Bites: Lunch ahoy

More places to eat and watch the world float by

The Aquarium, Ivory House, St Katharine's Dock, London E1 (020-7480 6116)

This Swedishly modish restaurant has an all-round view of yachts berthed in St Katharine's Dock in London. Committed to marine conservation, the majority of fish served are domestic, all are eco-friendly and some, such as zander, are from the chef's native Sweden. Pollack – with prawn and thyme mash – replaces the endangered cod; black bream with Parma ham, butter beans and caramelised Jerusalem artichokes is typically inventive. Set menu £17.50 for two courses.

Cherwell Boathouse, 50 Bardwell Road, Oxford (01865 552746)

Long overdue refurbishment has brought this Oxford institution forward from the Seventies without losing its charm. More space outside and more windows give everyone a view of passing punts. A bigger kitchen should mean sharper cooking of modern English dishes: grey mullet with roast peppers; shrimp, pea and saffron risotto; summer pudding or poached pears with cinnamon ice cream. Three courses £21.50, two-course lunch £12.50. Many great, mainly French wines from £9.

Grove Ferry Inn, Upstreet, Kent (01227 860302)

Shepherd Neame, brewer of impeccable ales, has given this riverside pub a pale and interesting makeover, and tasteful bedrooms. Bar food is served all day and there's a zesty European menu at lunch and dinner: antipasti or crab cakes; breast of chicken stuffed with Brie and wrapped in bacon among mains from £7.50-£12; and treacle pudding or lemon tart. There's a terrace and decking outside on this stretch of the Stour between Canterbury and Sandwich.

Riverside Brasserie, Bray Marina, Bray, Berkshire (01628 780553)

The offspring of Bray's Fat Duck occupies an unassuming pavilion in a marina, atmospherically scented with diesel fumes. But you'll get more than a glimpse of the greatness of Heston Blumenthal's cooking from rib eye steak with his legendary chips (which undergo three stages of cooking) and marrowbone sauce, salmon given a confit treatment with sensational new potato salad, and a unguent chocolate tart, all on a set lunch menu for £12.95.