Feast among ancient ruins

Once, museums were dry and dusty places where long, glass-topped cases of ancient artefacts lined the walls and elderly gentlemen snoozed on chairs to prevent you from making off with the Neolithic arrowheads.

The pictures were old and dark, with several generations' worth of varnish, while the food, if you could find any food, conformed to its surroundings -dry, dusty, old and dark. Suddenly everything changed - displays went interactive, the lighting got brighter, and even the old gentlemen became more alert. The food also changed, and now you can eat fairly well at museums - here are a few places where it is not impossible to combine a dose of culture with a decent feed.

The Restaurant, Geffrye Museum **

Kingsland Road, E2 (020-7739 9893). Tue-Sat (Sun lunch only) £20
It is easy to be smitten with the charms of the Geffrye Museum, as you walk through a series of room sets, which show how our domestic interiors have changed between 1600 and the present day. It is fascinating to listen to the other visitors and guess from their ages at exactly which point they will start squawking, 'We had one of those.'

The restaurant at the Geffrye is elegant, modern and airy, and looks out on to the stunning gardens that make up the rear of the site. It is a calm, sleepy sort of place, and the menu is practical. There are sandwiches, soup, bagels and a handful of lunch dishes, such as bangers and mash, a smoked chicken salad, or salmon fishcakes with creamed leeks and spinach.

The Restaurant, Tate Britain ***

Millbank, SW1 (020-7887 8877). Mon-Sun (lunch only) £80
This restaurant benefits from two main features - firstly, there is a splendid mural running around the walls, which adds tone, and secondly, it has a cherished reputation as a wine buff's paradise. The link between wine and the Tate was established in the Seventies, when their enlightened policy of buying good wine young and storing it themselves started to bear fruit. Suddenly, there was fine wine to be had at bargain prices. The prices are not quite so bargain any more, but this place does have a well-above-average list and a profusion of half bottles. The menu is tailored to suit and offers modern British food, with enough plain dishes to nurture even fussy winelovers' palates. There is a set lunch priced at £17.50 for two courses and £20.50 for three.

Blueprint Cafe ****

Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 (020-7378 7031). Mon-Sat (Sun lunch only) £60
The Blueprint Cafe is perched on top of the Design Museum, and head chef Jeremy Lee is back on top form. The menu is strictly seasonal, and dishes have the happy knack of teaming wildly different flavours and textures. On a recent visit there was an exceptional starter - preserved garlic, tapenade and goats' cheese - light and lemony goats' cheese on toast with the coarsely chopped olive tapenade and a whole head of garlic softened, sweetened by slow cooking. There's a set menu for early evening and lunch at the weekends - £17 for two courses and £21 for three. And an encouraging section on the wine list featuring 20 bottles at under £20.

The Portrait Restaurant ***

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2 (020-7312 2490). Mon-Sun (Sat-Wed lunch only) £80
As you enter the National Portrait Gallery, you rise up through its interior on a giant escalator, which is only saved from comparison with the Piccadilly Line by high ceilings and plenty of light. The Portrait Restaurant is at the very top of the building, and if you are hoping for one of those 'dramatic skyline' kind of views, be prepared for a more interesting look at various other roofs. This is a grownup restaurant, which is part of the Searcy's stable. There's an imposing bar. At lunch main courses run from just over £10 to nearly £20 - rump of lamb, peppered sirloin of beef, slowcooked fillet of salmon. Afternoon tea is available.

Cafe Bagatelle

The Wallace Collection, Manchester Square, W1 (020-7563 9500). Mon-Sun £20 **
As a museum the Wallace Collection is something of a hidden gem, and one with an admirable hands-on attitude - in the Conservation Gallery there are pieces of replica armour that you can try on for yourself. Cafe Bagatelle occupies the courtyard at the rear, and the museum took the bold step of glassing over the whole area to make this imposing atrium. When it's cold and grey, this must add a useful area for eating in, but on those days when the sun shines, you get to feel like a tomato in a July greenhouse. Afternoon tea is handled with some panache at Bagatelle - finger sandwiches, good scones, home-made cakes.