The Riverside, Vauxhall  

Opened a few years back, this is one of four riverside bars run by Young's and built by the developers St. George as part of a complex of luxury flats. No surprise then, to find a venue that feels not unlike an exclusive All Bar One in terms of design, and where the usual Young's beers find space next to offerings of Peroni and Pimm's on tap. As you'd probably expect, the prices at this one are higher than average, and whilst it's never a chore to drink beside the Thames, it's rather an odd experience to knock back a few here: not often will you leave a pub to see a sign directing you one way to the tube station and another to the concierge. Indeed, the mix of wealth, high-rise living and security - MI6 is the next building down river - does add up to something from the pages of a J. G. Ballard novel. We're fascinated by how many of the drinkers here come from outwith the surrounding flats or indeed work for Universal Exports. At heart then, this feels like a Docklands bar that - akin to that whale from a few years back - has floated upriver. Still, if what you're after on a Saturday night is a near-deserted pub close to the centre of town, come on down.

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