Chiswick House Café

Visiting the stately environs of Chiswick House, with its wide gravel pathways, ornamental plants, pristine rolling lawns and sweeping waterway feels like strolling through an Austen novel. The architectural box of a café (designed by Caruso St John) brings you back to the modern world. It may feel a little clinical inside but the exterior is softened by Portland stone, similar to that of the nearby Italianate Villa. Food, courtesy of Company of Cooks, starts in the morning with Union coffees, eggs Benedict and full English breakfasts. Lunches can be sandwiches on sourdough bread or perhaps roast salmon salads. Scones, indulgent chocolate fudge cakes and pots of tea hit the spot in the afternoon and there are wines or London Pride ale for something harder.