Riverscape

Barbarella review: Big Mamma’s Canary Wharf spot is a mixed bag

The recently opened Italian restaurant overlooking Eden Dock goes big on interior design and pottery pooches but underperforms with its mains

Barbarella's first floor dining room, complete with mirrored ceiling - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Barbarella’s first floor dining room, complete with mirrored ceiling – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

At a glance, Barbarella is a lot of fun.

Big Mamma Group, the company behind the chain that recently opened its latest branch in Canary Wharf, knows the power of design.

Its venues across Europe all have different names and aesthetics and, while there’s variance in the menus, there’s also overlap.   

It’s smart. Rather than rely on a brand like The Ivy, Strada or Prezzo – good examples, perhaps, of where chains have created the perception of quality watered down as they’ve rolled out – the mission here is to bedazzle with baubles.

Big Mamma, presumably, sits in her parlour; a shadowy figure below stairs counting the pennies. 

Walk into the Canary Wharf restaurant, festooned with plants and pots outside and you’ll be greeted by a visual onslaught.

There are glossy pottery dogs, a swirly carpet that may have been deliberately mis-fitted to confuse the eye, warmly glowing chandeliers and upstairs, where we’re shown to a table, a mirrored ceiling and vintage shots of models flashing their buttocks for Italian fashion brand Fiorucci. 

There’s a lot of PVC on show, complete with outfits framed to accentuate the high-legged thong-backs of the garments.

Oddly, the mildly risqué is offset by an interior filled with soft furnishings that wouldn’t look out of place in a fine dining room.

There’s linen on some tables and thick heavy curtains to deaden the acoustic, softening every sound. 

Further offsetting comes with the decision to have chefs in the open kitchen wear red baseball caps – a jarring dash of MAGA against the more refined performance from the front of house staff.

Crocchette Di Vitello Tonnato, little deep-fried balls of pulled veal with capers (£15) - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Crocchette Di Vitello Tonnato, little deep-fried balls of pulled veal with capers (£15) – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

the start of the show

We haven’t booked and the gatekeeper on the door puts in a decent dramatic performance of straining to fit us in – “but just so you know, we need the table back in 90 minutes”.

Nothing says relaxed Italian dining like a ticking clock.

We’re led upstairs to the luxe hall of mirrors, which is completely empty.

It’s no real surprise. It’s 5pm and the place does fill up as time ticks on.

Initially, things start well. The service is pleasant and relaxed, although the demi-armchairs we sit in are challenging to shuffle closer or further away from the table without awkwardly grabbing them from below and bracing with all one’s might.

Our starters arrive – Crocchette Di Vitello Tonnato, little deep-fried balls of pulled veal with capers (£15) and Smoky Stracciatella, the creamy heart of burrata served in a bowl with a leaf of basil and herby oil (£9). 

Smoky Stracciatella (£9) - image by Wharf Life / Jon Massey
Smoky Stracciatella (£9) – image by Wharf Life / Jon Massey

Both are surprisingly generous but decent on the tongue.

The five bites of veal feel substantial and the fact one has fallen over and lost its caper, does nothing to lessen the rich, meaty flavour.

The cheese is equally decadent, a lake of gooey loveliness with a dominant hit of smoke in the mouth. A good start. 

Raviolone Bicolore (£21) at Barbarella - image by Wharf Life / Jon Massey
Raviolone Bicolore (£21) at Barbarella – image by Wharf Life / Jon Massey

a pizza as dry as a desert

However, things go downhill with the mains. Initially, my Raviolone Bicolore – green and yellow pasta filled with ricotta and spinach in a provola sauce and topped with sage and hazelnuts (£21) – is solid enough.

There’s a creaminess to it with a hint of lemon and plenty of crunch from the fried herbs and nuts.

But as things roll on, the dish sags – the fillings, a tad watery, become less interesting.

This challenge is nothing, however, compared to the task my companion is faced with.

Her Carpaccio Diem “pizza” (£22) comes as a toasted, crispy base topped with a load of beef carpaccio, fresh black truffle, rocket and shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano. 

Despite a few dollops of truffle aioli, the slice she shared with me was arid – essentially an undressed salad on a dry flatbread – the only moisture on offer coming from the thinly sliced meat.

My companion, whose family hail from Naples, was frankly appalled.

Despite the obvious quality of the ingredients Thursday’s child on Barbarella’s Weekly Pizza menu was indeed full of woe, even if the box we were given to take it home in did have Pavarotti on it with a claim to be specialists in twerking. 

Not the kind to waste decent carpaccio, we scraped off the topping and turned it into a salad the following day, complete with dressing.

The Carpaccio Diem “pizza” (£22) - image by Wharf Life / Jon Massey
The Carpaccio Diem “pizza” (£22) – image by Wharf Life / Jon Massey

Barbarella, all-in-all

Which brings me to the final verdict.

Barbarella is unquestionably fun and for £62.88 per head including wine and tip, it sits its guests in the kind of luxury they might expect when paying twice that.

It feels special and was definitely drawing the date night crowd when we visited.

It has good views over the verdant Eden Dock and there’s enough silliness to charm, even if it does feel a little forced.

But buyer beware. While there’s decent cooking on offer here pick your dishes carefully. 

The one thing an Italian chain can’t get away with is poor food and there’s room for improvement if that pizza is any indication of overall quality. 

★★★✩✩

key details: Barbarella

Barbarella is located on Mackenzie Walk overlooking Eden Dock in Canary Wharf on the lower ground floor of the YY London building (easily identifiable by the Revolut sign at the top of it).

The restaurant is open daily from noon-10pm.

Find out more about the restaurant here

Read more: How Canary Wharf has enjoyed its strongest year for office leasing in a decade

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

The Lockdown Room set to expand in east London at Wood Wharf

Born in the pandemic at London City Island, the brand is set to open a branch at Wood Wharf offering craft beer, smash burgers and live music

The Lockdown Room at London City Island - image by The Lockdown Room
The Lockdown Room at London City Island – image by The Lockdown Room

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

A second branch of The Lockdown Room – a concept born out of the pandemic in 2021 at London City Island – is set to launch at Wood Wharf in November.

Opening at the junction of West Lane and Brannan Street, the corner bar aims to become a new space for the community.

“It will have London craft beers on tap, a really good cocktail menu, organic wines and our signature smash burgers – a menu we launched at the original site about nine months ago,” said founder Daniel Bull.

“But we’ll also be doing salads because it’s important to offer healthy options. 

“We don’t want to be seen as just a craft beer joint that serves dirty burgers.

“We’ll also be offering fantastic sharing platters – it will be a casual place where you can go for a drink and a bite to eat with a group of friends.

“There will also be regular live music and we’ve always been big on events – bringing the community into what we’re doing is very important and we’d love to bring things like our craft beer festival to the neighbourhood.

“We’ve really taken what we have done at London City Island up to the next level for the new site.

“It will have a premium feel to it – very warm, with high-end finishes and bespoke seating.

“But it should still feel welcoming to the community.”

Founder of The Lockdown Room, Daniel Bull - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Founder of The Lockdown Room, Daniel Bull – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

a place for the community

Daniel said he hoped the brand would strike a chord with residents, workers on the neighbourhood and visitors to the area alike.

“We’re hoping to offer something different to the hustle and bustle,” he said.

“I think people will travel to you if you have a good product and then, once they’ve been down, hopefully they’ll be impressed and come back as regulars. 

“What we want to create is the kind of bar where the bartender knows your drink and it’s possible to find a quiet corner or chat with familiar faces.

“We’ll also be opposite the student housing, which has now been approved so that should add a different dynamic to things too. 

“The idea is that The Lockdown Room should be somewhere you just want to go at the weekend or in the evenings – that’s the goal.” 

While the weather is likely to be cooler when the venue opens, Daniel also plans to have outdoor tables over the warmer months, further adding to the Wood Wharf street scene.

key details: The Lockdown Room in Canary Wharf

The Lockdown Room is expected to open in November at the corner of Brannan Street and West Lane in Wood Wharf.

Find out more about the brand here

Read more: How Canary Wharf has enjoyed its strongest year for office leasing in a decade

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

Supershakes to open up at Harbord Square in Wood Wharf

Canary Wharf branch will offer grab-and-go shakes, juices, coffee and snacks as the brand unveils plans

Supershakes is set to open this autumn in Canary Wharf - image by Supershakes
Supershakes is set to open this autumn in Canary Wharf – image by Supershakes

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

ADVERTISING FEATURE

“It was while I was doing my MBA I had the idea,” said Daniel Bull, founder of Supershakes.

“I’d come in every morning with a Nutribullet, sit in lectures and eat it with a spoon because sometimes the mixture I’d made was so thick. 

“People would laugh, but I’d sit there, gradually making my way through it and the energy and focus I’d have all day was amazing.

“On the days I didn’t do it, I’d feel the difference.

“That shake had a similar effect for me as going to the gym – you could have it for breakfast or lunch.

“It was like a meal – if you laid all the ingredients out on a plate you might not get through them, especially if you were busy.

“But having them blended was so convenient.

“That’s when I realised the goal of my business should be to make something quick and easy that people could have on the move and that would be very healthy.”

The result of that spark is Daniel’s latest business – Supershakes, set to open its doors at 8 Harbord Square in Wood Wharf this autumn. 

While the business’ clear focus will be on nutritious shakes and grab-and-go options, there will also be space for guests to sit and enjoy coffee and snacks from a carefully curated menu.

Supershakes founder Daniel Bull - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Supershakes founder Daniel Bull – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

passionate about Supershakes

Daniel said: “Everything has been thought through.

“This brand is something I’m really passionate about and I think there’s a gap in the market.

“At the core of what we do will be the shakes with all the healthy fats, proteins and whole foods you need.

“These will be made to order and customers can customise them with add-ons such as collagen, creatine – everything’s available.

“At the moment, I feel the UK is behind what’s happening in other countries.

“I try to go to California every year and visit all the juice bars there and see what’s happening.

“Over there, getting a juice or a shake is now like picking up a coffee.

“Supershakes is something I’ve been working on for five years now – it’s not something I’ve come up with overnight.

“People in London are cash-rich but time-poor.

“They don’t necessarily have the time to prepare shakes for themselves.

“What we’re offering is something quick and healthy as an option when you’re rushing into work or trying to get the kids off to school.

“When you look at what you’re getting in a shake it’s affordable too. 

“It’s less than a cocktail in a bar – we’ve kept our prices very competitive.”

The brand will offer a wide range of healthy options at its Wood Wharf branch - image by Supershakes
The brand will offer a wide range of healthy options at its Wood Wharf branch – image by Supershakes

one of four to launch

Daniel has four Supershakes locations set to open in the coming months, including the Canary Wharf branch with others located in Royal Docks, in the English National Ballet’s headquarters at London City Island and one on the Isle Of Dogs.

The latter will be next to The Eleventh Hour, a café he launched in 2023 on the ground floor of residential development Wardian.

“My go-to shake is called Power, which is great for the morning because it has everything you need,” said Daniel.

“But there’s lots of flexibility – you can even have coffee in them.

“We have one on the menu that includes espresso so people can double up if they’re in a rush.

“We’ve even got one that we’ve designed especially for the English National Ballet, working with their dietician to help fuel the dancers and that’s really cool.

“The shakes will be made fresh, while the juices will be ready to grab in the fridge.

“One of our selling points is that customers can be in and out in five minutes.

“We want there to be no long queues so people can make us part of their way-to-work routine.

“One of the other things we’ll be stocking is our signature acai bowls.

“They feature home-made granola, created by the pastry chef who also makes our cookies, and we’ve made sure these are packed with the best ingredients.

“That’s more important to us than making big profit margins.

“That’s what I believe in and I’m going to be eating in there every day myself.

“We’ll be open until 8pm every night, so customers can come for breakfast, lunch and perhaps after an evening gym session.

“I’ve lived in Canary Wharf for four and a half years, so I’ve seen Wood Wharf grow and develop. 

“I’ve had my eye on it for a while because, knowing what’s going to be here, I believe this will be a new hub for the area.

“There’s a lot for people to discover.”

Daniel hopes grabbing a shake will become like grabbing a coffee - image by Supershakes
Daniel hopes grabbing a shake will become like grabbing a coffee – image by Supershakes

an emerging area

Supershakes will join a growing collection of independent businesses opening as part of a collaboration between Canary Wharf Group and Tower Hamlets Council to offer affordable commercial space to locally rooted ventures.

Recent openings have included Pawsome Pet Grooming And Spa, florist The Flower Club, Wayne Hairdresser Salon, nail specialist Awe London, Reformer Pilates studio The Island and Italian bakery Signorelli. 

Opening soon will be Japanese bakery Café Seek, Malaysian restaurant Ong Lai Kopitaim and Istanbul-inspired eatery Nora. 

key details: Supershakes

Supershakes is set to open its doors at 8 Harbord Square in October.

Find out more about the brand here

Read more: How Canary Wharf has enjoyed its strongest year for office leasing in a decade

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

Isle Of Dogs rower Joseph Lyu kayaks English Channel

East Londoner believed to be the first person of Chinese origin to paddle across the busy shipping lane all the way from Rye to France

Joseph paddles through the English shipping lane - image supplied by Joseph Lyu
Joseph paddles through the English shipping lane – image supplied by Joseph Lyu

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Joseph (Shangjie) Lyu is quite possibly the first person of Chinese origin to kayak across the English Channel.

However, by his own admission, he’s not especially into kayaking. 

“There are three main elements to my life,” said the Stratford resident.

“Work, raising my three-year-old English Cocker Spaniel, Truffle, and rowing. This was really a side quest.”

Joseph came to the UK in 2018 to study computer science at the University Of Manchester after completing a foundation year in his native China, after plans to study in his home country didn’t work out. 

“I struggled a bit with the course in Manchester and didn’t really enjoy the software side of it,” he said.

“Then, in the middle, the pandemic arrived and I did a project on Covid in the UK, making predictions on when the turning point would be. It wound up being quite accurate.

“That’s when I realised I enjoyed data analysis and now I’ve taken that into my career in AI as a data scientist.”

Joseph, who currently works for Santander, also had his first taste of rowing at university, but was too engaged with his studies to pursue it again after the pandemic faded away.

It wasn’t until he moved to east London that he took up the sport seriously. 

Joseph at Poplar, Blackwall And District Rowing Club on the Isle Of Dogs - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Joseph at Poplar, Blackwall And District Rowing Club on the Isle Of Dogs – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

taking to the river from the Isle Of Dogs

“I was living in Canary Wharf at that time and found Poplar, Blackwall And District Rowing Club at the bottom of the Isle Of Dogs,” said Joseph.

“I did the Learn To Row course in 2022 and I’ve been involved with the club ever since.

“When you’re on a boat – whether crewed or single – if the weather’s nice, it’s one of the best feelings you can have.

“I really enjoy the sport. It’s literally one movement that you’re repeating, but it requires years of effort to refine and apply that consistently.

“I find it very enjoyable.

“It’s normal for us to be out rowing at sunrise and you have London all around you.

“You see seals too.

“In rowing, 10k is considered a relatively short distance, while 20k is quite long. Around 15k is standard. 

“Rowing from Tower Bridge to the Thames Barrier is the kind of thing we do at the club.

“Then, a couple of years ago, I realised that the English Channel is not really that wide – it’s about three times the distance between those two landmarks, not an unimaginable journey. 

“I’d had the idea I might want to try something and thinking about it like that gave me a frame of reference – a distance on the water I was already comfortable with.

“This gave me confidence.”


Setting out from Rye - image supplied by Joseph Lyu
Setting out from Rye – image supplied by Joseph Lyu

an idea into reality

After mentioning to friends from the club on the way back from a trip to Henley Royal Regatta, plans began to ferment.

“Making up my mind was the hardest part and I did that around the start of this year,” said Joseph.

“I’d worked out what was doable, what was difficult and so I didn’t commit to it when I had the idea.

“Taking the leap was difficult but coming to this year, physically I was in good shape from years of rowing.

“I felt I was in a good place and I’m in my mid-20s so it needed to happen before any physical decline.

“I thought that if I couldn’t commit to doing it now, with all the time and having everything I needed, then I might never convince myself to try.

“I kept thinking about swimmers – about 2,000 have crossed – and if they could do it, I could too.”

Having little kayking experience, Joseph next went about equipping himself with the skills necessary to make the journey.

He spent time training on the sea off the south coast as well as hitting the water at nearby Docklands Sailing And Watersports Centre. 

“I gained confidence after the instructor in Hastings said I was pretty good,” said Joseph.

“Many of the skills I’d developed rowing on the river were transferable and there was a lot of fitness training in the gym.

“I became more active. One of the things that’s changed for me is that I used to just go rowing in the morning, but now I might do that, then go swimming later and maybe go on a hike with Truffle.”

Joseph had a goal to work towards.

He’d managed to secure a booking with a pilot boat – an essential escort across the busiest shipping lane in the world, especially because the French insist those paddling across must be carried in a powered craft over the part of the route they administer.

Weather dependent, the pilot advised Friday, July 18, 2025, would be best, so Joseph and a friend travelled down to Rye the night before, ate some fish and chips and laid in plenty of bananas and energy bars for his solo trip in a hired kayak. 

Paddling through the fog - image supplied by Joseph Lyu
Paddling through the fog – image supplied by Joseph Lyu

setting off for France

“The next day we got to the harbour at 6.30am and met the pilot boat captain,” said Joseph.

“It wasn’t cold, but it was very foggy. We could hardly see anything.

“But we decided to set off anyway. The captain was in constant contact with the Coastguard.

“Because of the lack of visibility we didn’t know whether we’d get clearance to cross the shipping lanes but the captain suggested we paddle out for about an hour and then decide.

“When we started, I felt like it was going to be a good day.

“All the months of preparation had led to this point and I felt like we would make it. I kept going and my energy was at a good level. 

“The fog was still heavy but from time to time I could see the sun.

“Every now and then I’d see a big ship and they really are huge.

“Then everything happened so suddenly.

“In one minute it just changed – the fog lifted and the sun came out, and then I was rewarded with the most surreal water conditions.

“The sea was totally flat, the sky was blue and the visibility was really good. I really enjoyed that transition.

“I was busy paddling, but the crew spotted dolphins and jellyfish.

“When I paddled over to the boat for some water and I heard the Coastguard telling the big ships about my crossing, which was exciting.

“We got clearance and I paddled over this calm, serene water, with these massive vessels in the background – it was an interesting contrast. 

“Then we reached the French side and I had to get in the boat for that before getting back in the kayak to finish the final six miles.

“That’s when it became challenging physically.

“We weren’t going straight, because the current was pushing our course into a curve.

“The whole journey was about 70 kilometres and the last bit was the most difficult.

“I could see France very clearly, but it felt like it wasn’t getting any closer.

“I’d actually preferred it in the middle with the fog, because I just kept going, even though I couldn’t see anything.

“In that last five miles I lost the sense of progress – my mind was playing tricks, so I really had to  concentrate on the strokes.”


Arriving in France - image supplied by Joseph Lyu
Arriving in France – image supplied by Joseph Lyu

a sense of achievement

Joseph did make it to France, pulling into the harbour, tired but happy.

After a shower and a change of clothes, plus a couple of well-deserved pints, there was time to reflect on his achievement. 

“The weather was really good, and that’s when I started to feel more excited,” he said.

“I realised that I’d done it and it was incredible.

“I believe I’m the first Chinese person to have done this. 

“I’ve googled it and can’t find anyone else.

“Also, you have to have a pilot boat to make a crossing like this and there are only a handful operating.

“It’s also to the best of my pilot’s knowledge that I am the first one, although I didn’t think about any of this until I saw a news report on the first Chinese person to swim across.

“For me, it was just something I wanted to do.

“I put the effort in and I made it happen.

“I never really doubted whether I could do it.

“Having done it does give me a foundation for other things, more side quests.

“Rowing is my main thing and I don’t have any plans to do any more kayaking, but I am also getting into free diving and I’m going to Malta to do a spear fishing course. 

“I’m also planning to return to France in October, cycling from London to Paris with a friend from rowing.”

key details: Poplar, Blackwall And District Rowing Club

Poplar, Blackwall And District Rowing Club is located close to Island Gardens on the Isle Of Dogs and offers a range of membership options as well as very popular introductory courses.

Find out more about the club here

Read more: How Canary Wharf has enjoyed its strongest year for office leasing in a decade

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

River Lea pre-industrial history to be celebrated at Cody Dock

Vikings and monks are just two of the groups who have shaped the east London we know today

Dividing line: The River Lea was once the border between Wessex and the Danelaw – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Stories are important.

They help us make sense of who we are and where we are.

Whether passed mouth-to-mouth or written down, they have been the main conduit for human communication down the centuries. 

Even in the age of social media, where video is the dominant force, we can’t do without explanation – an editorial take on what’s being presented.

Images alone are not enough, we have to tell each other what they mean through captions or voiceovers. 

The world over, the recording and telling of tales about the world defines our species – bees in the hive doing a complicated waggledance to tell others where the honey is and whether it’s any good.

The Greeks and Romans had their philosophical dialogues, their myths and their plays. The Vikings had their sagas and the people of Wessex and England had the Anglo Saxon Chronicle.

Cody Dock, an ecological regeneration project on the edge of Canning Town, is a keeper of many stories. 

Replica Viking longship the Saga Farmann sails up the Thames on its way to the Classic Boat Festival at St Katharine Docks on September 6 and 7, 2025 – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

first, a bit of context

As part of a £1.6million National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, its Lighting Up The Lea initiative will see a home for history created on the banks of the river. 

The roof of its glass Heritage Pavilion will be the Frederick Kitchen – a Welsh lifeboat that was probably the last vessel built at the Thames Ironworks.

It is currently being restored on-site and has stories of its own to tell. 

When work is finished, its hull will shelter quarterly exhibitions about the history of the River Lea and the lands along its length – stories for the people who are here now, drawing them closer to the past.

As that project sails steadily onwards, Wharf Life will be working in partnership with Cody Dock to dip readers’ toes in some of the extraordinary tales that London’s second largest natural waterway has been a party to over the centuries.

In more recent times the area has been fertile ground for social change and industrial endeavour, but for this article we’re going back a bit further…

An artist’s impression of Cody Dock’s new Heritage Pavilion, which is set to be built on the banks of the River Lea – image by Cody Dock

Viking aggression on the River Lea

There are ships sailing up the Lea.

It’s 894 AD – 1,131 years ago –  and Danish Vikings from Mersea Island in Essex are progressing up the river.

Their aim is to build a fortress roughly 20 miles north of London.

It’s a febrile time, but for a while there has been peace.

After King Alfred of Wessex defeated Danish warlord Guthrum and the Great Heathen Army in 878, the Lea took on a new significance – it became a border, a line of division through a marshy landscape of wetlands.  

The Treaty Of Alfred And Guthrum – which survives to this day in the collection of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge – officially created that frontier. 

Different gods, different ways of life, but a pledge of loyalty by the Danes to Alfred in return for peace – an accord that included a schedule for “weregild” or man price.

This was a fine that would be paid by one side to the other should there be future killings, with the amounts subject to the status of the victims. 

Alfred also insisted Guthrum convert to Christianity and be baptised as his godson, taking the name Æthelstan. 

For a while the Danelaw, as it became known, worked.

The Vikings had their substantial chunk of England and the Anglo Saxons had theirs.

But change is a constant. It couldn’t last. Guthrum died in 890.

a test for Wessex

Now the Danes are restless and flexing.

Their voyage up the Lea is a test of Wessex and Alfred’s resolve, directly on the border.

Their arrival prompts swift action.

First a local force of Saxons rises up and routs the provocateurs as they are constructing their fortifications.

Then Alfred arrives and messes with the river itself.

Exactly where and how is unclear – he may have dammed it, obstructed it or fortified it – but both banks are likely involved.

This may have been in what we now know as east London or further upstream, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle isn’t completely clear.

Suddenly, though, the Danes find themselves unable to escape in their ships and they flee with the Saxon army in hot pursuit.

Eventually they wind up in Shropshire.

The tale, however. doesn’t end there. Londoners sail some of the abandoned Viking ships back down the Lea in triumph, breaking up any that are unserviceable.

While we can’t be certain, there’s every possibility that these captured vessels provided vital intelligence and inspiration, with King Alfred ordering a series of long ships built just one year later – vessels with 60 oars or more that would prove decisive in naval battles against the Danes on the south coast. 

So next time you take a walk along the River Lea, remember it was once a dividing line between two countries, that its waters are rich with history and that the aftermath of a battle fought somewhere along its length a little over a thousand years ago may have led to what many regard as the birth of the English Navy.  

from Vikings to monks

This story of Viking unrest, religious diplomacy and clever military tactics is far from the only tale of the Lea in pre-industrial times.

In a valley carved out by the meltwater of the ice age, the river has a long and complex narrative, much of which is sadly lost to the passage of time.

We know Old Ford is where the Romans crossed on their way to Colchester.

We know the river’s course has changed radically through human action – the felling of forests, the draining of marshes, the digging of culverts and the creation of fish traps and channels for water mills.

Today it’s part of the boundary between Tower Hamlets and Newham, but it’s also divided Essex and Middlesex and was once fortified as a potential line of defence during the Second World War.

But there’s much to be gained by looking further back.

Few, for example, may know that Abbey Road station on the DLR and the street it serves are echoes of Stratford Langthorne Abbey. 

Little is left, but this institution exerted a profound influence on the area for 400 years some 240 after the Vikings were sailing up and down.

 From its creation in 1135, the abbey acquired much land, farming the surrounding marshes and cutting channels to lessen the risk of flooding. 

It also owned and operated tidal mills on the River Lea that ground flour to make bread for the bakers of Stratford-Atte-Bow who supplied the City Of London.

There are even reports that a small river port was created to serve the needs of both the institution’s monks, lay brothers and other inhabitants.

It served as the court of King Henry III in 1267, where he met emissaries of the pope and made peace with the barons after the Battle Of Evesham.

It was also sacked during the peasants revolt – singled out as a Cistercian abbey for its “acquisitiveness in matters of land and tithes”.

An unpopular landlord, perhaps.

But by the time of the Dissolution Of The Monasteries under Henry VIII, the abbey was the fifth largest in England, easily on a level of importance with its sister institutions at Jervaulx, Rievaulx and Fountains in North Yorkshire. 

a home for the stories

It’s stories like these that will be celebrated and explored under the mahogany curve of the Frederick Kitchen when Cody Dock’s Heritage Pavilion comes to fruition.

Here will be a place where Vikings and monks can come alive, overlooking the curves of the river that shaped their times. 

One of the founding principles of the Gasworks Dock Partnership which is undertaking the ecological regeneration of Cody Dock is to provide engagement for local people. 

By continuing to research and showcase the remarkable history of the area, it adds a further dimension to that work – offering a vessel for the living history of local residents and a way to present meaningful tales from the far flung past.

Today we smile and take photos of a replica Viking long ship sailing up the Thames to take part in a boat festival at St Katharine Docks.

But just imagine the terror and uncertainty spotting a host of Danes from Essex slipping quietly up the Lea must have generated.

What did they want? Why were they here? Who could we turn to? What a sight it must have been.

Additional research by Cody Dock’s Julia Briscoe

key details: River Lea heritage at Cody Dock

Cody Dock is located on the edge of Canning Town right beside the River Lea. The closest public transport is Star Lane DLR station.

The regeneration project offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities and runs regular events and activities aimed at engaging the local community with its work to regenerate the area and protect and record the wildlife of the River Lea.

You can find out more at its Lighting Up The Lea event on Saturday, September 20, 2025, which is free to attend from 11am-6pm.

Find out more about Cody Dock here

Read more: How Canary Wharf has enjoyed its strongest year for office leasing in a decade

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

Cody Dock set to host Lighting Up The Lea event this September

Event on Saturday, September 20, 2025, will see visitors welcomed to the ecological regeneration project for art, workshops, exhibitions, performances and live music

Artist Zhiyan Cai will unveil her Cabinet Of Curiosity at Cody Dock's Lighting Up The Lea event - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Artist Zhiyan Cai will unveil her Cabinet Of Curiosity at Cody Dock’s Lighting Up The Lea event – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Cody Dock is getting ready to host Lighting Up The Lea later this month.

The event, which will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2025, features workshops, exhibitions, performances, a plant sale, food stalls, live music and more as the ecological regeneration project throws wide its gates to the community.

The event is officially part of three festivals – Open House, Totally Thames and Newham Heritage Month – and will also see the unveiling of Cody Dock’s second Cabinet Of Curiosity.

Commissioned as part of the project’s National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, artist Zhiyan Cai has been asked to explore the pre-industrial history of the River Lea for the installation.

“I started off studying architecture and then worked in that industry for a year, but while it was an interesting thing to study, the work was boring,” she said. 

“However, I did learn about structures, rendering animations.

“I started off making digital art for myself, but people liked what I created and so I thought it could be a pathway for me.

“I’m from China originally and I first came to the UK to study in Glasgow. I decided to move to London because of the opportunities to practise art here.”

Zhiyan, who has just completed a four-month residency at Arebyte Gallery in London City Island, responded to Cody Dock’s open call to create the next in its series of cabinets and won the commission.

Zhiyan's prototype lightbox for her Cabinet Of Curiosity project - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Zhiyan’s prototype lightbox for her Cabinet Of Curiosity project – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

a portal to the past at Cody Dock

“I really wanted to make something 3D but, of course, everything we have from that time is either documents or 2D paintings,” she said.

“What I’m doing is using structures within the cabinet that will look three dimensional when viewed from the front. 

“It will be like a portal people can feel like they’d pass through – like a magical door from Dr Who. It’s a great idea to bring a history from the abstract into real life.

“I also work with projector mapping so there will be animation involved.

“The piece I’ve created will be in the middle of the cabinet and I’ve worked with children in workshops at Cody Dock to help them build lightboxes inspired by the area’s history.

“The idea is to combine all these different angles on the past – from me, from local kids – and, that way, to build connection.”

Angles is the right word. Zhiyan’s light boxes use optical illusion to create a sense of depth and movement as the viewer literally changes the perspective in her creations by moving their heads.

She hopes her work will encourage visitors to take a fresh look at their surroundings with the content she has created – all inspired by the research she has done alongside Cody Dock’s Julia Briscoe into the area’s past.

“We visited archives and found out about the design of Stratford Langthorne Abbey, which was located near here and founded in 1135,” said Zhiyan.

“I’ve used that information to create a kind of gallery as a framing device – it’s like a memory hall, so people can see this area at different periods in time.

“It’s about the wetlands with the plants waving in the wind, the Vikings and the abbey itself.  I live in Canning Town myself and it’s really interesting to find out about the history of the land along the river.

“I was surprised to learn about the life of the abbey and the farming that happened around it as well as the fact local people simply took the bricks after it was demolished after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.

“They used the stone to make new buildings.

“Things were always changing here – some of those materials may still exist in buildings in this areas and I hope my work helps to illustrate these things.”

A lightbox by one of Zhiyan's young workshop participants - image by Zhiyan Cai
A lightbox by one of Zhiyan’s young workshop participants – image by Zhiyan Cai

Lighting Up The Lea

In addition to seeing the new Cabinet Of Curiosity, visitors to Lighting Up The Lea will also be able to enjoy Dock Tours, try beeswax candle rolling, purchase Cody Dock honey, and see the site’s singular rolling bridge turn over.

Also on the agenda will be the chance to meet artist-in-residence Remiiya Badru who is working at Cody Dock over the course of a year to explore the area’s relationship with the textile calico and pigment Prussian Blue.

She will be inviting visitors to share their stories, inspired by items in the collection at V&A East Storehouse with the aim of producing an artwork related to her research.

Those interested in participating should sign up in advance for one of three Common Threads workshops to be held on the day.

The link can be found via linktr.ee/codydock.

The children's work will form part of the finished cabinet at Cody Dock - image by Zhiyan Cai
The children’s work will form part of the finished cabinet at Cody Dock – image by Zhiyan Cai

key details: Lighting Up The Lea

Lighting Up The Lea is set to take place at Cody Dock on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 11am-6pm.

Entry is free and all are welcome. 

Find out more details here

Read more: How Canary Wharf has enjoyed its strongest year for office leasing in a decade

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

Anton Lesser set to appear in two shows at Wilton’s Music Hall

Actor will reprise roles in Red Sky At Sunrise: Laurie Lee In Words And Music and A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy In Words And Music at the gloriously ramshackle Wapping venue this September

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Anton-LesserWEB.webp
Actor Anton Lesser is set to star in two shows celebrating the lives and works of Laurie Lee and Thomas Hardy at Wilton's Music Hall - image supplied by Hambletts Productions
Actor Anton Lesser is set to star in two shows celebrating the lives and works of Laurie Lee and Thomas Hardy at Wilton’s Music Hall – image supplied by Hambletts Productions

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

I confess I’m a little nervous ahead of my video call with Anton Lesser.

Despite a varied career on screen and stage, the actor is perhaps best known for playing creepy vivisectionist Qyburn in Game Of Thrones and haughty, sinister Major Lio Partagaz in Star Wars telly spin-off Andor (including a brief appearance in Canary Wharf, standing in for the Evil Empire).

In both roles he has the eyes of a man who sees killing as something necessary, if a little distasteful.

Fortunately, it’s all an act.

There’s no indication suspects are awaiting interrogation in holding cells in the basement of his home. 

Instead, Anton is twinkly and animated with a joyful enthusiasm as we talk about his forthcoming appearances at Wilton’s Music Hall in Wapping.

 Red Sky At Sunrise: Laurie Lee In Words And Music and A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy In Words And Music are coming to the gloriously tumbledown Wapping venue this month (September 2025) with four performances of each.

Presented by Hambletts Productions, the shows follow a similar format – Anton and another actor performing words to tell the stories of each author with a live soundtrack from the Orchestra Of The Swan under the baton of musical director David Le Page.


Red Sky At Sunrise features actors and musicians - image supplied by Hambletts Productions
Red Sky At Sunrise features actors and musicians – image supplied by Hambletts Productions

Anton Lesser, on taking the stage…

“Quite simply, it’s the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done,” said Anton.

“When we’re performing it, I feel that I’m part of a single experience.

“It’s not like doing a play, where you’re in a costume, in make-up and you’ve built a character that’s one element of a production.

“Sometimes I’m sitting on stage, surrounded by musicians – who are totally immersed in their instruments and their skill – and I’m so open and vulnerable because of that. 

“It feels inspiring in a way that I’ve never felt with other forms of performance and it’s a great privilege to be part of it.

“The words and the lives that we’re trying to illustrate are so moving, so tender, so wonderful and human that it demands the best of you – the greatest honesty.

“The music the orchestra plays, which underscores beautiful words and poetry just calls you into a different space. 

“Hopefully that is transmitted to the audience and I think it is because people who have experienced it have said to me they’ve never seen anything like it before. 

“It’s neither pure reading, nor acting, but with an immediacy that comes from the huge emotional impact the music has upon the words, and vice versa, and the interplay we as actors enjoy with the musicians on-stage.”

Red Sky comes to Wilton’s following a successful run at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-Upon-Avon and a sold-out show at the Wapping venue last year. 

Anton takes on the role of Laurie Lee later in life, with Charlie Hamblett playing the author as a younger man as we follow him through Cider With Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment Of War – a tale that sees him fighting Franco’s fascists with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War.

Lucia Bonbright will join Anton on stage for A Beautiful Thread - image by Hambletts Productions
Lucia Bonbright will join Anton on stage for A Beautiful Thread – image by Hambletts Productions

enchanted by the authors

Anton, who initially studied architecture before an epiphany in Nigeria while watching a documentary on the RSC, said: “When I was approached, I think there’s a kind of assumption that everyone has read Cider With Rosie at school or somewhere, but actually I never had.

“I opened that book and I was blown away.

“Then you start to read his other stuff, the short stories and poetry. I thought it was incredible, brilliant, a revelation.

“With Hardy, it was similar. I’d seen one or two films – Tess Of The D’Ubervilles or Far From The Madding Crowd – and read a couple of books.

“The revelation there was his verse. He is the most magnificent poet.

“His poems are little dramas.

“When I first read the volume of collected works he produced, I thought I’d turn down the corners of my favourites.

“I ended up turning down all the corners. 

“If you’re familiar with Lee or Hardy and you come and see these shows, you’ll have a wonderful time because there will be things you recognise and adore.

“But if you don’t know their work it will be an absolute revelation.”

Charlie Hamblett, Anton Lesser and David Le Page - image supplied by Hambletts Productions
Charlie Hamblett, Anton Lesser and David Le Page – image supplied by Hambletts Productions

Thomas Hardy in words and music

A Beautiful Thread, which has been performed at Stonehenge to much acclaim is an evolution of the form.

Anton, together with recent theatre school graduate Lucia Bonbright bring Hardy to life alongside his mother, Jemima and his wives Emily and Florence as well as George Bernard Shaw, Virginia Woolf and characters from his novels. 

Both shows are directed by Hambletts’ Judy Reaves, working alongside writer and adapter Deirdre Shields.

Works by composers such as Vaughan Williams, Walton, Holst, Elgar, Britten, Grainger, Albeniz, Turina and De Falla feature in Red Sky, while audiences will hear from Holst, Warlock and contemporary folk in A Beautiful Thread

“For me it’s really the joy in the way Judy and Deirdre have constructed these pieces,” said Anton.

“They’re unique in the way we flow in and out of the music and in and out of the characters. 

“It’s very unpredictable. The loveliest thing about it is when we seem to inspire the orchestra and the musicians inspire us.

“The relationship is really alive. It’s not a reading followed by some music.

“It’s one thing and it morphs and changes – something that’s very rich and very beautiful.

“David Le Page is the most amazing and wonderful musician – I can’t find the right word to honour him enough. 

“I’ll look across while he’s playing some music and he’s completely gone, or he’ll look at me while I’m reading a poem, and afterwards he’ll come up to me and say the same – we’re just absolutely amazed.

“It’s as though we’ve found this great little family.

“My first job was with the RSC and I’ve been very lucky in my career.

“I love it all – the screen, the stage, the audio books.

“But these productions are some of the loveliest things I’ve ever done and I don’t even have to learn lines.”  

key details: Anton Lesser at Wilton’s Music Hall

Red Sky At Sunrise: Laurie Lee In Words And Music is set to run at Wilton’s Music Hall from September 15-17, 2025.

It will be followed by A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy In Words And Music from September 18-20, 2025.

Evening performances are at 7pm with a 2pm show on the last day of each run.

Tickets start at £17 with 10% off if both shows are booked together.

Find out more about the productions here

Read more: How Canary Wharf has enjoyed its strongest year for office leasing in a decade

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

Canary Wharf enjoys strongest year of office leasing in a decade

Canary Wharf Group’s Tarun Mathur on HSBC taking new space and how the estate is now a place for everyone – workers, residents and visitors

HSBC has leased more than 200,000sq ft at 40 Bank Street in Canary Wharf - image by CWG
HSBC has leased more than 200,000sq ft at 40 Bank Street in Canary Wharf – image by CWG

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Change is a constant.

Three and a half decades ago, no major international businesses called Canary Wharf home.

Since then, the towers built as part of the area’s regeneration from derelict, unused docklands have attracted and housed a vast range of companies and organisations. 

Predicting the demise of an area is a fertile activity for the generation of column inches.

However, it’s perplexing – at best – that the confident prophets of decline failed to spot the solid foundations the Wharf’s success over the last 25 years has been built on and the growth and strengthening of that infrastructure that has taken place more recently.

In reality there has been no pause in the Canary Wharf project.

Wood Wharf continues to attract new residents and businesses and North Quay with its vertical wet labs is also in the pipeline.

The latter is particularly significant for the ongoing diversification of the estate’s tenants.

While some firms have decided to move, this might sensibly be seen as natural churn in an area that other companies are increasingly eyeing as an attractive option.

Barclays, Fitch and Morgan Stanley have all recently recommitted to the estate. 

BBVA and Smartest Energy have both expanded their presence, while the likes the Bank Of London And The Middle East and McLaren Construction Group have arrived.  

It’s also a time of renewal, with refurbished and reimagined spaces frequently preferred to relocation away from the Wharf. 

Citibank is currently refreshing its headquarters in Canada Square, while Revolut – once a handful of employees at the estate’s tech community, Level39 – has claimed the upper levels of YY London, a freshly renovated building right outside the Jubilee line’s main entrance. 

With JP Morgan outgrowing its 25 Bank Street building and taking space in Credit Suisse’s former block, recent reports suggest the banking giant is looking seriously at restarting a project to build new towers on the western edge of Canary Wharf overlooking the Thames at Westferry. 

Then there are other incomers including challenger bank Zopa, Hershey’s, Hexaware, hVIVO and AviadoBio.

Did I mention Visa is also reportedly seeking space at One Canada Square?

All-in-all it’s proving to be something of a vintage year for leasing on the estate – especially given HSBC’s decision to rent some 210,000sq ft of space in Canary Wharf at 40 Bank Street making its relocation to the City in 2027 only partial.

Director, offices at Canary Wharf Group, Tarun Mathur - image by CWG
Director, offices at Canary Wharf Group, Tarun Mathur – image by CWG

HSBC retains a Canary Wharf presence

“It’s a real endorsement of what we’ve done over the last few years,” said Tarun Mathur, director, offices at Canary Wharf Group.

“That’s not just in terms of the quality of our buildings, but also the environment and the value that HSBC clearly sees in what’s being delivered here for their employees going forward.

“It’s been a fantastic year, with over 450,000sq ft of transactions – this is the strongest 12 months we’ve had for a decade – and a lot of that has been driven by existing customers expanding as well as new entrants.

“Digital bank BBVA, for example, did a major review of where they wanted to be, which focussed on Canary Wharf vs the City for their expansion. 

“For them, it was about value and amenity provision – their staff are really happy here and we’ve had an ongoing partnership with them.

“As a long-term owner of our assets, the ability to enable companies to scale here is hugely significant.”

Canary Wharf Group has seen vacancies fall to 6% across its portfolio, which includes 40 Bank Street - image by CWG
Canary Wharf Group has seen vacancies fall to 6% across its portfolio, which includes 40 Bank Street – image by CWG

right product, right time

For Tarun, the recent leasing successes are a combination of providing the right product and doing it in the right place.

He said: “Firstly the building has to work – value and workplace environment are key. In the case of Zopa, which is moving to Wood Wharf’s 20 Water Street, the bank found it really appealing.

“Businesses are now thinking about their workplace, not just within the four walls, but also the micro environment and how their employees can benefit from the ecosystem of Canary Wharf.

“The blue and green spaces we have here are as good as anywhere in London and then there’s the access to local amenities. As a package, occupiers are seeing that as immensely valuable.

“The Elizabeth Line is also a game-changer.

“It creates additional capacity alongside the Jubilee line and the DLR, as well as resilience.

“There’s been a bit of a time-lag, but the real estate office market is now benefiting from it as those advantages filter up to the level where occupiers make decisions and those claims are backed up by our footfall numbers.

“In 2024, 72million people came to Canary Wharf – that’s a stratospheric increase on 2019 and it’s a figure that’s forecast to be exceeded in 2025.”

a wider appeal

Tarun said there were a number of factors that were making Canary Wharf attractive to companies at present, not least the wider regeneration of east London.

“For some businesses it’s about the fact that the capital is moving east, so there’s a large, younger pool of talent that they’re looking to target within the radius of the estate,” he said. 

“It also goes back to what we’re delivering – a high quality product with the best workplace experience that meets the needs of our clients.

“There is constraint in the office market at the moment and that means organisations are having to be more open-minded about location.

“Some years ago, there was more of an insistence in some sectors that they stay as close to their existing buildings as possible. 

“We’ve seen a slight shift in that this year because of supply and demand of Grade A products.

“It’s exciting for the future because our existing stock is filling up.

“Our current vacancy rate is around 6%.

“We were around 10% about 12 months ago, so it’s come down quite significantly.

“Right now, it’s all about the buildings we’re getting back and how we can reposition those products for the next-generation occupier, so that’s where our focus is and it’s really exciting. 

“Then we’re looking at what we can do to integrate these towers better into the public realm than they were when they were designed 30 years ago.

“Back then occupiers wanted large, secure reception areas on the ground floor. Now they want them to be amenity rich with lots of vibrancy.

“Until you get the buildings back, there’s only so much you can do but our teams have done an amazing job activating the estate with arrivals such as the Troubadour Theatre coming later this year.

“I think in 10 years time we will see more permeability across the estate with links from building to building and a lot more engagement for workers, residents and visitors. 

“The ongoing process of diversification will continue but we’ll stay true to ourselves – tapping into new markets.

“We’ll see growth in the technology sector here alongside life sciences and financial services. 

“Canary Wharf is a place for everyone and we’re demonstrating that. It’s a long time since it was just a financial or business district.”

key details: commercial space available in Canary Wharf

Workspace at Canary Wharf is currently available at Level39, One Canada Square, 40 Bank Street, One Bank Street and The Columbus Building.

Find out more about the options here

Read more: Discover Greenwich Theatre’s revival of Jim Cartwright’s Two

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

Dancing City 2025 promises to fill Stratford with free performances

The Greenwich + Docklands International Festival returns to Newham with a packed programme of movement stretching across the area’s spaces

GDIF has teamed up with Fire Island Dance Festival to present a trio of shows including Layl (Night) at Dancing City - image by Nina Wurtzel
GDIF has teamed up with Fire Island Dance Festival to present a trio of shows including Layl (Night) at Dancing City – image by Nina Wurtzel

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

As the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival draws to a close, Stratford is preparing to welcome a packed programme of free spectacles for a second year.

A total of 15 shows are set to arrive at locations across the area for this year’s Dancing City on Saturday, September 6. All will be performed at least twice.  

“We were in Stratford very successfully last summer,” said Bradley Hemmings, GDIF founder and artistic director.

“The area has been transformed in the most remarkable way over the last few years, especially since the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The advent of the new East Bank cultural quarter, which includes phenomenal outdoor spaces was the focus for Dancing City in 2024.

“This year we’re bringing 15 dance companies together here.

“Much of the action will take place in the town centre, with audiences also able to cross over to East Bank and into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to see more performances.

“We’ve expanded the programme for 2025 because we welcomed such large numbers to the shows last year we wanted to make sure we could spread over the wider area.”

Raquel Gaultero will present 360º in the Olympic Park - image by La Gualtero
Raquel Gaultero will present 360º in the Olympic Park – image by La Gualtero

Dancing City highlights

The one-day festival, which runs from 1pm-6.30pm, will feature the likes of dancer Joe Powell-Main – the first wheelchair user to dance with the Royal Ballet – who returns to GDIF with Passionately Defiant.

Billed as a “joyous celebration of dance and disability pride, which challenges perceptions of classical ballet” the piece will be performed at 1.55pm and 3.30pm at Marshgate South next to UCL East in the Olympic Park.

Also in the park will be 360º, a constantly rotating 17-minute show from Columbian dancer Raquel Gaultero that promises “an all-encompassing evocation of female lived experience”.

This includes nods to childhood games, motherhood and connection to the planet.

As ever, GDIF’s programme seeks to celebrate both the cultural landscape of east London while also reaching out.

This year Dancing City will welcome a triple bill presented in partnership with Fire Island Dance Festival.

The trio of shows will each be performed three times simultaneously at East Bank’s Waterfront at 1pm, 3.30pm and 6.05pm.

Courtney's Diner will be presented as part of the Fire Island collaboration - image by Elyse Mertz
Courtney’s Diner will be presented as part of the Fire Island collaboration – image by Elyse Mertz

lighting the fire

Bradley said: “Each is led by LGBTQIA+ artists and they will be presented together.

“Fire Island Dance Festival in New York state is legendary.

“It was started in the 1990s in response to the AIDS crisis, which the area was very much at the epicentre of.

“It’s gone on to benefit people living with HIV across the US and beyond.

“The performances over there are on the waterfront with some of the most amazing staging I have ever seen. 

“We’re trying to bring some of that energy to Stratford with these performances.

“What we’re also trying to do on September 6, 2025, is to create something that’s very permeable with shows taking place outside in public spaces.

“There will also be a link to Sadler’s Wells East at East Bank, which has been designed with a connection between the indoors and outdoors in mind. 

“As part of Dancing City, we’ll be collaborating with them for One Sky, a performance that takes inspiration from South African kite festivals.

“It’s brilliant, taking place on the bridge over to the Olympic Park in front of East Bank in a celebration of togetherness.

“There’s something that happens at a festival like in public spaces like these.

“People share something and it’s very uplifting.

“It doesn’t happen very often, but we know from the feedback we get how grateful audiences are.

“We’re celebrating our 30th anniversary this year and I already have a very long list of what I want to do in the future.

“GDIF has always been about the community, the audiences who come to cherish the performances and the organisations that support us.

“We want to ensure we’re here for another 30 years.”

Ballet dancer Joe Powell-Main who performs with the aid of a wheelchair, will present Passionately Defiant - image by David Edwards
Ballet dancer Joe Powell-Main who performs with the aid of a wheelchair, will present Passionately Defiant – image by David Edwards

key details: Dancing City

Dancing City, part of the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival is set to return to Stratford on Saturday, September 6, 2025, from 1pm-6.30pm. 

All shows are free, with multiple repetitions to allow audiences to see as many performances as possible.

Full listings and timings are available here

The wider GDIF programme includes performances in Greenwich, Woolwich and Thamesmead. 

Read more: Discover Greenwich Theatre’s revival of Jim Cartwright’s Two

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life

Café Seek, a new Japanese bakery is set to open at Wood Wharf

Pinky Chan and Emily Leung are pouring their passion for food into a dream project that will serve up cakes, savouries and beverages to Wharfers as Harbord Square in Canary Wharf buzzes with life

Café Seek founders Emily Leung, left, and Pinky Chan at their Harbord Square bakery - image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Café Seek founders Emily Leung, left, and Pinky Chan at their Harbord Square bakery – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

The customers sipping slickly brewed matcha  at Café Seek – following its forthcoming opening – might never know the powdered green tea leaves used to brew their drinks have been painstakingly selected following a field trip to Japan.

But this fact serves as a measure of the effort and attention to detail that founders Pinky Chan and Emily Leung are putting into every aspect of realising their dream project.

Set to open in the coming weeks on the south-eastern corner of Wood Wharf’s 8 Harbord Square, the Japanese bakery promises to be a tranquil haven for local workers, residents and visitors alike.

For Emily and Pinky, the café is the culmination of a passionate journey that’s been years in the making.

“I’m from Hong Kong originally and, while over there, I’d set up a platform for selling organically grown produce online,” said Emily. 

“We worked with farmers on small farms to build a bridge between them and consumers. 

“I came to London because my husband was moving here, so I closed down the company and moved here in 2021.

“I was quite lost for a while after that and I didn’t know what to do, but it was always my dream to open a cafe or a bakery and then I met Pinky.”

Citrus Earl Grey Chocolate Cake - image by Café Seek
Citrus Earl Grey Chocolate Cake – image by Café Seek

the start of the Café Seek dream

The pair connected at a market at Kingston three years ago where Emily was mostly selling sweet bakes and Pinky was showcasing her Japanese-inspired breads.

“I’m also from Hong Kong, but I came over in 2018 for my masters degree,” said Wood Wharf resident Pinky. 

“Then I worked in financial services in London.

“I decided I also really wanted to pursue my passion for baking, so I began to make some Japanese breads after work.

“When I met Emily, we decided we should open a bakery together, so I left the world of finance. It’s a high-pressure environment, although the income is good. 

“When I was working in the industry, I kept asking myself why I wanted the money – what was it for?”

The pair quickly began working towards their dream, initially establishing a bakery from their home kitchens and selling goods online.

Pinky said: “We both love Japanese culture – Hong Kong isn’t far from Japan and the chef who first taught me to bake is Japanese.

“At first we did more traditional pastries but that was less popular here.”

Next came the French influence, with Emily and Pinky decamping to Paris for a course in traditional Gallic patisserie. 

“I love French techniques – how they combine flavours and textures,” said Pinky.

“The course was very intensive – it was back to school, but the main lesson was to practise. 

“We learnt all sorts of techniques, but we found the Japanese flavours are better.”

It’s this fusion that forms the blueprint for Café Seek – fine French patisserie with fillings such as purple sweet potato paste and daifuku.

Offerings include Citrus Early Grey Chocolate Cake, Mango Mochi Coconut Cake, Matcha Opera Cake alongside savoury options such as Japanese Chilli Mayo Sausage Roll and Cheesy Corn Beef Bagel.

Café Seek’s Matcha Opera Cake, with layers of matcha joconde sponge, ganache, buttercream, red bean paste and matcha chocolate - image by Café Seek
Café Seek’s Matcha Opera Cake, with layers of matcha joconde sponge, ganache, buttercream, red bean paste and matcha chocolate – image by Café Seek

building on success in Canary Wharf

“We’re called Café Seek because we want everyone to seek their life – to find themselves,” said Emily, who also lives in east London. 

“This is really the main message that we want to share with everyone.

“We’re opening in Canary Wharf because it’s the best option for us – it’s where many of our online customers are from or where they know to travel to. 

“People would order from us and come here to pick up their cakes – we had some arrive from places that are quite far away such as Brighton.

“We’re so grateful when customers come all that way for products.”

Pinky added: “Canary Wharf was best for us.

“Half of the space will be our kitchen and bakery and the other half will be for the café. 

“We’ll have eight seats for customers and some outside too, with our products all laid out.

“We’ll be serving authentic Japanese teas including the matcha. 

“We went to Japan and found small companies to bring their products over and give to our customers to try.

“When you actually go to the places where these teas are grown, you learn more and you can also bring back that knowledge for your customers.

“We did some research before deciding to open in this area and we know there’s a large Asian community here – we’re going to be a part of that.”

In addition to serving customers online and in person, the café will also be offering catering services for parties and businesses locally.  

Café Seek’s opening is part of Canary Wharf Group and Tower Hamlets Council’s project to provide affordable spaces for local companies. 

Recent openings at Wood Wharf include Reformer Pilates fitness operation The Island Studio, florist The Flower Club, pet groomer Pawsome, nail art salon Awe London, Italian bakery Signorelli and Wayne Hairdresser Salon.

Forthcoming openings include Malaysian restaurant Ong Lai Kopitiam in the very near future as well as Turkish restaurant Nora in the autumn.   


Creamed Sweetcorn Soft Bun - image by Café Seek
Creamed Sweetcorn Soft Bun – image by Café Seek

key details: Café Seek

Café Seek is set to open its doors at 8 Harbord Square in the coming weeks.

The Japanese bakery will sell a wide range of breads and cakes, baked fresh on the premises.

Follow @cafe.seek on Instagram for live updates. 

Find out more about the opening here

Pistachio Symphony Cake - image by Café Seek
Pistachio Symphony Cake – image by Café Seek

Read more: Discover Greenwich Theatre’s revival of Jim Cartwright’s Two

Read Wharf Life’s e-edition here

Subscribe to our free Wharf Whispers newsletter here

Subscribe To Wharf Life