and the next best thing for a bustling metropolitan landscape with no seaside. Be that as it may, we’ve navigated ourselves to the best ones London has to offer, and have no fear, you won’t encounter any sirens, pirates and krakens along your journey, and X definitely marks the spot.

1) Caravel

Transfigured from an antique barge, this floating eatery, punctured by portholes and ligneous floors presents an idiosyncratic opportunity for its diners to savour a bistro-aesthetic menu of grilled mackerel, peached trout and sesame prawn toast before indulging in a sumptuous sounding ‘Buttermilk Pudding & Berry Compôte’ or ‘Baked Chocolate Cake, Fudge Sauce & Crème Diplomat’.

Address: 172 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7JL | Website: caravelrestaurant.com | Email: contactus@caravelrestaurant.com | Phone: 020 7251 1155 | Instagram: @caravel_restaurant | Facebook: @Caravelrestaurant

2) The Grand Duchess, London Shell Co.

For a riverboat restaurant, it’s inevitable to anticipate a bounteous seafood offering. This is where London Shell Co.’s second vessel, The Grand Duchess with its oysters, Ortiz anchovies, and cuttlefish, which can be watered down with an Aperol Spritz or Negroni, whilst you're perched on a treen bar chair, underneath nautical catalysed light fixtures, goes above and beyond expectations.

Address: The Grand Duchess, London W2 6PY | Website: londonshellco.com | Email: bookings@londonshellco.com | Phone: 07553 033 636 | Instagram @londonshellco

3) Feng Shang Princess Restaurant

Undoubtedly London’s most individualistic, this floating extravaganza of a three-tiered pagoda-style boat, is presently floating along Regent’s Canal. Centred on a predominantly Chinese-enthused menu, with a sprinkling of Japanese, Thai and Malaysian, you can expect to feast on everything from crispy seaweed with grated scallop and stir-fry king prawn to sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice.

Address: Southern Star Cumberland Basin, Prince Albert Rd, London NW1 7SS | Website: fengshang.co.uk | Email: info@fengshang.co.uk | Phone: +44 (0)20 7485 8137 | Instagram: @fengshangregentspark | Facebook: @fengshangRegentsPark

4) Barge East

Meticulously restored from a century-old Dutch cargo barge that was sailed to London from Holland and moored in Hackney Wick, where it resides today, it’s not only Barge East’s multifarious gastronomical offering of salt cod croquette and venison loin which set it apart, but its storied tale, which is as contentiously cultivated through its anachronistic interior.

Address: River Lee, Sweetwater Mooring, White Post Ln, London E9 5EN | Website: bargeeast.com | Email: info@bargeeast.com | Phone: +44 20 3026 2807 | Instagram: @bargeeast | Facebook: @BARGEEAST