The Gun

With awards aplenty to its name – including The Good Pub Guide's award for London's Best Dining Pub 2012/13 – The Gun is considered to be among the best pub-restaurants not only in the Docklands but also in London. Set in a magical Grade II listed, historic riverside pub, The Gun has been painstakingly renovated to provide classy, authentic surroundings with a high end finish throughout. It has a classic ‘pub’ look but with a brighter, airier feel than one might expect, complemented by high ceilings, an imposing dark wood bar and, rather wonderfully, a sunny terrace with magnificent views over the Thames and across to the O2 arena. High quality British food with a particular emphasis on fish, fresh from Billingsgate market on a daily basis, and interesting game is The Gun’s speciality while not only does the bar offer a wide range of beers but the wine list is seriously classy too.

There has been a public house on the site of The Gun for over 250 years. The surrounding area was home to the dockside iron foundries which produced the guns for the Royal Naval fleets in the 18th and 19th centuries. The pub dates back to the early 18th century but it took its current name from the cannon which was fired to celebrate the opening of the West India Import Docks in 1802.

In the late 18th century, Lord Horatio Nelson acquired a property just up the road (still known as Nelson’s House) and he regularly visited the docks to inspect the guns up until his glorious death at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.Lord Nelson would frequent The Gun and regularly meet Lady Emma Hamilton in an upstairs room (now called The River Room) for their secret assignations. The Gun also has a long association with smugglers landing contraband on the site and distributing it via a hidden tunnel. To this day there is still a spy-hole in the secret circular staircase to watch out for “The Revenue Men”.

In 2001, a terrible fire destroyed much of the interior of the old building and the pub remained closed for 3 years. Then, current owners and brothers Tom and Ed Martin acquired the premises and spent about 9 months painstakingly restoring the magnificent Grade II listed building in close consultation with English Heritage. Tom and Ed re-opened the doors in 2004 and have owned and operated The Gun since then to significant critical acclaim

		From	To	From	To	From	To
Monday	Open	11:00	00:00
Tuesday	Open	11:00	00:00
Wednesday	Open	11:00	00:00
Thursday	Open	11:00	00:00
Friday	Open	11:00	00:00
Saturday	Open	11:00	00:00
Sunday	Open	11:00	23:00