Floating food

There's something about water which attracts restaurateurs and café owners. And, of course, their customers.


The Regents Canal does a 90º left at Cumberland Basin; in the basin sits the Feng Shang Princess, a floating Chinese restaurant. This is an arresting sight when encountered going east, the red standing out against the trees. (Is it really floating, though? What would happen if the water level dropped?)

Back at Little Venice is the Waterside Café, which, when we passed, was sporting an advertising board for The Floating Boater. This, according to the website, is actually two charterable trip boats - FMC motor Lapwing (built in 1913) and The Prince Regent - which do fairly upmarket catering.


Establishments such as the Gongoozlers' Rest on the Grand Union at Braunston must get much of their trade from people who go for a day out to look at a busy canal centre. Gongoozlers, in a word.


That's the Gongoozlers' Rest behind my "breakfast in a bap".

We've been to the Moonraker Tea Room at Slaithwaite on the Huddersfield Narrow: once for an ice cream, and once for a cup of tea.

Then there's the floating Thai restaurant on the River Wensum in Norwich ... there must be many more examples of this kind of thing.

Andrew Denny featured the Curry Boat on Granny Buttons recently, now that's my sort of floating restaurant!