OXO Tower and Gabriel's Wharf

The OXO tower is close to Blackfriars Bridge on the south bank of the Thames.  From the bridge, it is possible to see the tower with the letters OXO running vertically.  Once owned by the manufacturers of OXO cubes, it now houses a bar and brasserie and also a more expensive restaurant (run by Harvey Nichols), and offers stunning views of the Thames from all.  There are also vegetarian and vegan menus for the brasserie and restaurant, which is good to know if you have non-meat eaters in your party, but you do need to book in advance.  However, we have eaten in the bar before (although the menu is limited), and the food was tasty (we had the burgers), less pricey and we still had a great view, even without booking.

The OXO Tower building

If you don't want to eat or drink though, there is also a free public viewing gallery up here, to take in views of the city.

Underneath the main tower are many little shops and a few cafes on the ground and first floors, selling a wide variety of things from jewellery to funky gifts, clothes and home wares.  Also on the ground floor is a gallery which houses some really interesting exhibitions which are usually free to take a look around, change frequently and are worth popping into.

Just next to Oxo Tower Wharf is Gabriel's Wharf which also has many more little designer-maker shops, and also a delicious pizza restaurant and bike hire scheme; it is easy to spend some time browsing around both the OXO Tower and Gabriel's Wharf, and together with other local projects, this area is known as the Coin Street Community.

Gabriel's Wharf, and London Beach!
Look out for the man sculpting sand on the corner

Shops at Gabriel's Wharf
(Vendula (L) is fab for handbags)

More shops at Gabriel's Wharf

You can easily spend a couple of hours eating, drinking and pottering around the shops.  A handy thing to also note is that there are public toilets in the yellow building in Gabriel's Wharf.