Called Peggy Jean, the restaurant will be housed on the restored Jesus College Boat Race Barge which, along with its pontoon, is being transformed into a 120-cover floating dining space.
The barge will house a restaurant while the pontoon will offer fire-based open-air dining on warmer days that will house two woodfired pizza ovens, called ‘Peggy’ and ‘Jean’. Pizza options will include classics such as a margherita and hot sausage as well as the more quirky, such as Vegemite and cheese option and The Aussie, made with cured leg ham, tomatoes, BBQ pineapple, London mozzarella, Clarence Court egg and pink pickled onions.
The dinner menu will feature meats from HG Walter and sustainably sourced seafood dishes from day boats, all cooked over flame. The restaurant will also serve a bottomless brunch.
It is not the first time the group has take to the waters with its restaurants. It also operates the Darcie & May Green barges on Paddington’s Grand Union Canal
“Peggy Jean, named after my two grandmas, will be one of the most special and historic riverside dining destinations in London and we can’t wait to open her doors,” says Prue Freeman, founder of Daisy Green Collection.
“Boats and water have been a large part of our story, also collaborating with Sir Peter Blake to deliver our iconic Darcie & May Green barges on the Grand Union Canal in Paddington. The allure of the water and feeling of calm is unbeatable and reminds me of home.”
Opening on 27 July, Peggy Jean will be Daisy Green Collection’s 12th venue and will soon be joined by Mayfair institution Scott’s, which is opening a riverside restaurant in Richmond later this year.
London’s waterways remain an alluring destination for restaurateurs. In 2020, The Cheese Bar founder Matthew Carver opened The Cheese Barge on Grand Union Canal and, more recently, the Spiteri brothers launched Caravel in a converted barge also on the canal.