The Gun
Coldharbour, London E14
Punch Taverns leasehold
Tom and Ed Martin finally opened the Gun in September 2004. Prior to that, the brothers had spent a painstaking nine months restoring the grade II-listed pub to its former glory after it was gutted by fire.
The Gun is a beautiful 18th-century riverside inn steeped in history. Legend has it that Nelson and Lady Hamilton held secret love trysts there. It was also a noted smugglers' den. The re-opening of the Gun couldn't have come at a better time because the nearby Canary Wharf development was booming and new apartments were springing up all over this part of Docklands.
Tom says: "We get a huge mix of business clientele from Canary Wharf, as well as many residential customers from all the surrounding area."
The food offering is "modern British cuisine" and the two dishes that best portray this are steak and kidney pudding topped with oysters and beef-shin burger.
There are three cask ales on handpull - Adnam's Broadside, Young's Bitter and Fuller's London Pride. The lagers stocked tend to be of the premium variety, such as Beck's Vier, Löwenbräu, Hoegaarden and San Miguel. There is also a good wine list for lovers of the grape.
The brothers' entrepreneurial skills are evident from the way they leased a parcel of land next to the pub from British Waterways and converted it into a stand-alone barbecue area specialising in Portuguese cuisine. The concept, called A Grelha at the Gun (grelha is Portuguese for grill), opened a couple of years ago and runs, weather permitting, from May to September/October. A Grelha is staffed by Portuguese chefs who specialise in Algarve-style cuisine. It also has its own bar area and live music is a regular fixture.
Tom remarks: "Last year, it was an enormous success as was the case the year before, although the poor weather meant that we could only open for about six to eight weeks in total."
Tom says the pub's strengths are: "The welcoming staff, the great food and drinks on offer, the ambience and the history of the venue."
