The Old Salt Quay

Popped into here on a Saturday afternoon. Very large pub with a soaring ceiling and wood panelling throughout. I got the pumpkin, mature cheddar, and chili burger sans bun. It was good– the cheddar really helped bring out the very mild pumpkin flavour. I also got the Falafel, Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad– Coriander, bulgar wheat, pomegranate seeds, buttermilk & mint dressing– £10.45– for takeaway. A very good dish– four hearty falafal balls and a decent amount of squash. The kitchen also nicely listened to my alteration to just have a bit of dressing on top rather than mixed throughout.

Bel établissement à l’écart de l’hyper-centre de Londres, mais avec une belle terrasse le long de la Tamise. Pour les fraîches soirées automnales, des couvertures sont même mises à disposition ;-)
Par contre du côté des assiettes, rien de particulier, une carte qui propose les grands classiques du pub anglais, sans plus de recherché ni de qualité.

Reading the reviews, I was prepared to wait for our meals. I ordered an 8oz Sirloin steak which came with perfectly cooked chips. My husband ordered the steak and ale pie which came with mash and gravy and veggies. The pie was awesome, the crust flaky and dense. The steak and potatoes inside were rich and just-​, wow. Not one complaint. Loads to share with an ale for him and a large glass of wine for me for $ 30 quid. Our daughter loved the steak which we ordered medium rare and was seasoned nicely. No wait and it was wonderful. Love the warm woods and the high bar stools. It’s both cozy yet chic. We are here only for a visit, but we plan to go back.

The food was really not great. One of my friend found plastic in his fries !!!
View is good but food is very bad.

Amazing location and beautiful view… that was the good part. I’ve been here at several occasions but unfortunately I can not recommend fullheartedly. The bar staff never seems to be on top of the situation and never seen a smile from them. Also tried the food twice (which is okay) but there always seems to be a mess up and we had to wait over an hour for the food on both occasions (promised in 30min).

A massive pub with a massive outdoor area — amazing views and food is decent too!

Spacious pub with great food and great views. Perfect for summer evenings

When we went, (Friday for dinner) — there was and announcement by the bar staff that there was an hour wait for food.
Also, strangely the door staff harassed me several times to remove my hat. There were other guys in the restaurant with hats on but he insisted, several times, on having me remove mine. I am 50 years old so it was a normal nice hat. I felt like he was harassing me for some reason. Anyway, we won’t be back.

A cracking Sunday lunch. Friendly staff, quick service (even on a busy Sunday like Mother’s Day) and wonderful tasty food. We had a good cross section of the menu between us; roast pork, roast beef, steak and ale pie and a burger. No complaints at all.
We’ve been here a good few times and it’s one of my mother in laws favourite places for a Sunday lunch. I highly recommend it for anyone. Groups of friends, families with children or elderly members, all are welcome. It’s reasonably priced and the location next to the river is fantastic. Not great on a miserable rainy day like today but you can’t get better on sunny spring or summer afternoons.

I’m a big believer that you can best judge a restaurant by when something goes wrong, and how they handle it.
Unfortunately, it turns out Old Salt Quay in Rotherhithe doesn’t handle it so well.
I’ve been here a few times, and the food is very good, and they have a good selection of drinks behind the bar. It’s also a large gastropub, set across two levels and a large riverside outdoor seating area for the summer months.
On the last occasion we went, their card payments system was broken. There were no signs letting us know this, but when we went up to the counter to order, the bartender informed us, but said we could open a tab and then pay it off later when the card system will have been fixed.
Happy with this, we got some menus and worked out what we wanted to eat — we opted for their Two steaks meal deal, and went up to order, but were told that they’d run out of fillet steaks. Again, nothing to let us know of this, and no alternatives. We went back to work out what we wanted.
Once we decided on what alternative meal to buy, we went up to the counter where a different lady informed us that we can’t open a tab, and it was cash only. She was very rude and affronted about this, saying several times «It’s not my fault it’s not working».
We fully appreciated it «wasn’t her fault», but she rudely rejected any alternatives I tried to offer, such as leaving my credit card behind the bar (We can’t do that anymore). There is a cash point in the pub, but it (conveniently) charges per withdrawal, which would’ve amounted to another meal once all four of us had used it. In the end, I refused to pay for anything more than the drinks we’d already ordered, and headed over to The Mayflower which was a delightful little pub.
And the service at The Mayflower was much nicer.
If you do find yourself in Rotherhithe and decide to go to The Old Salt Quay, then the Monkey Fingers are very yum. Just be warned that service can be slow here, and when things go wrong, apparently very rude and unhelpful.

It’s almost odd to encounter such a big pub in the area (I mean, seriously, not the hottest spot in London), but I am so glad it’s there =) !
A great outdoor space with a view on the river; perfect for summer. Upstairs dining room has a table service (at least it had when I went there), unlike the downstairs area.
The upstairs dining area has more character than the ground floor which is more of a pub. I particularly enjoy the old maps prints on the walls, and the potted herbs on the table (can you name them all? =p). The area also has an outdoor terrace; and the whole floor can be booked for private parties.
I’ve been there twice, and once the service was great (upstairs) and another time the service was terrible (they were visibly understaffed, private party upstairs was overrunning, and the good weather had made the place quite busy).
But both time, the food was delicious. Pulled pork on some vegetable mash…(day special) I can’t even remember the obscure dish but I remember I loved it… a lot.
I wished I tried the ‘sharer burger’, which are four mini burgers !
Prices are pretty decent; so for the location, the view and the food, Old Salt Quay is one of my favourite place in the area

If you’re looking for a place on the river with lots of outside space, this is it. There is a huge terrace area with lots of seating which would be great for groups. The pub itself doesn’t have a great deal of character but it’s quite nice, right on the river and is pretty close to Canada Water.
The prices are fairly good too which makes this an ideal place for locals to lounge around all afternoon should London ever see the sun again!

Walking down the river, came across it. Fish & chips were delicious, lovely outside seating in the summer. Nice local restaurant & pub!

Location, location, location! Yes, the nearest tube stop is Canada Water, and yes, it isn’t close to the hottest neighborhood in town, but boy, what a spot to pick! Totally makes up for the incompetent service and the obvious lack of an operational process in place.
The easiest way to get there is to take a quick walk from the Canada Water tube stop, or if you live where I do, roll out of bed. Easy access to the overground (east London) would also mean a less than 5 minute walk from rotherhithe station.
You’ll be surprised to be greeted by two bouncers. Bouncers in a gastropub in Rotherhithe? Yeah, I know. Don’t ask me. Perhaps to control any obvious resistance or agitation against the dismally poor service and long waits or discontinued food service. Inefficiency, complete lack of planning and mostly a general sense of incompetency …
Why four stars? Seven stars for the picture postcard perfect backdrop of the north bank of Tower Hamlets and the City. The pub is also housed in a beautiful docklandsish house, can’t guess the age of this one. There is plenty of room outside with well planned seating. It just looks really cool and makes for a fun event or whatever you want to make out of it.
Order at the bar, dont expect a smile or whatever you think it is that represents good service. Don’t say anything cheeky or American (meaning with the ‘I expect good service’ attitude). It won’t work here, like a lot of places in London of course. Just remember what awaits you outside on the porch, place your order with your table number and enjoy.

This is not your ordinary pub on the river, they go that one step further! On a nice hot sunny day theres nothing nicer than a pint of Guinness and fresh food cooked outside on the grill. The talented chef at this joint prepares burgers, fish and paninis to order. Once your order is all grilled up before your eyes, help yourself to side salad and all the sauces!
A meal outside or in will cost under a tenner for adults and under a fiver for children. (Note: the children menu involves chicken nuggets and mini beef burgers). There is is a full bar which surprisingly has all the old traditional ales and they also do a small selection of summer cocktails.
The décor reminds me of an old American western. Your just waiting for the village baddy to walk in with a cowboy hat, burgundy waistcoat, surrounded by an entourage of men with overgrown moustaches! The pub itself is huge with seating for at least 150 indoor, upstairs or outdoor. There is also a car park for those big family get togethers and a bike rack for those summer bike rides!
Anyway, all in all, a nice friendly cheap pub on the scenic bank of rotherhithe which drifts you back to an old spaghetti western!

We went here for fish and chips and got a good meal. There were lots of kids running around screaming but I guess that is an issue for the parents rather than the restaurant. Nice location on the Thames.

the minute i walked up to the patio for this bar on a warm London afternoon I knew it would be an instant favorite.
this bar has a HUGE 2 story outdoor patio and live music and my leffe was only £2! the amazing patio is right on the thames making it across the river from the city, so it made watching the sunset behind the london skyline BREATHTAKING.
The neighborhood surrounding the bar is filled with quiet, picturesque, waterfront housing making you feel like you aren’t even in London anymore. and really you aren’t. My only problem was that the bar was in Rotherhithe, but that wasn’t a BIG problem for me as I got to take the NEW OVERGROUND from Dalston Junction, which was almost enough to make me feel that the trip was a success even if the bar sucked.

This is a vast pub on the corner of the lock into Surrey Water from the Thames. It’s a modern yet inoffensive building that has a galleried upper floor and a very large terrace which gets a lot of sun when there is any. The views over the river are phenominal and on a hot summer’s day at a table near the Thames, glass of iced cider in hand it is possible to see why the English never needed meditation or spiritual journeys to achieve inner contentment and a feeling of oneness with the universe.
This pub used to be called Spice Island but is now a surf and turf pub and restaurant owned by Green King.

Massive pub by the river in Rotherhithe. Big inside and has a really huge external area with a nice view of the river and city.
They serve a few ales, enjoyed a pint of tiger, which was good. The food choice is good too and turned out to taste rather nice. It is hard to get though as initially ordering was a chore that took a while (two fairly new people at the till) and the system of a chef yelling out your number in the hope that you might hear something over other people’s conversations doesn’t quite work either and so some people picked up their meals and other people got theirs after a member of staff wondered around looking for the relevant wooden spoon (you get one with your number on when you order). Still, all this was only a minor inconvenience.
Definitely one I’d come back to, probably in the summer.