Too Far To Reach?

The Reach outruns the rumours that preceded it, reports Tom Hedley. But it has yet make inroads into its own constituency.

Dropping just shy of a one minute walk from the University of East London’s Dockland Campus, lies The Reach – a tavern which is by no means in the heart of the metropolis. Its out-of-the-way location speaks volumes about London’s unfinished identity. Sure, the Docks around The Reach have been handsomely refurbished, but this side of East London is by no means dream-town – not yet.

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Something must be going right, though. Just a few years ago, the exterior of what is now The Reach was all boarded up. Rumours circulated that it was to take flight as a nightclub catering for students. UEL’s halls of residence would have provided the core clientele: a small but significant population willing to part with the little money they have, who would (hopefully) close out the bar each and every night.

It never happened, and the nightclub rumours had to stop when the The Reach came to fruition – for real.

Bursting with underrated character, it’s a shame that on the Saturday night of my first visit the establishment wasn’t full wall-to-wall. There were some locals scattered elbows-over the bar while a few kids from the university took shelter on the long tables behind. Did this meagre population demonstrate that Beckton’s residents are unable to relax and enjoy themselves unless prices are rock bottom?

The Reach is certainly not the village dive.

The interior is meticulously thought of – to the point where you will be selecting items to drag home with you. Through the windows high-rise apartments break up the view of the docks, and the assortment of boats that drift across it. It’s a view that tricks you into thinking you’re anywhere but here – the closest you’ll get to Marbella until payday, at least.

hophouse13

I started the evening with a Hop House 13, malting from the land of the Irish and brewed by their very own head honcho; Guinness, and ended with a Brahma from Brazil, which was slightly more user-friendly. Although you should expect a round of two to break the £9 barrier, you’ve definitely paid more for less.

The Voice was airing from a TV screen in the distance. On mute, fortunately, or it might have been enough to make me get up and leave. More appropriately, a trendy Spotify playlist was streaming from a laptop somewhere behind the bar, which allowed me to position myself away from Will.I.Am, and drift into the night.

My fling with The Reach lasted the weekend. I returned the next day with a plot to steal the magnificent Octavia armchair, and no writer of moral worth can refuse a Sunday roast in the name of journalism. Jetting you back a cool £28, a whole un-carved roast chicken will arrive promptly on your table with boats of gravy and bread sauce, and vessels of trimmings. If new-found London does one day right, it’s Sunday.

Sat on a tarmac island between the Royal Docks and the Docklands Light Railway, The Reach gets an absolute tip from my cap. But garnering the thumbs up from oh so many local Londoners who have been seemingly exiled from their own stomping grounds, is something which it has yet to Reach.

INFO: The Reach Bar and Grill, 442074768689, Gallions Hotel Albert Basin Way, London E16 2QS

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