When a top chef claims to be opening a 'simple', 'low-key' restaurant, it is usually press-speak for some folie de grandeur two doors down from the Ivy with an £85 tasting menu. Skye Gyngell's cafe at Petersham nurseries is the exception. Located in what I can only describe as a shed (spacious, light and furnished, but definitely a shed), it's the sort of restaurant where you'll see the chef popping out of the kitchen to pick herbs from the garden, and where the strongest booze on offer is homemade lemonade. And it's absolutely perfect, especially in summer, when you can sit in the garden. Superb meat and glowingly fresh vegetables peep from beneath mountains of herbs. Of course, all this rustic simplicity doesn't come cheap. Dirt floors, rickety furniture and food bought directly from tiny organic farms all over Europe are ferociously chic at the moment, and prices are high for a restaurant that is such a long way from anywhere. Still, if you'd prefer a relaxed meal in a lovely location to an army of uniformed staff, then this is the place to go. As a lighter alternative, you can always settle for a cup of tea (from exotic flower teas to the traditional English Breakfast) and a nice slice of cake in the Teahouse.
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When a top chef claims to be opening a 'simple', 'low-key' restaurant, it is usually press-speak for some folie de grandeur two doors down from the Ivy with an £85 tasting menu. Skye Gyngell's cafe at Petersham nurseries is the exception. Located in what I can only describe as a shed (spacious, light and furnished, but definitely a shed), it's the sort of restaurant where you'll see the chef popping out of the kitchen to pick herbs from the garden, and where the strongest booze on offer is homemade lemonade. And it's absolutely perfect, especially in summer, when you can sit in the garden. Superb meat and glowingly fresh vegetables peep from beneath mountains of herbs. Of course, all this rustic simplicity doesn't come cheap. Dirt floors, rickety furniture and food bought directly from tiny organic farms all over Europe are ferociously chic at the moment, and prices are high for a restaurant that is such a long way from anywhere. Still, if you'd prefer a relaxed meal in a lovely location to an army of uniformed staff, then this is the place to go. As a lighter alternative, you can always settle for a cup of tea (from exotic flower teas to the traditional English Breakfast) and a nice slice of cake in the Teahouse.