Last Updated on December 19, 2024
Crowd-pleasing menu at ExCel-ent value
3.5 out of 5.0 starsChristmas comes once a year, but Comic Con happens twice. Whizzing towards east London’s ExCel on the Elizabeth Line, the presence of Gandalf, a Teletubby, some astronauts and a convincing Mrs Brown suggested it was today. Would Waterfront Street Kitchen & Bar, overlooking, as the name suggests, the docks, look like that current advert – set in a hotel breakfast bar – with all the customers dressed up as movie characters? It turned out our costumed mob was bound elsewhere; our fellow diners were armed with shopping bags, not lightsabers, proving they’d just visited the Formula One and The Friends Experience attractions, both next door.
Five minutes walk from Custom House station, Royal Victoria Dock is now highly accessible but remains something of a London secret. You’ll have been very close if you’ve ever popped over here on the cable car. Open since late October, Waterfront Street Kitchen & Bar looked much like a recently refurbished hotel-chain restaurant, non-threatening with varying styles of tables and lighting laid out in zones. There’s a choice of booths, long wooden tables with benches or comfy sofas for a drink.
The menu will satisfy out-of-towners coming to the attractions mentioned above. The clientele seemed mostly British, probably on pre-Christmas domestic weekend breaks. There are many hotels nearby, notably one on a moored yacht. Waterfront was already busy at 12.30, having been open for pastries and coffee since ten.
The menu is simple: three versions each of wings, tacos, burgers or pizza. There’s a festive starter, main and dessert. We were quite tempted by Pigs in Blankets Pizza, although neither of us ordered it.
Prices are keen. For around £25 per person, you can order a main course, a side and a dessert. Drinks, too, were fair. Cocktails under a tenner, wine from £5 for a 125ml glass – and I applaud anywhere directly offering wine in 125ml measures rather than nudging upwards to 175ml as most places do. These were not West End prices, and they’re less than you’ll be fleeced nearby at the O2.
The signature cocktail, Waterfront Punch (£9.50), mixes spiced rum, peach purée, apple and lime juices and gomme. It was a long, bright drink mimicking Bacardi Breezers that spirited me back to the Friends era, much like a squirt of CK One. It would be improved by using fresh rather than dried lime.
My ‘mains’ choice at Waterfront Street Kitchen was Shredded Chicken Tinga tacos (£12.00 for 3) packed with smoky threads of chicken, fried onion, corn, black beans and coriander rice. I felt slightly overrun with jars containing sour cream, pico de gallo and iceberg and puzzled about how to eat these when the tacos were so full. I was feeling full after just two of them.
The husband was quiet while eating his Southern Spiced Buttermilk chicken burger (£11.25) but then burst out enthusiastically about how good it was. It looks a bit overdone in the picture but he said the chicken was succulent, the brioche bun soft, and the beef tomato and gem leaves fresh.
Alongside, we had two vegan sides: Truffle Fries (£5.75) with “parmes’en” were appealingly savoury but not overly salty or overpowering. Waterfront Rainbow Slaw (£5.00) came in a miniature saucepan (cute but odd) with kale, onion, cabbage and omega seeds. I didn’t pick up on nori seaweed, but it was crunchy and felt wholesome. They’d overdone the vinegar and micro-greens but I’m always glad of a healthy side option.
The lowest-priced red wine at Waterfront Street Kitchen, Artolas Red, Vidigal (£5.00 for 125ml), claims “cherries, floral, earthy, light-bodied”. It was easy to drink, like “Jammy Red”, although as my wine diploma’d friend might say, it was short on the palate. For a fiver, I’m fine with this. My husband, meanwhile, had stuck to trusty Camden Town Brewery lager and an espresso.
Puddings arrived in unflattering grey bowls. They’d look way better in white. The Classic Christmas Pudding (£7.00, vegan), which was too dense, and would have benefited from a festive berry or star, was less impressive than the Salted Toffee Cheesecake (£7.00, also vegan). Looking more like éclairs, these cheesecakes coated in chocolate with solid biscuit bases are likely frozen in individual portions, but at this price point, that’s acceptable. It looked much more exciting than the festive dessert.
Mint Hot Chocolate was one of two Christmas special hot drinks, the other being cinnamon latte. Milky with a hint of mint, it wasn’t a coffee-chain monstrosity scattered with smashed candy canes and aerosol cream as I’d feared. Just a classic hot chocolate that was pleasantly minty but not toothpaste-y. If I lived nearby, I’d nip in to drink these alone.
Waterfront Street Kitchen & Bar ought to catch plenty of trade from the adjacent ExCel and immersive attractions next door. The interior was spacious with soft acoustics; although only half full, it had some atmosphere, feeling busy but not noisy. Service was swift, and people around us were getting their food quickly.
The Elizabeth Line to Custom House makes Waterfront very easy to get to. The stretch along the dock towards City Airport makes a bracing walk afterwards. For somewhere conveniently placed to pull in punters passing by, Waterfront Street Kitchen & Bar is an excellent destination to visit for its own sake, and you get a watery view for much less than venues near Battersea Power Station.
Waterfront Street Kitchen & Bar
Royal Victoria Dock
One Western Gateway
London E16 1XL
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