Choose Your Thames Pub Adventure
London’s historic riverside pubs stretch for miles along the Thames, from a tiny old bar room in Hammersmith to the working waterfronts of Rotherhithe and Wapping and the grand riverside taverns of Greenwich.
Some of these pubs fit naturally into a day of sightseeing. The Anchor is an easy stop beside Shakespeare’s Globe, while Trafalgar Tavern and The Cutty Sark can be worked into a day exploring Greenwich.
Others are worth making the journey for. Head to The Dove for its tiny historic bar room, The Mayflower for its old maritime atmosphere, or Wapping for old river stairs, pirate stories and the landscape of Execution Dock.
You don’t need to visit all eight in one day. Pick the Thames experience that sounds like yours, then use the individual pub guide to know what to look for when you get there.
1. The Anchor Bankside — Southwark: A Riverside Pint Beside Shakespeare’s Globe
The Anchor Bankside is almost the opposite of The Dove, requiring no special journey to track down. It sits so squarely on the Bankside sightseeing path that it naturally interrupts your walk between Shakespeare’s Globe and the food stalls of Borough Market.
This sprawling, multi-roomed Thames pub has a much bigger, busier energy, with crowds moving along the riverbank just outside. Ordering a pint of Abbot Ale from the handpump is the move here—take it outside and look for an open terrace table overlooking the water. The Anchor is the perfect fit when you want a historic riverside pint to slide effortlessly into a packed Central London sightseeing day.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to The Anchor →
2. The Mayflower, Rotherhithe: A Riverside Pint Tied to the 1620 Voyage
The Mayflower takes you to old Rotherhithe, where the pub’s connection to the river is inseparable from its history. You are drinking at the edge of the 1620 story itself—the historic ship was captained by local resident Christopher Jones and moored at Rotherhithe before its famous voyage to America.
Inside, the small timbered pub leans heavily into its maritime past, but the real pleasure is finding a spot on the wooden jetty extending directly out over the water. Order the appropriately named Scurvy Ale on cask and take it to the deck, where the history, the pint and the waterfront setting come together into a single story.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to The Mayflower →
3. The Town of Ramsgate, Wapping: A Pint Beside the Execution Dock Legend
The Town of Ramsgate pulls you into a very different stretch of the Thames, where narrow Wapping streets lead toward one of London’s darker maritime stories. Enjoy a pint inside the long, narrow pub, but don’t leave without stepping back outside.
Immediately beside the building, a narrow passage leads down Wapping Old Stairs toward the Thames. This stretch of river is one of the strongest candidates for the historic location of Execution Dock, where pirates and other maritime offenders were once hanged.
Follow the stairs toward the water and suddenly the pub, the old river landing and centuries of execution lore belong to the same landscape.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to The Town of Ramsgate →
4. The Prospect of Whitby, Wapping: A Pint Beneath the Gallows
The Prospect of Whitby keeps you in Wapping but shifts the atmosphere completely. Instead of searching the neighborhood streets for history, the river’s rougher past feels physically wrapped around you the moment you step onto the old flagstones and order at the pewter-topped bar.
The pub was once known as the Devil’s Tavern, a suitably grim name for a place long associated with sailors, smugglers and the stories of nearby Execution Dock. Wander through the old rooms toward the riverside terrace and another piece of that history comes into view: a replica gallows hanging out over the Thames.
While the Town of Ramsgate sends you outside to find the historic landscape, the Prospect of Whitby has brought the legend right onto the riverbank.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to The Prospect of Whitby →
5. The Grapes, Limehouse: A Riverside Pint Guarded by a Wizard
The Grapes takes you farther east to Limehouse, where a tiny, narrow riverside pub comes with an unexpectedly famous owner and an iconic film prop displayed behind the bar.
Keep walking toward the back and the pub opens onto a tiny terrace over the Thames. Charles Dickens knew this old Limehouse waterfront and drew on a riverside tavern here in Our Mutual Friend. Look out over the water and there’s one more surprise: a life-size human figure standing silently in the Thames.
The Grapes may be small, but very little about it is ordinary.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to The Grapes →
6. Trafalgar Tavern, Greenwich: A Grand Riverside Pint Beside the Thames
Trafalgar Tavern changes the scale completely. Sitting directly on the Greenwich waterfront, this grand Victorian tavern has enormous windows facing the Thames, where getting a table with a view is part of the experience.
Settle in here and you’re also stepping into one of Greenwich’s stranger dining traditions. During the nineteenth century, elaborate whitebait dinners drew politicians and other prominent guests downriver to Greenwich, and Trafalgar Tavern became closely associated with them. You can still order whitebait here today.
Enjoy a pint beside the windows and watch the river traffic move past. After the tiny rooms, old stairs and darker stories farther east, sitting here feels like the Thames putting on its best clothes.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to Trafalgar Tavern →
7. The Cutty Sark, Greenwich: A Riverside Pint Beyond the Tourist Crowds
The Cutty Sark carries you beyond the busiest part of Maritime Greenwich, following the Thames toward the quieter neighborhood streets of Ballast Quay. Leave the museums and sightseeing crowds behind and keep walking beside the river until this old neighborhood pub appears beside the water.
Step inside and the enormous bow windows immediately pull your attention back toward the Thames. Don’t be disappointed if you came expecting a view of the famous Cutty Sark ship; the view from here belongs to the river itself. Find a seat with a view, check the handpumps for the cask ale currently pouring and settle in.
This is the pub to save for when you’ve finished sightseeing and aren’t quite ready to leave the Thames.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to The Cutty Sark →
8. The Dove, Hammersmith: Squeezing into the World’s Smallest Bar Room
The Dove stands alone as the only pub on this list that draws you this far west, sitting well beyond the usual Central London sightseeing circuit. To get here, take the pleasant riverside path that leads you past the suspension cables of Hammersmith Bridge and through the neighborhood gardens until you arrive right beside the Thames.
Squeezing into the famously tiny front snug—Guinness-certified as the world’s smallest bar room—gives you a reason to seek it out, but the riverside setting gives you a reason to stay. Order a cask pint of Fuller’s London Pride and find a spot beside the Thames. This is the place to choose when you want to trade a rigid sightseeing checklist for the slow, unhurried rhythm of a West London afternoon.
Explore the full Traveler’s Checklist Guide to The Dove →