The Dickens Inn
Marble Quay, St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1UH
Book here (only The Grill takes reservations).
The Dickens Inn is one of the oldest warehouses in London, one of the few gems we still have from the olden days.
One of its best features is its location, smack bang in the middle of St Katherine Docks, one of the most historical docks in London.
If you happen to be anywhere near Tower Bridge or The City you can give yourself a break from the hustle and bustle in town by heading down to St Katherine Docks and walking through its lovely wooden gangways till you get to the gorgeous old Dickens Inn, a three story original warehouse building from 18th century.
It takes its name from the grandson of the famous author Charles Dickens, who said, when he opened the establishment in 1976, “My Great Grandfather would have loved this inn”.
Each level serves a different type of food: you will find the Grill on the 2nd floor, a pizza place on the 1st floor and then traditional pub food on the ground floor.
The Dickens is one of my favourite spots as it has served me many purposes: you can eat out without spending much, you feel like you are far from the traffic and all the mayhem, it’s a great spot to bring friends from abroad (they all love it!) and it’s also a very cool place to just down a few pints after work. It is common to find it full of City workers on school nights. The only downside is that from 9 pm you are no longer allowed to drink outside in order to keep noise down for he nearby residents.
The icing on the cake is that every weekday there is a street food market at the entrance with foods from all over the world. What more could I ask from this great place?
I like the pizza floor as it’s got a charming terrace that looks on to the pier, and everyone I take loves it. The pizza dough is freshly made and very tasty. You have to pick Small (9”) for around £12 or Large (15”) from £20 to £29. The large ones are reeeeeally large, so for one person the Small is more than enough. In any case, they will give you the leftovers in a doggybag to take home, if you have any leftovers at all that is. It’s not a proper Italian restaurant whatsoever though, and the staff are far from Italian but you will come here for a lovely time with stunning views at an affordable price.
