Dock Kitchen

Dock Kitchen is not the positive advertisement for Tom Dixon's furniture that one might expect. Set in the designer's Ladbroke Grove HQ, the restaurant has been open less than two years, yet the Slab chairs, in particular, were looking the worse for wear - and the way the arms butt up against the table drove us crazy, as we kept hitting our elbows. No sale.

With drinks company Innocent's head office also just a hop across the canal, this otherwise remote but surprisingly pretty place has the air of an upstart River Café about it - and perhaps not surprisingly, given that chef Stevie Parle used to work there, as well as at Petersham Nurseries Café and Moro.

His spin on relaxed, big-flavoured cooking incorporates diverse recipes gleaned from his travels, so a typical menu leaps from Yorkshire to Spain to the Lebanon, then to Kerala and Mexico.

Fans of rosé, be warned, there's only one option and it's £32 a bottle (strange, given the spacious alfresco dining terrace), but the £18 vermentino from the Languedoc will do on a hot day.

Staff were relaxed, keen to help and friendly - indeed, although it's easy to dislike an overhyped spot such as this, we were utterly charmed, despite those damn chairs.

Since January 2012, Dock Kitchen has opened the Kitchenette bar on the same premises. Drinks and nibbles are served from 6.30-11pm Thur-Sat.