Pret A Manger

You're in Canary Wharf, it's 12:47pm, and you need something edible that doesn't involve a corporate restaurant. Pret's here on the ground floor of Cabot Place, doing what it does reliably: turning out fresh sandwiches, decent pastries, and espresso-based coffee that's leagues ahead of the stuff in your office kitchen. It's the kind of place where you'll recognise half the queue—bankers, consultants, the occasional creative who's wandered over from Shoreditch—all craving something proper during their lunch break. The sandwiches rotate regularly enough that you're not eating the same thing every day, though the classics never leave. Prices won't shock you (around £5-7 for a sandwich), and the staff actually remember regulars. Not fancy, not trying to be, but genuinely useful.