The Dove

The Dove has been on this stretch of the Thames since the early 18th century, with literary associations running from Hemingway to Dylan Thomas, and it holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest bar in Britain — a genuine curiosity rather than a manufactured one, since the bar in question is simply the original snug, never expanded because there was never anywhere to expand it to.

Pubs this old tend to survive by leaning entirely on their history or by quietly abandoning it in favour of a modern refit; The Dove has managed to keep the building largely as it was while still running as a proper, working pub rather than a preserved curiosity you can only look at.

The Room

A small, historic pub with a terrace right on the river — get there early for a table outside, particularly on a clear evening, since the riverside seating is the whole reason regulars put up with the pub’s genuinely tiny interior on a busy night.

Inside, low beams and a warren of small rooms give the building real character, including the record-holding bar itself, more a nook than a room. The Thames path runs directly past the terrace, which adds a steady flow of passers-by to the atmosphere without the pub ever feeling like a tourist stop rather than a working local.

Regulars tend to claim the same handful of tables week after week, and the staff clearly know most of them by sight if not by name. Upper Mall itself is a quiet, mostly residential stretch, which makes the pub feel more like a genuine local dining room than the tourist stop its literary history might suggest.

What to Order

Fish and chips is the reliable, unfussy order that suits the setting — nothing elaborate, just a properly fried, correctly seasoned version of the pub classic best eaten outside with a view of the river. A traditional Sunday roast, when it’s on, is worth planning a weekend around instead, generously portioned in the way a proper riverside pub roast should be, though it’s worth arriving early since the terrace fills fast on a good Sunday.

Neither dish is trying to reinvent pub food; both are trying to be a correct, comfortable version of something familiar, in a setting that does most of the remaining work.

The Drinks List

A solid pub selection, best enjoyed on the terrace rather than analysed too closely — this is not a wine-list destination, and asking it to be one would miss the point of a pub this historic and this close to the water. Cask ale is the sensible default, ideally taken outside while there’s still daylight on the river, and the wine list is short enough that picking anything on it will do the job without much deliberation.

What You Will Pay

Around £25–35 per person, which for a genuinely historic riverside setting this close to central London is good value — you’re not paying a premium for the view, even though the view is doing a lot of the work.

The Verdict

Come for the river view and the history as much as the food — both are the real draw here, and a fish and chips or a Sunday roast eaten on the terrace, with the Thames a few feet away, is a genuinely pleasant way to spend an afternoon regardless of how the kitchen’s technical ambitions compare to some of the area’s newer restaurants.

Turn up without a fixed plan and let the weather decide whether you’re inside among the low beams or outside on the water.

What’s Being Said

A pub old enough to have hosted Hemingway hasn’t needed to reinvent itself since, and there’s something genuinely reassuring about a building this small and this old simply continuing to do the same modest, honest job it’s always done rather than chasing a bigger reputation it was never built to hold.

The record-holding bar and the literary connections are a nice story, but neither is the actual reason to keep coming back — a decent pint on the terrace at sunset is. That’s roughly why this review lands at 4 stars rather than higher: the setting earns real affection, but the kitchen itself is doing something modest and knows it.

Call that a rating for honesty as much as for the pint — a pub that knows exactly what it is and doesn’t reach past it.