Ten minutes west of the towers: Limehouse, its river pubs and a slower supper

The district next door that visitors miss

Guests at the Wharf rarely look west. They should. One stop along the DLR, or a quarter of an hour on foot beside the river from Westferry Circus, Limehouse is everything the estate is not: low-rise, old, residential and quiet enough to hear the tide slapping against the river wall. It is where people who work in the towers go when they want dinner to feel like the end of the day rather than an extension of it.

The district grew up around the river trades. Ropemakers, boatbuilders, sailors and chandlers lived here for centuries, and at the end of the nineteenth century Limehouse was home to London's first Chinese community, a history still visible in a few street names nearby. Then the docks closed, the warehouses emptied, and from the 1980s onward they became flats. What survives is a thin strip of river frontage with more history per metre than the rest of E14 put together.

Narrow Street, one door at a time

Narrow Street runs along the river south of the basin, and it is the reason to come. The Grapes is the one everyone has heard of: a slim Georgian pub whose back room and tiny balcony hang over the water, with a small dining room upstairs. Dickens knew it well, and it is usually said to be the model for the riverside tavern in Our Mutual Friend. It is small, so tables go early; a weeknight suits it best.

Further along, other riverside pubs and restaurants occupy the ground floors of converted wharves, several with terraces over the river. Kitchens in older pubs often stop serving earlier than a hotel restaurant would, and the smaller places change their hours with the seasons, so the rule on Narrow Street is simple: sit down to eat by eight, and check on the day.

From the river terraces the view downstream is the estate itself, framed between old wharf buildings, the towers seen side-on from the older London they replaced. On a still night their reflections run almost to your table, and it is hard to believe the office you left an hour ago is inside one of them.

St Anne's and the basin, before or after

Two landmarks give an evening in Limehouse its shape. The first is St Anne's, Nicholas Hawksmoor's church, whose pale tower has served as a mark for ships on this reach since the eighteenth century. Walk past it at dusk, when it is floodlit, and the scale is startling for a parish church in a quiet street.

The second is Limehouse Basin, the marina behind Narrow Street where the Regent's Canal sets off on its long run west towards Little Venice and Paddington. The towpath begins here. After dark the narrowboats show their cabin lights, the flats around the water glow, and the whole basin has the feel of a small harbour town. It is the right place for the walk between dinner and whatever follows.

What late means in Limehouse

Limehouse is not a late district. By eleven on a weeknight Narrow Street is hushed, the pubs are winding down and the river path belongs to joggers and dog walkers. That is part of its appeal, but it changes how the evening should run. Eat early, walk at nine, and decide by ten where the second half of the night will happen.

There are three natural endings. A private flat nearby, if you live or are staying in one of the warehouse conversions. A hotel on the estate, one stop away, which a taxi reaches in minutes through the Limehouse Link. Or a late drink back among the towers, where the hotel bars keep going long after the pubs have called time.

Reaching Narrow Street

From the estate, the DLR to Westferry puts you at the eastern end of Narrow Street within minutes, and Limehouse station, where the DLR meets the c2c trains out of Fenchurch Street, stands at the northern edge of the basin. The river path from Westferry Circus is the more beautiful route for most of the way and hardly any slower. By car, remember that Narrow Street is narrow in fact as well as in name; ask to be dropped at the end nearest your table.

A companion coming from the West End usually takes the Elizabeth line to the Wharf and the DLR one stop back, or a car along The Highway. Either way, the arrival time you are given before you commit is the time she arrives.

Who to ask for, and how

Two of our companions know Limehouse especially well. Margo chooses The Grapes, asks for the window and lets a long supper unwind at its own pace; she prefers the longer lengths, because she opens up slowly and the best of her conversation arrives after the second glass. Karolina begins at St Anne's, offers one good observation about its architect at each corner, and walks you down to the basin before supper. Margo is on our thirties page, and Karolina appears with the raven haired companions.

For a supper and a walk, the four-hour dinner date is the natural fit. For an evening that starts on Narrow Street and ends at breakfast, look at the overnight. The Limehouse page covers the stations and the hotels a short hop east, the Wapping page the next stretch of river to the west, and the ladder of lengths is on rates. Limehouse is in Zone 2, so no travel is added. Send the details to booking, and ask early if the window at The Grapes matters to you.