The Waterway

Great cocktails and heated seating area outside.
Drinks service a bit slow, perhaps because of their attention to detail with the orange rind!

We’ve never had a bad meal. Great customer service, buzzing atmosphere. Always a good choice for brunch, lunch dinner or drinks with great and diverse menu. Favorites: lamb and the burger.

The best aspect about this place is the location, but don’t be fooled, the food is average at best, pretty high priced, and the wait staff would prefer to stand around all day and not seat or serve anyone. Would recommend other places right down the road on the canal with good service like The Summerhouse (expensive, but great atmosphere) or Café Laville (good priced quality food and friendly service, AND the best view in town).

Pretty nice place. The canal side seating area is a nice touch. Food and service are good. The prices are similar to more central London restaurants and bars.

So far, all the times that I’ve been there have been very enjoyable. Nice atmosphere and good food and wine.

Great location by the canal, but had it not been sunny I would have given this place a one star. We’d made a reservation for two and managed to get sat at the edge of the terrace, water side, which was nice,… Until the smokers came and sat along the short wall — it’s seat height, so not only do you get the joy of cigarette smoke while you eat, you also get people’s arses at face level. Best they don’t let out any gas. The place was pretty busy with the after work crowd, found the atmosphere a little pretentious with no substance. Food was definitely on the average if not lazy side. The calamari looked promising when it arrived, nice big slices, however, all you could taste was some kind of sweet chilli sauce and what seemed like balsamic drizzle. Way to ruin a good piece of seafood. And what can we say about the mackerel salad… Try a bit harder — probably could’ve done better with a pack from Sainsbury’s. Staff was an interesting one, there were plenty of them but they didn’t seem very clued on. The waitress that delivered food was friendly and was always in sight but unfortunately couldn’t help with taking orders or bill payments, we waited forever to get served and trying to pay the bill was a nightmare. This is the second time I have ever declined to pay the service charge, the only other time I refused was when a waitress spilled soup on me so I expected more from this wannabe pretentious restaurant. Was generally looking forward to dining here, but was hugely disappointed. Won’t be back again.

Great pub for drinks outside on a beautiful day but don’t eat here. Food is awful. I ordered the lamb chops. They were way over cooked and bland.
Such a shame because all the food looked good and had so much potential.

Beautiful location and great atmosphere. The servers were untrained and not very fluent in English so that was a spoiler!

The location is nice, right on the canal and the terrace is great in the summer. Inside is ok and the staff are usually great (with a few exceptions).
The food is good but not great. I was a bit disappointed the last time I went but not a bad place to go if you’re in the area.

This is good date night place or a place to hang out at the bar with a few friends. The ambience is cozy and inviting, my only complaint is the service was slow and the food was a little bland, a bit more salt would help. Overall I will go again because it really is a nice restaurant, I plan on trying a different dish next time.

I happened to be picking up my sister-​in-​law from Paddington station, and had planned to show her around Little Venice before stopping at a cosy pub for a Saturday lunch.
After walking up the canal, getting farther away from the heart of Little Venice, I spotted a pub across the water just by a bridge. It was the Waterway. I checked the Unilocal reviews, and they looked promising. Off we went…
Despite the bitterly cold weather on my visit, we opted to sit on the terrace, as it was a hive of activity. Due in large part to the heaters blasting out glorious warmth. The menu, made up of standard gastro fare, didn’t compel me. My husband and sister-​in-​law both ordered burgers. I ordered a superfood salad. In hindsight, i don’t know why I did that because it was just OK and at least if I’d ordered a burger I would be guaranteed to be satisfied in a food-​coma sort of way.
I also ordered a glass of Montepulciano, and it tasted cheap and too-​sweet.
The best draw of the place was the novelty of sitting outside in the middle of winter. But it’s not as if you could even see the canal from the terrace, as bushes and other plantlife served as a fence between you and the towpath.
I would say that this place really comes into its own during gloriously sunny summer days. But what with the blocked views of the canal, you might as well sit in someone’s back garden while drinking a cheap bottle from the shop. Unless you don’t know anyone with a back garden, in which case I recommend you make new friends. Back gardens are the best.

Really great spot by the canal. Lovely atmosphere and great service!

Lots of semi-​pretentious wannabes and so so food. Best thing about it is the location– right on the canal side. You can do better by having a drink or two and trundling off for dinner somewhere else.

Well.
There’s nothing greater than sitting by the canal on a warm spring day with a cocktail, right?
But what if you have to sit on the sidewalk? And your okay cocktail is £10? And you can’t get some food to save your life?
I wanted to love this place, but I just left a bit angry. We wanted to eat. We waited nearly 2 hours for a table the was supposed to be ready in half the time. It’s a gorgeous place to go to on a sunny day… but know that everyone else in a 3 mile radius has the same idea.

I think I’m being a bit harsh with a 3 as I have been here quite a few times on a summers day. It’s a great spot on the canal and it’s a nice pub. Just attracts a lot of loud, show offy yah’s. It’s also a bit pricey for drinks and food but it’s always packed so mAybe I’m not the right demographic for this place. I go more to the Warwick Castle round the corner.

This is one of the few perfect spots for a summer’s day pitcher of pimms or sangria. Located right on the Maida Vale canal, it has sun all day and locals flock there to spend the day and catch up with friends.
The best feature outdoor space as the indoor space fully opens up on one side, so even if you get a ‘bad table’ inside, you’re still connected to the outdoors — big plus for London.
Though I wouldn’t call this place a gastropub — the food is fairly modern and international and this place definitely doesn’t feel like a pub — it is easy going, with high quality while maintaining a casual feel. Dress up, dress down, but if it’s a nice day bring your shades and find a spot to perch up for a while outside!

The star of this restaurant is the location. It’s well situated by a canal and in the summer time the outdorr seating would really be nice. Alas, it was winter so I wasn’t able to take advantage. However, the interior was nice and the food was very solid. I just had a burger and it was well prepared. The drinks were also really good and the service was capable.

I went in the winter but got a glimpse of what the hype is all about – what a fantastic deck looking over the canals.
The interior is boring though. The food is good – nothing outstanding, but very good and definitely a good place for a nice meal. It is much more restaurant than pub inside.
I give it a 4 based on my visualization of what it is like in the summer.

I’ve been coming to The Waterway on and off for a few years now and it’s still one of my favourite spots in Little Venice. The seating options are great — inside is lovely with dark furniture and a nice fireplace. Then there’s the terrace where you can sit out opposite the canal. If you fancy an actual beer garden, they have that outside too, just down a few steps.
Living in Leeds I would say the drinks aren’t cheap — around £15 for a glass of wine and a rum & coke although it might have been a double rum, I can’t remember! However this is pretty standard for the area.
The staff were attentive and friendly. When I moved on to cocktails (you’ve got to try the Mai Tai) the bar tender said he would bring it outside for me so I didn’t have to wait. It was a superbly made Mai Tai — one of the best i’ve had and i’ve had plenty!
This is one of the best places around to while away a sunny, or not so sunny, afternoon.

When I moved to Maida Vale this summer, I went to The Waterway on my second day. It is a very nice and good restaurant, normally worth 4 stars, but it is simply a bit too expensive for what you get. I had a delicious wine and a good burger but compared to other pubs/​gastropubs nearby in St John’s Wood, the price is just a bit too high. For the price I paid, I expected a bit more.
I did not yet manage to go there on a Thursday when they have live music. This is something, not many restaurants in the area can offer, so it might be worth going there on a Thursday.

Ein sehr netter Pub, im Sommer allerdings etwas schnöselig. Dafür haben die ab Mittag BBQ und das Restaurant ist auch gut.
Am sitzt im Sommer auf einer Terasse, direkt am Grand Union Canal. Schöné kann man sich in London nicht betrinken.