The Samuel Pepys

The Samuel Pepys is not easy to find. You’d never think to go look for a trendy wine bar in the small streets at the back of Upper Thames Street. Most buildings there used to be warehouses and are now bland office blocks. But then in one of those alleyways that is too small to even have building numbers and has a bizarre name that is probably inherited from the warehouse era, you will come across a sign that bears the letters tsp. Go through the glass doors and a flight of spiralling stairs will take you to the first floor where you enter a spacious pub and wine bar. The place can be very busy on a Friday night, full of pin-stripe suited people celebrating the end of the week. The wine and beer list is very decent and reasonably priced. But what makes this place special is the breathtaking view over the river Thames: Southwark Bridge on the left, the Millennium Bridge on the right and the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre across the water. This alone make The Samuel Pepys a place not to be missed.