Located far out in near Canary Wharf, The Gun is a gastropub located directly opposite the O2 centre across the Thames. Brightly lit with large windows, the whole place is heaving for a Sunday late lunch at 2pm. Walking there from Canary Wharf was pretty confusing, with the best not not exactly the way that Google Maps directed us to. Fortunately they were okay with people being slightly late and they hadn’t given our table away.

It was such a nice day when we went that their outdoor patio, complete with dining chairs was full up. At least their interior seemed just as bright as their outdoors, warm and comfortable. Service started out reasonably but as the whole place filled up, it definitely slowed to a crawl with our water not being topped up, and us having to flag some people down to get them there.

I started with a pea soup, garnished with some blue cheese toast. The soup was definitely hearty although I found it a little bit overseasoned for my taste. The blue cheese was delicious and I think could have gone much better with the soup had it not already been overseasoned. All that additional sodium is really unnecessary.

For the main, I ordered the pork belly. I’ll admit the Sunday roast looked just as appetising but I think good pork belly is hard to find. I now know why. Unfortunately The Gun’s version was mediocre with the skin being really thick and not even well crisped. For me, the Smiths of Smithfields one still wins out as the best. It was obvious the belly hadn’t been cooked long enough as well since we really had to dig in with the butter knives that we had, instead of, what should have been, most more succulent flesh.

Unfortunately the chocolate tart was also a bit mediocre with the best part about it being the butterscotch ice cream that went with it. Like one of my dining companions, I probably should’ve ordered just the ice cream by itself.

I really wanted to like The Gun. After all, it’s very nice for its very odd location in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. I’d maybe consider coming here more often if I happened to be stuck near the Isle of Dogs, or wanted somewhere with a bit more space on a summer’s day. Unfortunately there are much better gastropubs and restaurants serving much better food and much better prices. It’s a great location for something different but it’s the location that puts it over the top for me, seemingly inaccessible by any real public transport. Still, it was definitely a nice experience if you’re out that way.

Name: The Gun
Found at: 27 Coldharbour, London E14 9NS
Website: http://www.thegundocklands.com/
TheKua.com Rating: 6 out of 10