Enjoying the art of food

There was a time when eating in the restaurants and cafès of London's museums and galleries was the penance for seeing great collections. But there's been a dramatic change...

Last year Oliver Peyton launched the National Dining Rooms at the National Gallery to resounding critical acclaim. Dishes include watercress, dandelion and pink fir apple potato salad or glazed shoulder and roast loin of Suffolk lamb with purple sprouting broccoli and lush dark chocolate trifle. The highlight is a good selection of British cheeses. Sainsbury Wing, The National Gallery, WC2 (020 7747 2525) £57.

Sir Terence Conran's Blueprint Cafè at The Design Museum has stunning views over the Thames. Chef Jeremy Lee's easy-going, modern British menu might include crisp asparagus and Parmesan rolls followed by ox tongue with beetroot and horseradish. Also open on Sundays for a roast. Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 (020 7378 7031) £45.

An oasis of calm amid the Barbican Centre, Searcy's is a smart and very enjoyable restaurant. With imaginative dishes such as Italian cured meats with truffle pecorino cheese or Pyrenees lamb with braised coco beans, chorizo, baby spinach and roast garlic. Level 2, Barbican, Silk Street, EC2 (020 7588 3008) from £42.35.

A maritime theme prevails in the elevated surroundings of The Admiralty. Dishes include salmon and scallop terrine with citrus and baby cress salad or rump of Cornish lamb with dauphinoise potato, flageolet beans and herb jus. Somerset House, Strand, WC2 (020 7845 4646) £68.

The Wallace at The Wallace Collection (also from Oliver Peyton) is well-honed modern brasserie cooking. The results are notable. From tartare of blue fin tuna with crème fra"che to a subtly spiced roasted baby chicken on cedar wood. Light savoury items and a patisserie are also of note. The place itself is delightful. There's a glassed over atrium with a limestone courtyard and Japanese maple trees. The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1 (020 7563 9505) £69.50.

The Court Restaurant offers an unpretentious menu under the British Museum's glass roof. Visitors can enjoy the likes of radicchio risotto with prosciutto followed by fillet of beef and red peppers, ginger with spiced eggplant and Dijon mustard. The British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1 (020 7323 8990) £44.

Located amid the newly reopened British Film Institute at the Southbank, Benugo Bar & Kitchen is the first restaurant-style offshoot of the popular café chain. The cooking is kept simple such as chicken liver and lemon grass paté or lamb shank ragout with ricotta dumplings. BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1 (020 7401 9000) from £50.

The Art Deco surroundings of the Royal Institute of British Architects sits well with the brasserie-style cooking of the RIBA Cafè & Restaurant. From quality sandwiches to pan-seared fillet of John Dory with wilted spinach and red wine jus. You can eat outside. RIBA, 66 Portland Place, W1 (0871 332 7841) £42.

The talking point at the Rex Whistler Restaurant at Tate Britain is usually the mural, The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, but the modern British food is fast becoming the focus. Choose from wild duck breast terrine with red onion confit, then mains such as pan- fried salmon with watercress and lobster sauce. Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1 (020 7887 8825) £58.