If, last year, I’d had to guess where the restaurant scene would thrive in 2022, the Canary Wharf district would have felt most improbable. Sure, this was once deemed London’s highest-earning postcode, but none of that was benefiting the restaurant world when the employees of its banks were working in pyjamas in Berkshire. And, pandemic aside, Canary Wharf has never been anyone’s idea of a charming dining destination, despite being in parts twinkly, luxurious and curiously Blade Runner-ish.
To see it become the focus of big players such as Hawksmoor, Caravan, Marugame Udon and a new hulking Market Halls says a lot about how confident investors are of a return to desks. The days of dressing gowns and Joe Wicks workouts were officially over when Hawksmoor unveiled its most ostentatious opening to date: a vast, shimmering restaurant in Wood Wharf.
