Top 5 waterside tables

There is nothing quite so restful as gazing out across water while you tuck in. Given halfway decent weather, a waterside view is the making of a long lunch, and watching dusk fall is an equally pleasant adjunct to dinner.

However, such views attract tourists and with them over-enthusiastic pricing and casual cookery. Here are five establishments where the food lives up to a pretty decent waterside view...

AQUASIA
Conrad London, Chelsea Harbour, SW10 (020-7300 8443). Mon-Sun, £90
***
For years Michael Gresslin ran his own eponymous restaurant in Hampstead and then he was persuaded to take the job of executive chef at the Aquasia restaurant on Chelsea Harbour. The Terrace at Aquasia is making a special effort with the £45 champagne brunch on Sundays, with unlimited champagne (for the duration of the meal). Gresslin's trademark dishes (which fuse Asian and Mediterranean cooking styles) find a new home on the main restaurant menu -'poached baby lobster, ravioli of crab, coconut and lime leaf sauce.'

THAI SQUARE
Putney Bridge, 2-4 Lower Richmond Road, SW15 (020-8780 1811). Mon-Sun £65
***
When the Michelin-starred Putney Bridge Restaurant closed its doors, few would have bet on it being taken over by the Thai Square Restaurant group. Thai Square run a chain of affable Thai restaurants with branches in West End, the City and Islington. Thai Square Putney Bridge opened in April and offers much the same extensive Thai menu. The river views from this restaurant are most impressive.

THE WATERWAY
54 Formosa Street, W9 (020-7266 3557). Mon-Sun £40
**
From the decking outside the Waterway there is a fine view of water, and it would be churlish to point out that this is canal rather than riverwater! Tom Etridge's gastropub in Maida Vale has launched a summer barbecue menu - marinated pork ribs, grilled mackerel with bean salad and salsa verde and a classic Caesar salad with grilled chicken, with reasonable prices.

BLUEPRINT CAFE
Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 (020-7378 7031). Mon-Sun (Sun lunch only) £65
****
The Blueprint Cafe is a fabulous place, as well as the best possible view of the river and Tower Bridge. It is a restaurant filled with light from the full length glass wall that fronts the river. These glass doors slide back when sunny weather allows and there is no better place to while away a meal time. The cooking is very impressive too. Chef Jeremy Lee has a sure touch and is manic about the quality of his ingredients - seasonal dishes prevail.
A simple beef and parsley pie was made thoroughly memorable by the addition of a knob of snail butter melted into its filling. There are also some sensibly priced bottles to be had.

THE BINGHAM
61-63 Petersham Road, Richmond Upon Thames, Surrey (020-8940 0902). Mon-Sun (Sun lunch only) £80
***
This Georgian townhouse has 21 seats on a balcony with a lovely view. The food is billed as 'modern French' and the head chef is Pierre Denoyer, so expect starters like scallops on black radish salad, with a rocket crème caramel or foie gras on French toast brioche with a pear compote. Main courses feature carefully chosen ingredients prepared with a modern twist. Scottish fillet steak comes with sweet potato chips and Montpellier butter, while a pot roasted halibut has a herb and walnut crust and comes on buttered salsify.

Prices estimate the average cost of a meal for two with drinks