Mile end
The Palm Tree
A traditional East End boozer. No, it is the traditional East End boozer. Now set in the middle of Mile End Park, originally it was surrounded by houses and a factory. Its incongruous surroundings only add to the charm, however. You may recognise the interior from the number of film and TV appearances the pub has made as an "authentic" location. On Saturday nights the locals crowd into the front bar for a sing-song and the back bar is jammed with trendy students from Queen Mary's college. The presence of a student population mean this wonderful pub never has the threatening air of some East End locals and it attracts a mixed crowd.
The Morgan Arms
Was a worthy winner of the Evening Standard London Pub of the Year award recently. The attached restaurant also serves some tasty, albeit pricey fare.
Brick lane
Verge Bar
It is open everyday for food, flat whites, espresso and cocktails. It has outside seating for you to watch the exciting Brick Lane World go by or you can relax on a sofa inside a gaze out of the huge windows that open to the Brick Lane. A grand spot to relax with the papers and their excellent Bloody Mary on Sunday Morning.
Vibe Bar
The main advantage of this place is the huge courtyard which is usually packed out in the summer, and directly competes with cooler neighbour, 93 Feet East opposite. But inside although dingy, spreads out into some nooks where you can hide away for a chat from the booming speakers. Plenty of varied DJ nights and live bands. No dress code.
93 Feet East
This club/bar is made up of three areas: downstairs a loungey bar with low-lit sofa seating everywhere and chilled out music, the main room with a full on sweaty dancefloor where the headline DJs/bands perform and an upstairs bar which is mix of the two, plus a large cobbled area outside for the summer. Mon-Thur is mainly live music, and the weekend has the line up of eclectic DJs playing a variety of hip-hop, house and rock music. Charge on the door for gigs, on F/Sa usually free before 9PM, £5 after. No dress code.
LCB Surf Store and Coffee Shop
Not only is the coffee delicious, it's always prepared with Fairtrade and Organic Beans, roasted in London by the Tea and Coffee Plant. You can sip a hot Organic breakfast tea with a splash of organic milk, or eat a sandwich prepared fresh and packed by The Organic Sandwich Co. Surf the web for free with provided computers or log on wirelessly with your laptop. Shop and watch movies while you eat because opposite the cafe is a Surf Shop, complete with surfboards, skateboards, snowboards as well as shoes, watches, men and womens clothing and more. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, smoke free and totally comfortable for chilling out, shopping or surfing the net.
Canary wharf
Wetherspoons Pub
Although the view is not so good, is probably the cheapest pub in Canary Wharf.
The Spinnaker
Nothing particularly to recommend this place, except that it is a real pub, a rarity in Docklands!
Many of the bars on the Canary Wharf development are indistinguishable chain bars, although they are very popular with office workers on weekday evenings, particularly Thursday and Friday. Most are closed at weekends, but there are usually one or two open if you want to visit then; the area is generally very quiet at this time, which you may or may not consider a good thing! Nearly all have outside areas adjacent to the water which can be pleasant in summer.
Fisherman's Walk, to the north of North Colonnade, has three adjacent bars:
Immediately across the dock, West India Quay has several bars:
Mackenzie Walk, to the south of South Colonnade, has a number of bars and restaurants. The following are two 'real' pubs:
Gun
18th-century pub with real fires, a terrace where you can sit and stare at the Millennium Dome over the river, and pistachio nuts behind the bar. A haven of warmth after a trek through JG Ballard-style Docklands wasteland empty streets, vast satellite dishes and rusting industrial machinery.
Other options:
Waitrose's Wine Bar
Pleasant and good-value place to sit and sip, though it closes when Waitrose does i.e. around 21:00.
The Mahogany Bar
The Mahogany Bar was built around 1725 and has always been a public house, trading under many names over the years including The Albion Saloon and The Prince of Denmark. In 1828 it was luxuriously and elaborately refurbished with a magnificent mahogany bar and fittings which was unprecedented for a pub interior at that time and arguably set the look for the iconic Victorian pub we know and love today. Sadly, the famous fixtures and fittings of this remarkable bar have been stripped away over the years but the atmosphere lingers on. This is the charming bar inside the dilapidated Wilton's music Hall. Visit on a Monday for free live music from 8pm.