Best Family Restaurant
Winner
Gracelands
Cosy, friendly Gracelands boasts a well-equipped play area at the front with a book corner, home corner and a big squashy sofa. Food is made fresh daily and the special hot dish (fish pie or chicken provençal with rice, for example) sells out fast. Salads can be served with a variety of breads or one of the excellent quiches. The attention to detail extends to own-made breakfast cereals, gluten-free cakes and great coffee.
Gracelands, 118 College Rd, NW10 5HD (020 8964 9161) Kensal Green tube. Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm, Sat 9am-3pm, Sun 9am-2pm.
Runners-up
Crumpet
Staff here are saints when faced with fussy customers and cake-lobbing toddlers. Toasted cheese fingers and pasta dishes will satisfy the young ’uns on their return from the raised play area at back.
Crumpet, 66 Northcote Rd, SW11 6QL (020 7924 1117) Clapham Junction rail. Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-6pm.
Eddie Catz
A fiver buys children access to interactive video games, internet, table ice hockey and a themed adventure playframe at this bright, clean first-floor play centre and café. Fresh, light and simple food includes pots of carrot and cucumber sticks, pasta, pizza slices and generously filled paninis. Eddie Catz, 68-70 Putney High St, SW15 1SF (0845 201 1268/www.eddiecatz.com) Putney Bridge tube or Putney rail. Open Mon-Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun 10am-5pm.
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Tas
Families love this Anatolian mini-chain. There’s a choice of four set menus, and friendly staff are happy to explain each dish. This new branch is well placed for visits to the British Museum.
Tas, 22 Bloomsbury St, WC1B 3QJ (020 7637 4555/www.tasrestaurant.com) Tottenham Court Rd tube. Mon-Sat 12noon-11.30pm, Sun 12noon-10.30pm.
Tootsies Grill
More relaxed than Tootsies at Putney and Clapham, this branch is a short walk from the Natural History Museum. The kids’ menu (£4.95) includes organic dishes.
Tootsies Grill, 107 Old Brompton Rd, SW7 3LE (020 7581 8942) South Kensington tube. Open Mon-Thur 12noon-11pm, Fri 11am-11.30pm, Sat 10am-11.30pm, Sun 10am-11pm.
Best Alfresco Dining
Winner
Petersham Nurseries Cafe
Located alongside the Thames, and surrounded by meadows and paddocks, recently revamped Petersham Nurseries embodies all the trappings of old-fashioned rustic charm. Flanked by glasshouses, the garden centre’s café is furnished with reclaimed outdoor furniture, gloriously wonky tables, and heaps of blooms and garden greenery. The kitchen, sited in an old shed, has a homely cottage-like charm – but don’t let that fool you. Cooking, overseen by former Sugar Club chef Skye Gyngell, is delivered with professionalism and panache, and shows off quality produce, often grown on site. Expect thirst-quenching jugs of mint-infused lemonade made with Amalfi lemons, and sophisticated rose-scented Bellinis. Chilled gazpacho soup, thick with peppers, puréed tomatoes, and lashings of fruity olive oil, had an appealing rustic chunkiness, accented by its intense garlicky flavour. Mains of lightly fried wild salmon fillet, slathered with herby salsa verde, also satisfied with its fresh flavours and simple presentation. A seriously busy Sunday lunchtime didn’t faze the service team, who remained attentive and courteous throughout. A daily-changing menu is an added attraction – here’s hoping the strawberry-topped chocolate pots get another look-in soon.
Petersham Nurseries Café, off Petersham Rd, Petersham, nr Richmond, Surrey TW10 7AG (020 8605 3627/ www.petershamnurseries.co.uk) Richmond tube/rail then 65 bus or 30 mins walk. Open Wed-Sun 12.30-3.30pm.
Runners-up
Le Coq d’Argent
This lofty rooftop with formal Mediterranean-style garden and unparalleled skyline views is popular with business folk during the day and well-heeled diners after office hours. The kitchen focuses on regional French cooking, while the friendly Conran front-of-house staff can’t be faulted for their unobtrusive, on-the-ball service.
Le Coq d’Argent, No1 Poultry, EC2R 8EJ (020 7395 5000/www.conran.com) Bank tube/DLR. Open Mon-Fri 7.30-10am, 11.30am-3pm, 6-10pm; Sat 6.30-10pm; Sun 12noon-3pm.
Curve
This slick Modern American restaurant with outdoor waterside tables provides Manhattan-like views of skyscrapers and streetlife. The crowd is discerning, yet the menu of dressed-up classics, such as clam chowder, caesar salad, hunky steaks and fabulous fries, is reasonably priced. And don’t miss the delectable puds.
Curve, London Marriott, West India Quay, 22 Hertsmere Rd, E14 4ED (020 7093 1000 ext 2622) Canary Wharf tube/DLR or West India Quay DLR. Open Mon-Fri 6.30am-11am, 12noon-2.30pm, 5-10.30pm; Sat, Sun 7-11am, 12noon-2.30pm, 5-10.30pm.
Garden Café
This year saw the Garden Café in Regent’s Park celebrate its fortieth birthday with a smart retro-chic update of its decor. A tasteful, modern European menu – emphasising British produce – features such gems as ‘mum’s-own’ prawn cocktail or mellow wisps of smoked salmon with tart capers and soda bread slices. Outdoor tables are surrounded by soft foliage, rosebeds and attractive pots of fuchsias – the ideal place to enjoy a ploughman’s lunch, prawn cocktail, rosewater jelly or decadent pavlova. Garden Café, Inner Circle, Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU (020 7935 5729/ www.thegardencafe.co.uk) Baker St or Regent’s Park tube. Open daily 9am-dusk.
Inn the Park
Our Best Design winner couldn’t be omitted from the runners-up in this category either, with its perfect setting nudging the lakefront in pretty St James’s Park, surrounded by leafy greens and vibrant blooms. Restaurateur Oliver Peyton’s simple yet striking British menu offers full-on lunch and dinner options as well as informal teas, coffees and breakfasts. Relaxed yet professional staff are at home with kids and there’s a tempting list of child-friendly dishes to keep everyone well fed and happy.
Inn the Park, St James’s Park, SW1A 2BJ (020 7451 9999/www.innthepark.co.uk) St James’s Park tube. Open Mon 8-11am, 12noon-2.30pm; Tue-Fri 8am-11am, 12noon-2.30pm, 6-8.30pm; Sat 9-11am, 12noon-3pm, 6-8.30pm; Sun 9-11am, 12noon-3pm. Open daily for takeaway 11am-6pm.
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