Sit down. Let them watch the world work.

Drink: Georgian riverside pub, big windows, sensible food, quieter than the town centre.

Note: Working river: tugs, aggregate barges and the odd tall ship heading for the O2.

Drink: Bakery counter — pastries to eat while the diggers dig.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: A pub literally on the District line platform, with outside tables trackside.

Note: District line trains and North London Line freight running through, feet away.

Drink: Bakery counter — pastries to eat while the diggers dig.

Drink: Upstairs station pub in the old parcel office, with windows straight onto the platforms.

Note: LNER Azumas and the Hull and Lumo trains coming and going, right beneath the window seats.

Drink: Antipodean-run, endlessly consistent, and the best-run small café in the West End.

Note: A rolling programme of office rebuilds around Mortimer and Wells Street. Frequent crane lifts.

Drink: Prison-training roastery with a proper espresso programme. Flat whites are consistently excellent.

Note: Ongoing office and residential plots around Handyside Street. Tower cranes, concrete pours, and a near-constant stream of tipper lorries.

Drink: Specialty roaster with genuinely dialled-in espresso and a calm, glassy room.

Note: Rolling towers along the river. Crawler cranes, piling rigs, and the odd concrete pump on a good day.

Drink: Creaky old riverside pub with a jetty terrace out the back.

Note: River traffic passing close in, with Wapping directly opposite.

Drink: A narrow 500-year-old riverside pub with a deck straight over the Thames.

Note: Clippers, tugs and barges going by on the tide, with Canary Wharf behind them.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: Proper pub: soft drinks, chips and a decent view of the site.

Drink: Independent café — coffee, cake and a window on the works.

Drink: A converted Victorian gents' lavatory, which toddlers find hilarious. Good espresso too.

Note: Continuing over-station and office development. Hoardings, hoists and a decent amount of banging.

Drink: The original London specialty roaster. Queue moves fast; the coffee is worth it.

Note: Guy's campus works plus the Vinegar Yard tower. Tall cranes clearly visible from the street.

Drink: Hackney's original specialty roaster. Small inside, but the pavement is the point.

Note: Ongoing canalside blocks between Broadway Market and Haggerston. Cranes and barge deliveries.

Drink: Social-enterprise roastery training people out of homelessness. The coffee stands on its own.

Note: The long-planned Peckham town centre rebuild. Demolition and enabling works with heavy plant.

Drink: Widely rated among the best espresso bars in the City. Standing room mostly.

Note: Several towers under construction around Leadenhall and Undershaft. Cranes everywhere on the skyline.

Drink: Railway arch café in the market yard, small but very well run.

Note: Enabling works and phased riverside construction. Piling rigs and site traffic.

Drink: On-site roastery in the basement. One of the most serious coffee operations in London.

Note: A long-running cluster of office builds and the Goodsyard site. Cranes visible in most directions.

Drink: A London specialty institution. Brew bar, competition-grade baristas, no fuss.

Note: The Smithfield General Market conversion. Scaffolding, hoardings and steady heavy plant movement.