Last Updated on February 22, 2024

From California to Canary Wharf

Feels Like June is a Californian-inspired all-day dining restaurant and bar in the increasingly foodie enclave of Wood Wharf. This new restaurant offers a fresher take on American dining out – a healthier West Coast way of eating that goes beyond the burger, fries and no veg that many of us associate with the country’s cuisine in the UK. Of course, there are a couple of burgers on the menu here, but lots more to explore too. We went along on a warm evening – in June appropriately – for dinner and cocktails. 

There’s a tempting wine list but the summery atmosphere and heat meant that Feels Like June’s signature cocktails felt like the only real option.

I kicked off with the Wharf Swizzle, a concoction of Bacardi white, Wray Nephew rum, kaffir leaf liqueur, lime, sugar and soda. This made for a long cool satisfying drink, rich in the dominant taste of rum and pleasingly presented in a tall iced glass. 

By comparison, my companion’s first cocktail was very short indeed. Her Miami Vice – a mix of Bombay gin, St Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon/galia melon sorbet and Prosecco – packed a punch and had a strong flavour of melon. It came in a glass artfully spattered with primary colours (edible if slightly messy dyed coconut cream).

A second visit to the cocktail menu resulted in us trying the Palm Spring, made up of a very drinkable and heady mix of Bombay gin, Trois Rivier Rum, lime, mango, vanilla and egg white. Our waitress was worried that at 19% this drink might tip us over the edge. I’m pleased to report that it didn’t and we enjoyed the strong fruity flavours of the mango and lime and the almost smoothie-like consistency. 

The “Small Plates” at Feels Like June are anything but small – this restaurant definitely leans towards American portion sizes if not quite at that scale. It was good to see so many vegetable-based small plates on the menu and we picked three of them to share.

The Charred Corn on the Cob comes with garlic parsley butter, chilli flakes, lime and coriander. We loved the very herby butter, a great match for the well-cooked sweetcorn.

Next up was a huge plate of Smoked Aubergine Puree with marinated tomatoes, basil and  some good sourdough toast for dipping. This Californian take on tbaba ganoush was far creamier and less smoky than the Mediterranean classic, but still very edible.

The Roasted Heritage Beets with whipped goat’s cheese, dukkah and dill was another generous plateful, this time of multicoloured juicy chunks of beetroot from across the colour spectrum scattered with dill nicely offset by the creamy cheese – a refreshing “superfood” for a summer’s day.

For my main, I ordered from the large plates section of the menu and chose the Sauteed Salmon Fillet with charred asparagus and tarragon aioli. The fish was good but slightly over for my taste. The small mountain of chunky asparagus spears was charred just right and together with a generous heap of the herby aioli the dish made for a very good combination. To add to the mix, I was delighted to spot crushed potatoes on the sides menu. Laced with confit garlic and thyme, these were quite delicious and the perfect accompaniment to the salmon.

For her main dish my companion enjoyed the Sticky Rice Bowl with soy chicken, pickled carrots, cucumber lettuce and gochujang mayo. The moist chicken had a slight kick and the rice was pleasingly sticky as promised. She is mad about pickles so thought the dish could do with an even greater quantity of them.

Our waitress made it quite clear that at least one of us had to try the cheesecake and my companion happily complied. This was very light version of this classic with a thin biscuit base, and the sharp notes of the cheese nicely offset by the sweet strawberry coulis (of which there were lashings) and ripe fresh strawberries. Despite this dessert’s generous proportions, my friend made short work of it.

This being an American-themed restaurant I felt compelled to put their Brownie with vanilla ice cream and praline crumb to the test. I am of the school that likes their brownies gooey in the centre but this isn’t the style here. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyably dense and chocolatey dessert and just a bit more of the rich dark chocolate sauce would do wonders to lift it.

On 4 July, the kitchen at Feels Like June will be serving up a couple of all-American specials to celebrate Independence Day. American-style pancakes will be available all day long – and not just for breakfast – either with seasonal berries and maple syrup or with bacon and maple syrup. And for one day only, there’ll also be a chance to try a Chipotle Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich served with crispy fries.

We visited on a Tuesday night – which I imagine is the new Wednesday if Thursday is the new Friday. The whole area was packed with an after-work crowd relaxing and revelling after a day at the financial coalface. Many of them were clinking glasses and dining on Feels Like June’s packed plant-lined terrace.

The service here is charming and spirited. We enjoyed the food and drinks and could easily imagine returning with friends, ordering a table full of small plates –tapas Californian style – and trying a few more of the summery, signature cocktails. When we asked about Feels Like June’s unusual name, we were told that their aim is to bring summer vibes all year round. Sounds about right.

Feels Like June

15 Water St
Canary Wharf
London
E14 9SB