Urban Guide slams "sterile" Wharf

By John Hill on November 6, 2009 10:30 AM |

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Readers of "street-savvy" guidebook Not For Tourists probably won't be making a bee-line for the Wharf any time soon.

The "urban-manual" for residents in the capital savaged the estate and the surrounding area in its 2010 edition, dubbing it "finance's faltering engine room".

Writers slammed the Wharf for its "sterile malls", and warned readers to "watch out for ruined brokers tumbling from the windows above".

While the tongue-in-cheek guide sneaks in a thumbs-up for Nicolas and Tiffinbites, it adds: "There's free comedy too - just sit by the Tube and chuckle at the latest round of suited tossers to be given their P45."

Other than the "real East End boozing" of Poplar's Greenwich Pensioner pub and the "excellent" Gun in Coldharbour, the east of the estate and Poplar is marked as a haven for "dull glass towers" and "investment bankers talking credit derivatives in chain bars", while Millwall is "still tainted with the whiff of BNP and football hooliganism" despite the best efforts of the "award-winning" Docklands Sailing Centre and the "decent community venue" The Space.

Cubitt Town fares slightly better, scooping praise for Mudchute Park and Farm, its three DLR stations and the "down-to-earth boozers" such as the Lord Nelson and Waterman's Arms.

Greenwich is hailed as the home of "one of the most charming village markets in London", as well as the "lacklustre" O2 arena.