Restaurants

Despite Rex Whistler’s wonderful 1927 mural, The Expedition In Pursuit of Rare Meats, which winds itself around the walls, Tate Britain’s restaurant lacks atmosphere – maybe it’s the big white pillars that divide the space or the ugly false ceiling. The lunchtime crowd (it’s not open in the evening), mainly gallery-goers of a certain age, are a sober lot too. You can also visit for breakfast (pastries, a couple of cooked dishes) or tea (cakes, traditional afternoon tea, savoury snacks). No praise could overstate the excellence or reasonable pricing of the wine list; it’s one of the few in London where the under-£25 bracket is taken just as seriously as fancy claret and Bordeaux. The food is a different matter. It’s a fixed price per course (with five or six choices in each), so you pay £14.95 for a main, regardless of whether you opt for Gressingham duck breast with braised lettuce and broad bean velouté or the vegetarian dish of cauliflower and goat’s cheese gratin with tomato and lentil sauce (much cheaper ingredients, surely?). The food is pleasant if unadventurous – though the puds (elderflower sorbet with fennel crisp, say, or chocolate truffle with cherry compote) are always worth trying – but now that the National Gallery has revamped its eating outlets to great success, isn’t it time Tate followed suit?

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008