The Gun

Once a dockers', stevedores' and boatmen's local, this old Thames-side pub was named after the cannon fired to celebrate the opening of West India Docks in 1802. Destroyed by fire in 2001, it reopened three years later following painstaking restoration work by owners Tom and Ed Martin, in close consultation with English Heritage. In the main bar London brewer Sambrook's Junction sits alongside Adnams Bitter, Otter Amber and Symonds cider. There is also a restaurant, two private dining rooms (one where Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton secretly met), two snugs, and a riverside terrace overlooking the Millennium Dome. Snacks include Colchester rock oysters; devilled whitebait; and black pudding Scotch eggs, while the main menu offers pan-fried fillet of golden bream with Dorset crab mash; thyme-roasted Suffolk poussin; and sautéed potato gnocchi with kale and roast squash. Croatian, Greek and Lebanese wines feature among the 100-or-so listed.