Caravel

"Caravel understands the importance of that indefinable ‘specialness’ that going out for dinner should make you feel. The candlelit, can-I-squeeze-past-you-sized restaurant in Islington is the kind of place that serves potato rösti and caviar alongside jelly and cream. It’s intimate, it’s cool, and it’s also on a boat. Yes, it’s a bistro-ish restaurant on a bobbing barge, and it’s easily one of London’s most unique openings of 2022. Not because cashmere-like chicken liver pâté was invented on this boat, nor because the menu jumps from fat slabs of homemade prawn toast to ricotta gnudi. It’s because everything about Caravel—the delicious, good-value food, the charming hosting, the space you’ll tell your friends about—comes to it completely and utterly naturally." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak

"Caravel is a candlelit barge that’s permanently moored between Old Street and Angel. Its intimate cabin dining room is matched by excellently cooked bistro-ish food that dots around from thickly stuffed prawn toast to chicken liver pâté so smooth that an influencer would be forgiven for trying to contour with it. The flickering mood lighting, good-value wine list, and the extremely cannily placed cocktail barge, Bruno’s, next door makes for a memorable restaurant that’s as romantic as it is reasonable." - rianne shlebak, jake missing, sinead cranna

"Oh look, we’ve only gone and set the scene for you to seductively hum David Gray’s Sail Away to your date. Actually, please don’t do that. Partially because this maroon bistro-esque barge in Islington never actually floats away but also because it’s a terrible, terrible idea. Arguably London’s most alluring floating fire hazard, Caravel is packed full of enough candles to ensure that skin contact—of both the wine and PDA variety—thrives. The dishes are a selection of British-meets-European love matches like confit duck and pickled plum salad, and if you’re just looking to do drinks, head to their neighbouring bar(ge), Bruno’s.  " - heidi lauth beasley

"Caravel is our favourite floating restaurant in London. It also gets the high accolade of being London’s most alluring floating fire hazard. On board this charming maroon barge near Islington, you’ll find lots of candles, natural wine, and our canapé sweetheart, the caviar-topped potato rösti. The menu, like the space, is compact but the medley of British and European classics is just as delightful as the houseboat heaven look. As you can probably guess, it’s perfect for a romantic date night followed by a stroll along Regent’s Canal. " - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak

"Anthony Minghella’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley is the seminal holiday film. Core to its brilliance is a series of things: linen, Philip Seymour Hoffman, the rippling waves around Positano, and boats. We’re not saying that anything nefarious is going to happen on Caravel’s bobbing little bistro boat. Nor are we saying that Jude Law is going to look you in the eye and ask whether you’d like jelly cream. But we are saying that being on a boat, even one moored in Angel, is a lovely thing. Especially when silky smooth pâté and crab tagliatelle is involved." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna