Food + booze + art = Fun times. Spoonfed select our favourite places to eat and drink in or attached to art galleries.
Although we in England are often derided for the quality of our cuisine, there's no doubt that, in London at least, we're spoilt for choice when it comes to outstanding food. In the eyes of many, London is also the art capital of the world, and there are a whole host of places that allow visitors to experience both these elements of our fair city. Food and art: mmmm. And perhaps a smattering of booze for sir or madam? Splendid, thank you.
From haute cuisine to light snacks, here are Spoonfed's favourites:
The Approach
The Approach is a small, bright, airy gallery in Bethnal Green, specialising in cutting edge contemporary art, housed just above a rather pleasant pub of the same name. Standard pub fare – burgers, roasts etc – are all done well. There's also an excellent selection of ales and pleasant outdoor seating area.
Camden Arts Centre
Another place with a great outdoor space, the café at the Camden Arts Centre is an ideal spot to sit about reading the papers with a cup of tea and a slice of homemade cake. After perusing the cream of contemporary art, it's a tranquil zone in which to reflect on all those high-brow concepts.
Wallace Restaurant
One of the grandest settings for a restaurant in all of London. Set in the Wallace Collection's impressive Sculpture Garden, The Wallace serves up classic and contemporary French cuisine. It certainly isn't cheap – and every dish has a 40-word description – but it makes for a delightful evening.
ICA Cafe/Bar
The ICA is one of the best places in London to see contemporary art, catch a fascinating lecture or check out the latest band. There's also a bustling bar and café, with decent food: a perfect place to while away an evening watching all the trendies and their funny haircuts.
Louise T Blouin Institute
A beautifully-designed gallery near to Latimer Road tube station; there's a small café which is great for chic continental-style breakfasts. I enjoyed some excellent coffee and pastries here when I reviewed Design High.
Victoria & Albert Museum
God bless the V&A – apparently the Morris, Gamble and Poynter Rooms played host to the first museum restaurant in the world. Today they do lots of lovely salads, sandwiches and pastries and there's also a garden cafe for when the sun shines. The V&A is simply huge so it's definitely worth resting your feet and mind every twenty minutes or so.
Portraits (National Portrait Gallery)
Recently refurbished, the NPG restaurant Portraits is probably best-known for its magnificent views across London. As well as eating from the impressive à la carte menu you can also order snacks and drinks from the bar.
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery relocated to its current premises in 2008 and in '09 big Charles opened The Gallery Mess. The food's had mixed reviews, but there's a charming outdoor seating area. We suggest a nice bottle of Riesling in the Sloaney sun.
As you'd expect Tate Modern has an excellent café and restaurant, with a tantalising – if pricey – menu. Fish and veg feature strongly: try perhaps the Roast Cornish hake with samphire, cherry tomato and cockles. We particularly recommend the top floor – it's got amazing views and you can sneak onto the balcony for a cheeky smoke.
National Dining Rooms/National Cafe
The Oliver Peyton-run National Dining Rooms focuses on home-grown UK produce to great effect. Provenance is of paramount importance to new chef Simon Duff, and this is apparently the only place in the UK to offer the White Park beef of Bickleigh Farm, whatever that is.
Wellcome Collection
As befits one of my favourite places in London, the Wellcome Collection has a lovely little café in the main entrance run by Peyton & Byrne. The sandwiches are simple, reasonably priced and delicious. The canapés at Private Views are also great, but you have to be tremendously important to get invited to those...
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