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Harden's survey result
Summary
“The setting is just ‘wow’ on a sunny day” – “a secret paradise among the plants and bushes in a greenhouse” – “but the food is such a disappointment” (“seemingly great ingredients but very mediocre cooking”) nowadays at this venue near Richmond Park that became famous under former chef Skye Gyngell a decade ago. It now has a smart offshoot in Covent Garden, but there’s “something missing” at the original – not to speak of “the inadequate facilities, which leave you queueing outdoors for the toilet... in January!”.
Summary
“The setting is just ‘wow’ on a sunny day” – “a secret paradise among the plants and bushes in a greenhouse” – “but the food is such a disappointment” (“seemingly great ingredients but very mediocre cooking”) nowadays at this venue near Richmond Park that became famous under former chef Skye Gyngell a decade ago. It now has a smart offshoot in Covent Garden, but there’s “something missing” at the original – not to speak of “the inadequate facilities, which leave you queueing outdoors for the toilet... in January!”.
Summary
“It’s just fab eating great food in a greenhouse in summer or on a blue-sky winter’s day”, say fans of this “unique and magical” destination (part of a garden centre near Ham Common), which famously “oozes Bohemian charm” and is a top “romantic” trysting spot. Even those who feel its modern British cuisine is “very good” however, concede that it’s “probably not as good as it was a few years ago” (when Skye Gyngell was at the stoves, and pioneering the use of edible flowers) and more cynical souls ponder whether “seating you amongst the potted plants on rickety furniture lets them get away with the high prices and mediocre service”. It now has a sibling in Covent Garden (see also).
Summary
“It looks so magical”, and there’s “genuinely nowhere else like” this “secret-garden-style” venue near Richmond Park – a “truly enchanting” candle-lit greenhouse, within a garden centre – and the fact that “you can take a riverside stroll before or after your meal is heaven!”. “On a dull day however, the wobbly tables and chairs, untrained waiters, and ridiculous queues for the toilets make you feel that at these prices, you’re being ripped off”, especially as when it comes to the ambitious cuisine nowadays, while “the ingredients are interesting, their realisation is only fair”.
For 30 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 Petersham Nurseries Cafe?
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £27.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 12.50% |
Church Lane (signposted 'St Peter's Church'), off Petersham Road, Richmond, TW10 7AB
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑5 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑5 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑11 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑5 pm |
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