Harden's survey result
Summary
“Seasonal cooking in the lovely surroundings of Lambeth’s Garden Museum” “always feels like a treat”, with “fresh ingredients well prepared in a wonderfully light room”. Open since 2017 in “the converted church of St Mary”, it has built a quiet reputation for its “gorgeous food and location” – best enjoyed over lunch along with a visit to the museum. Top Tip – “the view from the church tower is fantastic”.
Summary
This quietly ambitious kitchen at Lambeth’s Garden Museum is a real magnet for diners in-the-know (“I’d happily eat here once a week if I lived locally – it’s always different!”). Former Noble Rot head chef Myles Donaldson delivers a daily changing lunch menu that’s not vegetarian or even vegan, but strong on both camps and on delivering “good, healthy food”. The interior is simple, but enhanced by floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto the street and into the garden. (There’s also coffee, cakes, etc all day).
Summary
“Excellent food in a leafy setting, especially on a warm and bright day” makes the elevated café at Lambeth’s Garden Museum “a complete go-to” for foodies in the know. George Ryle, the chef who co-founded it to great acclaim in 2017, left after five years to return to his native Yorkshire, but the kitchen has barely missed a beat under his successor Myles Donaldson (ex-Noble Rot and Anchor & Hope among others).
Summary
The “fantastic food” is in a very different league to that of most museum cafés, in this attractive space off the gorgeous courtyard of Lambeth’s Garden Museum, where former Padella chef, George Ryle, is responsible for “fresh and interesting cooking” with an Italian accent. But not all the typical norms have been neglected: there’s also “delicious coffee and cakes”.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at The Garden Cafe, Garden Museum?
5 Lambeth Palace Rd, London, SE1 7LB
Restaurant details
The Garden Cafe, Garden Museum Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Enjoyed a delicious lunch with flavourful food and solicitous service, the space is beautiful and feels too verdant to be so close to Westminster. The neighbouring Garden Museum does rather skew the demographic on a weekday lunch."
"Nice food ambience ok but could be better"
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.50 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £4.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
5 Lambeth Palace Rd, London, SE1 7LB
Opening hours
| Monday | 10 am‑4 pm |
| Tuesday | 10 am‑4 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Wednesday | 10 am‑4 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am‑4 pm |
| Friday | 10 am‑4 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am‑4 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am‑4 pm |
Best British, Modern restaurants nearby
British, Modern restaurant in Westminster
British, Modern restaurant in Westminster
British, Modern restaurant in Pimlico
Best similarly priced restaurants nearby
British, Modern restaurant in Vauxhall
French restaurant in Southwark
British, Modern restaurant in Southwark
