SPOTLIGHT

Museum restaurants

1 Garden Café at the Garden Museum, London

One of London’s lesser-known museums, this Lambeth gem is dedicated to all things horticultural, and its fantastic restaurant opened in a modern glass extension in 2017. The menu changes with the seasons, but might typically include mackerel with cucumber, apple and kohlrabi, or, say, runner beans with pickled walnuts and poached egg. Desserts are strong, too; look out for the treacle tart. gardenmuseum.org.uk/cafe

2 Boatyard at Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex

Run by Kate and Ben O’norum, the pair behind Farmyard in neighbouring St Leonards-on-sea, Boatyard opened at Hastings Contemporary art gallery in January. It sits in a modern waterside space and has a menu centred around the daily catch from the local fishing fleet. There’s also charcuterie, veg and bread from the region, plus a list of biodynamic and lowintervention wines. boatyardhastings.com

3 V&A Café at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The world’s first museum cafe, opened in 1856, is made up of three ornate rooms. Designed by William Morris, James Gamble and Edward J Poynter, it’s a living artwork, adorned with bright glazed tiles, paintings, stained glass, wooden carvings and Morris’ distinctive prints. With sandwiches, salads, cakes and teas on offer, the menu is quite traditional, but it’s worth visiting for the setting alone. vam.ac.uk/info/va-cafe

4 Roth Bar & Grill at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Bruton

The rural outpost of international gallerists Hauser & Wirth is built on a working farm in Bruton, while the restaurant is housed in a converted cow shed. The menu capitalises on the location, with meat from the farm and fresh veg from the kitchen garden. The bar was designed by the son and grandson of Swiss artist Dieter Roth and built from locally sourced reclaimed materials. rothbarandgrill.co.uk

5 The Scottish Café & Restaurant at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh

Just as the gallery flies the flag for Scottish artists, its restaurant showcases the best Scottish produce and dishes. Run by the Contini family, who are also behind two other top Edinburgh restaurants (Contini and Cannonball), the restaurant overlooks Princes Street Gardens and offers a menu that incorporates classics such as beef mince and tatties, cullen skink, haggis and fresh seafood. contini.com/scottish-cafe-and-restaurant

FROM TOP: Sea bass ceviche at Boatyard; V&A Café; espresso martini at Boatyard