The Gun in Canary Wharf is hard to find.  A 15 minute walk from the tube station, this gastropub can easily be mistaken for a low-key local.  But when you step in, you’re greeted by a very nicely decorated, restored interior and a dining room with white linen tablecloths that adds the “gastro” to the pub.

There wasn’t much in the way of a selection of ales – London Pride and Adnams Bitter.  A range of imported lagers and expensive looking wines complemented the selection.

The lunch menu is extensive, but as usual there was only 1 vegetarian option for starters and the main course.  The starter, a goat cheese, potato, olive and pine nut bake, was excellent.  It matched the Adnams Bitter (£3.30) very nicely.  The hand cut fries were also excellent, but the main dish, a mushroom and chestnut wellington, was good but not £12.75 good.

According to the interwebs, The Gun has some interesting history to it:  It was originally a favourite of Lord Horatio Nelson who would meet his lover in an upstairs room and popular with smugglers who would distribute illegal imports via a hidden tunnel.  As a tribute (I suppose) the door to the men’s room has the word “Horatio” painted on it.

Overall, a very interesting experience for a first visit to a gastropub, but not a place I want to revisit.

The North Pole took a little extra effort to locate.  But that’s what makes this local Docklands pub special.  It is barely a 10 minute walk from the busy Canary Wharf tube station (and ever closer to the DLR), but unless one knows a pub is located there, one isn’t going to find it.

It is tucked away in a corner and the narrow door blends in with the rest of the of the exterior decor, especially when the sun’s gone down.  The proprietor was very friendly and broke off a conversation he was having as soon as Reva and I entered to greet us a smile and ask what we’d like.  Oh, this is also the first of the 100 pubs that I visited with Reva.

The inside of the pub is nothing special, with a simple (and some would consider tacky) country themed decor that would seem well suited for any English country-side pub.  A log-fire was crackling in one corner of the room, giving the inside a very warm and homely atmosphere.  We went to the pub around 7:00 PM on a Thursday evening, and there was a good mix of locals and a few suits from the nearby banks/law firms.

I didn’t notice a food menu, but that doesn’t detract from the overall likability of the place.  In fact, if they did have a menu, I’d probably avoid trying anything.  The beer selection wasn’t anything special either, with the usual selection of European imports and a few English ales.  I had the Landlord, one of my usual favourites, for £3.25.  Overall, a very nice local pub and one to keep keep in mind if one is trying to avoid the usual chain pubs and their crowds in the wharf.