Cat and Canary
1-24 Fishermans Walk,, Canary Wharf, E14 4DH, London
If you're after a stiff drink and lax conversation after a hard day at the Wharf, you could do a lot worse than to head down to the Cat and Canary, slapped right in the middle of the land of the pinstriped.
For somewhere that you might suspect would get it wrong, they've actually done it pretty right: old bits of church pews are used to make the seating, and the rest of the furniture is similarly reclaimed and nice looking. The high ceilings ring out with joyful boasting and bitter lamenting after the six o clock rush, and it makes a fine place to bash your own point home with the aid of several beers - of which there are plenty.
Food is quite mediocre (though the fish and chips do come highly recommended) but then that's pretty natural for a place where most people are dropping in on the way back to base. That said, the daytime is magnificently relaxed, and you'll find the outdoor tables a wonderful place to sit with a nut-brown ale and puff a pipe whilst looking at other people rushing around - always the best way to appreciate time off work!