The Narrow Street frontage of The Grapes in Limehouse.
Photo: The Grapes Pub, Limehouse by canalandriversidepubs co uk via Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0. Lighting and contrast adjusted.
Why The Grapes Is Worth Seeking Out
You may have come looking for The Grapes because of its connection to Charles Dickens, because you heard Sir Ian McKellen owns a pub in Limehouse, or because someone told you there’s a rather famous wizard’s staff hiding behind the bar.
All three will get you through the door. But the real reason to seek out The Grapes is the pub itself.
This narrow little riverside tavern has stood on Narrow Street in one form or another for centuries, with a long room stretching back toward a tiny terrace directly over the Thames. Dickens knew this part of Limehouse well, and The Grapes is traditionally associated with the riverside tavern he described in Our Mutual Friend.
Today, McKellen is one of its co-owners—and yes, Gandalf’s staff from The Lord of the Rings is behind the bar.
Traveling with children? This one won’t work. The Grapes does not admit anyone under 18 because of its licensing restrictions.
Can You Find Gandalf’s Staff?
Head to the bar first—and look behind it before you order.
Mounted on the bar back among the bottles and glassware is one of The Grapes’ most unexpected treasures: Gandalf’s staff from The Lord of the Rings films, belonging to pub co-owner Sir Ian McKellen.
You don’t need to search through the whole pub to find it. It’s right there behind the counter, turning an otherwise perfectly sensible trip to the bar into one of London’s stranger pub scavenger hunts.
What’s the Pint Pick?
Order a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord if it’s on the handpump.
This classic 4.3% pale ale from Yorkshire’s Timothy Taylor brewery is one of The Grapes’ regular cask ales and one of Britain’s best-known traditional pints. It’s crisp and gently hoppy, with enough character to make it a good introduction to cask ale if you normally drink something colder or lighter.
Order your Landlord pint at the bar and pay when you order. If the card machine prompts you for a tip, skip it. Digital prompts are increasingly common, but tipping is still not customary when buying drinks at a UK pub bar counter.
Then take your pint and keep heading toward the back of the pub.
Keep Going to the Dickens Snug
With your pint in hand, keep heading toward the back of the pub. A narrow passage beside the staircase leads into the small rear room known as the Dickens Snug.
The name comes from The Grapes’ long association with Charles Dickens, who knew Limehouse well and whose godfather lived nearby on Narrow Street. In Our Mutual Friend, Dickens described a riverside tavern of “dropsical appearance” hanging over the Thames. The Grapes is one of several pubs traditionally identified as the inspiration for his fictional Six Jolly Fellowship Porters.
The connection has accumulated some appropriately Dickensian pub lore of its own. According to tradition at The Grapes, Dickens once danced on the tables in this very room. There’s no need to treat that as documented history—but it’s a good story to know while you’re standing in the snug that bears his name.
And don’t settle in quite yet.
Keep going toward the river.
Step Out Over the Thames
Keep going past the Dickens Snug and you’ll reach one of the best reasons to seek out The Grapes: its tiny riverside terrace, projecting directly over the Thames.
If there’s room, step outside—but treat the terrace as a bonus rather than something you’re guaranteed to get. The Grapes doesn’t take table reservations, and there isn’t much space out here.
Once you’re outside, forget about finding a seat for a moment and look toward the river.
Standing in the Thames behind the pub is a solitary iron figure by British sculptor Antony Gormley. Titled Another Time, the life-sized sculpture was installed here in 2013 and changes with the rise and fall of the tide.
Depending on the water level, you may see far more—or far less—of him.
Keep Exploring London’s Historic Riverside Pubs
The Prospect of Whitby — Continue west along the Thames to one of London’s oldest riverside pubs, where original flagstones, a pewter-topped bar and replica gallows lead you through centuries of Wapping river lore.
The Mayflower — Head farther along the river to Rotherhithe for the pub associated with the Mayflower and Captain Christopher Jones, complete with a riverside jetty and its unusual Descendants Book.