I worked at the Barbican for several years and during that time became very fond of its architecture. One of my favourite spaces within the centre is the conservatory, a giant tropical garden in the middle of a concrete city.

The Garden Museum and the Garden Museum Cafe are a welcome addition to an area of London that is slow to change. The food at the cafe is modern and seasonal, and the space is beautiful and looks out into a small garden by Dan Pearson. Christopher Woodward, the museum director, is active in improving and campaigning for local green spaces and creating space for the local community. The Museum lives inside an old 18th-century church and has a changing program of exhibits. Worth noting, it is a museum on the subject of gardening, not of gardens, so don’t expect many flower beds. Throughout the summer holidays, the Museum has lots of great events for kids, including cooking and drawing. Luke and I also designed the identity for the museum… the tote bags and visitor badges are particularly nice.

Great coffee, amazing food, wonderful staff... the perfect experience!

A gift from Kyoto - a beautiful hidden Japanese garden in Holland Park 

This vegetarian south Indian is a bit of a hidden gem, good curry friendly staff very reasonable with bring your own booze doesn’t get much better than that.