New Moon on the Quay

New Moon on the Quay is a family-run harbourside restaurant at Kiosk 3, Hannover Quay, run by TK and Irena -- small plates built around a rotating monthly "new moon" special that reimagines a different world cuisine each cycle, alongside a broader tapas-style menu, and genuinely strong on dietary accommodation, with extensive gluten-free options called out specifically in multiple reviews. Reviewer sentiment is warm and consistent: praise for prawns, ceviche, dips and flatbreads, and a "gorgeous, intimate" room, tempered by at least one review flagging service as inconsistent on a given night -- normal variance for a small independent kitchen, not a pattern.

As a family-owned single site it clears the brief's independence bar cleanly, and the operators visibly want group and private bookings: Monday-to-Thursday group menus start from £35pp and, per the existing research, include a complimentary glass of Prosecco -- about as direct a "we want your booking" signal as anything on this shortlist, with group-dinner service confirmed running 5:30-10pm those same weeknights.

The genuine mismatch is scale, and it is worth being honest about rather than downplaying it: at roughly 45 seated and up to 80 standing, New Moon reads closer to a harbourside events venue built for larger private hire than the brief's intimate 20-40-cover room. A table of 10 would likely sit inside a much bigger room on a normal trading night rather than occupying a space genuinely sized around a party that size, and £35pp starting price is a touch above where several smaller independents on this list land. Hannover Quay itself is a quieter, more residential stretch of the harbourside than Wapping Wharf or the Centre -- exactly the kind of low-key setting this series wants -- even if the room behind the door is bigger than the brief describes.