Looking for somewhere for 8 of us to meet up and have lunch, with bikes, without worrying about having them nicked or being bashed about (anywhere sitting outside with somewhere to lean them is fine). Needs to be within about a mile of Tower Bridge. Bonus marks if the place serves large portions of pasta.

Any suggestions? Borough Market? Spitalfields?

Cheers

look mum no hands on old street.

edit, might be further than a mile though

Yup, I know LMNH, that’s a maybe although it’s a good couple of miles. Cheers.

Trying to think Bez, trying to think…

You could try somewhere like Butler’s Wharf, few restaurants down there probbly pricey though I dunno never eated there. Or down towards London Bridge station in the new development bit there.

With the bikes is problematic. Will always be very busy at lunchtimes.

What I would do, would be to get a picnic and sit in a park or something. One right by Tower Bridge, or the Tat Modern. What you need is a nice little traditional London Italian cafe, which do fantastic sandwiches (like Beppe’s by St Barts), get a few cold ones from an offie, et voila. Dining al fresco.

Borough Market if its a Thursday or Friday

It is for a Thursday. Borough seemed an obvious choice for food, but not sure about stashing the bikes.

Picnic is an option if the weather’s ok – any recommendations nearer than St Bart’s? My usual haunt is Crown on the Strand, but that’s no closer.

Second Elfin’s suggestion.

http://www.goodforlunch.com/reviews/12489/ideals

This place does decent portions of takeaway pasta, tasty stuff too. 3 minutes walk/1 minute’s wheel from the Tower. Eat by the tower, or on the grass in Trinity Sqaure over the road from the north.

Tinnies from M&S on corner of Fenchurch Street/Gracechurch Street, or one of the offies in Leadenhall Market. Pedestrian and busy at lunch so send one in on foot!

Same problem in Borough Market. Busy with peds + 8 people wheeling bikes through will be a bit awkward.

Theres a few places near Butlers wharf in a little square (Brewery square?) where you can eat outside and watch your bike. Theres also a nice Italian sandwhich shop on HorsleyDown Lane (east of, and parallel to tower bridge road on the south side) and a suprisingly cheap pub with a pool table, where you can also sit outside and watch bikes.

You can’t beat a hog roast baguette from Borough market though.

Tinnies not required, we’re meeting up for the start of a 200 mile ride and I’m not planning on hitting the booze until at least the outskirts of Paris 🙂

Butler’s Wharf certainly wins for location and if there’s a good Italian sanwichery next door then sitting by the river near City Hall is a backup option. It’s ages since I’ve wandered east of the bridge, but there seems to be plenty of food places on the map there.

Good Luck!

with the ride, that is. Think you’ll be fine with finding lunch! 🙂

St Katharines Docks is right next to the tower and is a lovely little area. According to my phone the Dickins Inn is the pub there which i seem to recall has outdoor seating and loads of open space to prop your bikes up in. That’d be my choice.

Heh – if there’s one thing I can do it’s get food 🙂

I forgot to spamhorn this link into the thread – http://www.lejourdefrance.org.uk/ – I’m after money for charity, you know (well, we all are).

Spitalfields…..Carlucios for bowls of pasta in the sun or Leon inside the market. Lots of pretty girls too. Loads of room at both for the bikes and generally stretching out.

I love Borough Market but dont take your bikes there, its a zoo.

“spamhorn” 😀

The Dickens looks like a good call. Win!

Ooh yeah forgot St Katherines Dock. Dickens Inn is a good call actually, but bear in mind there will be hordes of others with the same idea! 🙂

I’d avoid Spitalfields though, personally. It’ll be very busy like Borough Market, and the fare isn’t as good.

No, you want somewhere more open with a bit of space and a bit more relaxed. Picnic FTW!

Turns out that reviews for the Dickens are damning – boo.

The Dickens isn’t that bad, just busy.

Dickens was fine when i ate there, probably a bit overpriced but where isn’t in London? At least you get to be by the water and look at all the nice boats while you eat.

leadenhall market, used to be good hot beef sandwiches from the pub in their (The Lamb?) but been a few years since I was in there at lunch time

Righto. St Katharine Dock looks good, then – seems to have plenty of backup choices in case we stumble on a bad day for the Dickens.

“probably a bit overpriced“

The menu looked startlingly cheap to me… maybe the portions are small 🙂

Thanks all

What about the pub near Tower Bridge – is it All Bar One??

You go over the left hand side of Tower Bridge from the Tower of London, then down the steps before the end of the bridge that take you down to the river. There’s an All Bar One down there with plenty of outside seating.
You can see it from the bridge.

I’ve been in there a couple of times & eaten once – it was typical food for that style of pub, really. Good value, decent portions and pretty tasty.

Here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=All+Bar+One,+Shad+Thames,+London&hl=en&ll=51.504135,-0.070574&spn=0.00967,0.022724&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=18.860836,46.538086&z=16