Company parties, product launches, leaving drinks and private celebrations for about 80 guests on the lower deck, or more with the whole boat. Tamesis Dock is a converted Dutch barge moored on the Thames at Albert Embankment, between Lambeth and Vauxhall bridges in London, run as a bar, kitchen and live music venue.
Seminars and company events
This is a place for company evenings rather than daytime seminars. The boat suits after-parties, launches, team nights out and end-of-year drinks, with a bar, a kitchen and a stage already on board. The group that hires the lower deck controls the music, which matters for a party with its own playlist or a DJ. Private bookings run until 1 a.m., the venue's normal closing time.
Smaller groups can reserve tables during opening hours. Larger groups can combine indoor and outdoor areas or take the whole vessel for a private night. Bookings go through an online form on the venue's site, and the team sets a minimum spend by area and date.
Rooms and capacities
The lower deck is the most requested space. It holds about 80 people comfortably, under a high ceiling and with views toward the Houses of Parliament. Because the rest of the boat stays accessible during a lower-deck booking, a party can spill over onto the other decks when the guest list grows.
Outdoors, the West Deck and the Stage area can be booked, either alone or together with the lower deck. Whole-boat hire brings every deck, the bar and the stage together for one group. The venue does not publish capacities for the outdoor areas or for the whole boat, so larger groups should give a firm headcount when they ask.
Catering
The kitchen serves dosas, hand-stretched pizzas and bar snacks, with a cocktail and drinks list. It runs from noon until 10 p.m. early in the week and until 11 p.m. from Wednesday to Saturday. The venue takes cards only, which is worth telling guests before a party with a pay bar. The site does not set out separate private-event menus, so food for a booking is agreed with the team.
History and setting
The hull is a 1930s Dutch barge. The venue traces its past as a champagne barge working between Paris and the Netherlands, then as a transport vessel during the Second World War, before a long stay in Paris and its conversion into a bar on the Thames. The boat is permanently moored and does not sail during events. From the decks, guests look across the river toward Westminster and Millbank.
Getting there
The address is Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TY. Vauxhall station, served by National Rail and the Victoria line, is about five minutes on foot. Westminster, Waterloo and Pimlico are also within reach. Buses 77, 344 and 360 stop nearby, and a cycle hire dock sits right next to the boat.
