The test of time

The Gun takes its name from the cannon fired to celebrate the opening of the West India Docks in 1802. This early-19th-century, Grade II listed building is apparently the place where Horatio Nelson would dally with his mistress, Lady Hamilton.

This part of London was the centre of much commercial activity at the time when Britannia ruled the waves - two centuries later it is the focus of new London, surrounded by soaring towers and heavy with the aroma of optimism.

The pub almost came to an untimely demise a few years ago when a fire all but destroyed the building, but new owners Tom and Ed Martin - proprietors of The White Swan on Fetter Lane and The Well in Clerkenwell - recently completed a long and sensitive refurbishment, leaving the place looking ready for the next 200 years.

A large ground floor is portioned into several spaces, including a smartly accoutred dining room, a main bar with a couple of snugs and two further private dining or function spaces. But its main allure now that the weather is warming up has to be the long, sheltered and heated riverside terrace, which has terrific views of that great 20th-century folly, the Millennium Dome and is within spitting distance of this weekend's Marathon.

True to its pubby roots, The Gun advertises several draught ales, although none were available during either of my first two visits. Deliveries (or lack of them) were blamed. Carlsberg, San Miguel and Red Stripe are on tap, and there's a good selection of bottled beers.

Wines are taken seriously at The Gun and the extensive list (more than 100 bins, with 16 by the glass) will appeal to every taste. Some would question the wisdom of trying to manage such a long list: apart from this representing money sitting on the shelves, it is hard to keep plentiful supplies of each product. My first, second and third choices were unavailable.

The restaurant is high quality and has prices to match. A mussel and saffron soup in the dining room, for example, costs £6, a Barnsley chop £14, and a seafood lasagne £17.50. Side dishes are extra and cost between £3 and £4. The bar has a different menu: bangers and mash costs £12.50, fish pie £11, and boiled beef and carrots will set you back £10.50.

We sat in the dining room where my mates happily ordered from that menu - I requested a main course from the bar menu and was told that I'd have to move to the bar when my meal was ready. I refused to move, of course, and they eventually came around to my way of thinking, but when I queried this policy later, I was told: 'They do much the same at the Oxo Tower' (some conversations really aren't worth pursuing).

I wouldn't normally return to a venue where untrained staff have more attitude than me - which is a lot - but, in this case, I'm prepared to forgive them, as there can be few better places to while away a lovely spring day.