The Grapes, Limehouse, E14

Randomness Guide to London - Grapes entry

Randomness Guide to London - Grapes entry

Very good review below ,so little to add.Appropriate given the address,this must be one of the narrowest pubs in London,which only adds to the charm.4 handpumps with Youngs Kew Gold ,Adnams Bitter and Pedigree as regulars and TT Landlord as guest,prices very reasonable for the area .There is a voting system for the guest,enqire at the bar.Ale quality good ,great river view from the small outside terrace this is a pub interior worth checking out.It wouldnt take many customers to fill the interior but outside peak periods this is a very traditional drinking spot.Restaurant upstairs has peak prices on their fish orientated menu which I didnt partake.

Great location for canal users, rotten pub. A lunchtime visit found it crammed with the local mothers and toddlers group probably attracted by the tasteless but cheap fodder on offer. Despite having two real ale pumps none was on offer due to 'not being ready'. Settled for Guinness, which wasn't great. To be avoided.

I really like this pub. Going into this pub feels a bit like stepping back into Dickensian London, but without the whores, cutthroats and other diverse miscreants that infested this part of the world. In fact Dickens knew the area well, and is said to have used The Grapes as the basis for the “Six Jolly Fellowship Porters” (and what an interesting name for a pub that is!) in “Our Mutual Friend”. There’s plenty of dark wood all over the place, solid wood furniture – in fact not much in the way of luxury to be had here. They have a fish restaurant upstairs, but I haven’t eaten there so can’t comment on it. There’s a large gantry over the bar holding masses of assorted and dusty bric-a-brac; there’s several interesting sketches of the pub on the walls; and some miniature toby jugs in display cabinets. In fact the décor is the mixed bag of assorted odds and ends that I rather like. The back of the pub leads out to a very small landing on the river, affording some excellent views. It was open during Friday afternoon - in the past it has closed at 1500 on other weekdays, so prospective visitors planning to visit in the afternoon might be advised to check opening (and closing!) times. They had Timothy Taylor Landlord and one or two other mainstream ales on, but my chums and I went for Something called Ridley’s “Old Bob”, simply because we had not seen it before. As soon as I tried it I said that it had that Greene King taste, and my chum from somewhere up North said that it reminded him a bit of Tetley’s. Anyway, it transpired that it was an ersatz Greene King ale. And at £3.10 for a weak 3% GK ale we thought that it was somewhat overpriced. Interestingly it was the second ersatz GK 3% ale we had seen along that stretch of the river – the other being something called “Swift”, seen in the Prospect of Whitby. Anyway, I still like the pub and think that it is definitely worth a visit if you like a traditional pub.

So much better than I expected following the walk from Westferry DLR past dodgy looking 60's estates and bland recent "regeneration" Great river views from the small deck at the back, even if it seems London was only developed after 1986, where has all the history gone? No smoking outside as well as in, suits me if not all. Marstons Ped, Adnams Bitter, TT's Landlord and my choice Otter Ale on yesterday, OA a bit heavy and rich for a lunchtime I might add. A sign at the bar encourages customers to vote for their choice of guest ale, an excellent idea. Upstairs is a highly lauded fish restaurant, and perhaps the finest pub toilets I've seen in ages, loads of original green Victorian tiling and mahogany. All assuming you get upstairs without knocking yourself out on the seriously short of headroom steep staircase, although to be fair, warning signs are there. In short, great little pub worthy of the journey.