The Wapping Project

Super uber cool.

Very few, and I mean, *very* few, venues bring everything together in quite the magnificent way the restaurant at the Wapping Project does.

Edgy venue? Check.

Friendly, professional, attentive service? Oh, yes.

Well-executed continental food? Indeed

Austere, yet totally comfortable atmosphere? It rarely gets better.

Plus, ever-changing art exhibits and a glass bookshop outside? I wouldn't have brought it up had it been otherwise!

Can you believe a place utterly oozing with such style, art and impeccable design hasn't been pegged as a star entry in the latest Wallpaper London guide? I can't.

If you care at all about independent art or unusual dining experiences, but haven't ventured here yet, do. The Wapping Project is a wholly unique and enjoyable experience that addresses every type of aesthetic... a quiet moody space where fantastic conversations are destined to be had.

Groovy. This was on my radar for a while. My friend who visited London with me agreed to come along after a jaunt through Borough Market. She's convinced that I love things off the beaten track as we had to take the Overground, outside of the central zone. It was a little confusing to find as there are no signs, but a nice passerby pointed me towards the right direction. The area is very residential and felt safe.

Ally Capellino was showing when I visited - great, another purse/bag brand that I wasn't aware of and didn't need to know about! Afterwards, we sat in the cafe for a while, enjoyed the sunshine, and admired the candles placed throughout the former hydraulic plant. I had a slice of poppyseed cake and would've liked to stay for dinner.

I was taken here last summer from a friend who was researching this place as a uni Project, imediatley I thought oh GOD? Wapping? you gotta be kidding me, I mean where on earth is that?

Actually Wapping is not as far you all my think, and its becoming a very prosperous area with Mercs and BMW lining the streets.

Anyway The Wapping Project is well worth a visit if you want an arty day out and are looking for something alot less obvious than The Tate, or Cork Street... Oh No... This is taking culture to another level.

Ok so... Wapping Project is really a mix of art, fashion and incredable food. held in this industrial and slightly spookey Power Station, you eyes will have a feast on history.

The Wapping Projects concept is ' An Idea constantly in transition' I like that, and I think it sums the place up.

They have regular exhibitions, some performance art, crazy sculptures.. you know, enough to make it feel like its on the edge of something.

The food is something else, I had a black fig, goats cheese and walnut salad followed by a char grilled haunch of Vension with potato grantin. It wasn't as cheap as I would have liked, but for the calabre of the place I didn't mind spending a little extra.

The genre of people that come here are a mix of arty, fashion and business people. Not quiet champagne socialites but getting close...

I got taken by my friends here as a surprise. A dark and wet room awaits they said. What a surprise it was.

The minute I walked into the converted hydraulic power station, lit by candlelight, modern furniture and bar in between the old industrial equipment with atmospheric classical music, I was just in awe of what they've done. Immediately one of the bar staff indicated the sofa's we've reserved but said we should go to the exhibition first, in the back room, that dark and wet room.

Making Waves is the exhibition I went to and simply one of the best art installations I have ever been to. If you get a ticket you get to go on a boat ride on the flooded floor of the boiler room, dimly lit with the upside down Japanese wedding dress reflecting into the water, with a custom music background. Beautiful and such a wonderful way to relax, felt so calm after.

Followed up by a superb, tasty champagne cocktail from their menu. Expensive cocktail menu yes, but utterly worth it.

Certainly this is an amazing date venue, and I will be back to check out their new exhibition; they change about every three months.

Little did I know that there was a restaurant like this right down the street from me. I live in the industrial part of town so when I was finding my way over her, I couldn't help but think I was going to get mugged or kidnapped down some alleyway somewhere. When I finally reached my destination, I still was unsure if I was at the right place. There isn't really any other public establishments in the area and the building didn't have an sign posted on it. After seeing some other people walk in, I just decided to follow them into what looked like a restaurant inside some sort of hydraulic power station. Cool!

I made sure I was in the right place by asking the host and he assured me that I was. We were seated and decided to start with some drinks. I can't remember what I ordered, but it was fantastic. The menu changes often so I wasn't able to research the restaurant beforehand and gaze over the menu, but it's okay, I'm always up for new things. I went with the fish of the night, pretty good and fresh but I wasn't amazed by it. Overall I really liked the setting of the restaurant, very different from what I used to. The food is good and the drinks are fab. If you're looking to head east of London and eat in a cool venue, then by all means you should try it.

This is a very cool place to visit! I highly recommend it. The art exhibits are eclectic and thoroughly enjoyable.

Quite simply one of the best dining experiences I've ever had.

Excellent food, amazing location and atmosphere, attentive staff and so forth...

The menu, like the location, is a bit non-standard and probably not to everyone's taste. The few times I've been, I've always managed to find something I really liked, though. And the once where nothing stood out I was "forced" to try something new which, in hindsight, I wouldn't trade in for anything else on the plate.

If you're open-minded about food, willing to possibly try something you wouldn't have thought of in your own kitchen, and seeking a bit of a change from all the clones of restaurants in London these days, go here.

This is one of my favourite place is London. It is a exhibition/ performance space together with a great restaurant/ bar. It was converted into this art venue from an old power station. It is a gem in London; a rare find! There are constantly interesting exhibitions and performances.
This refurbished gallery space maintains lots of its past including the old machinery and equipments. Very usual yet charming and successful! I usually wonder off to the Wapping Project and have an afternoon drink in the restaurant after visiting the exhibition. On a sunny summer day nothing can be greater that having breakfast on the alfresco seating outside the building.

Update:


I love this place, but am really disappointed with how they managed the holiday season. No mention of opening times on their website, noone picks up the phone, no answering machine, no sign or information on the building itself.


And it's not like the place would be so centrally located you could just drop in on your way home?!


Not very professional, really.


Old review:


Just when I was thinking to myself: where do the inhabitants of all these riverfront warehouse conversions go for coffee on the weekend, I stumbled across this place.


The building is just amazing.


The espresso (illy) was perfect.


The service... let's just say four stars.


The whole thing was upmarket yet relaxed and child friendly.


Worth a visit for sure.

Such an unusual venue with fabulous food and exhibition hall.
Small menu with very fresh ingredients and modern compilations.
Shame Sunday brunch finishes so early (1230) but lunch was excellent.
And you can always have a drink at the Prospect of Whitby which is opposite.
Look at the photos in my profile.