In London, a restaurant can be almost anything: a cat home, a co-working space, even a public toilet – nowhere is off-limits for a great sharing plate or killer coffee. Lately, though, we've found that some of our favourite restaurants are also our favourite galleries, workshop venues and performance spaces. Is it really too much to ask to eat our dinner in the shadow of a Damien Hirst? Or lunch where the salt and pepper shakers are designed by a Turner prize-nominated artist? Or, just for once, attend a philosophy discussion while grabbing a coffee? We thought not – so we've rounded up our favourite places to get a culture fix with a side of great food and drink.
Tramshed
Have you ever walked into a restaurant and thought, 'What this place really needs is a chicken on top of a cow, preserved in formaldehyde and suspended above the diners in a steel and glass tank'? Then you must be a Damien Hirst fan, in which case we have the perfect restaurant for you. Tramshed's Hirst collection isn't limited to this most eye-catching piece – they also have a painting especially created for owner Mark Hix, featuring '90s cartoon characters Cow and Chicken. Dotted across the restaurant are pieces from other YBAs, too, like Fiona Rae and Angus Fairhurst. If you're a fan of modern British art and modern British cooking, you won't find a better dinner reservation in town.
Tramshed
32 Rivington St, London EC2A 3LX
020 7749 0478
Carousel
Roll up! Roll up! The greatest attraction in London's cultural funfair has arrived, right in the heart of Marylebone. Carousel is the brainchild of four cousins who wanted to bring the very best food, art and culture from around the world to London. They have an ever-changing programme of head chefs, which in the past has included R29 favourite Chinese Laundry plus international rising stars like Céline Pham and Olia Hercules. Carousel has also teamed up with London's finest creatives outside of the kitchen, to host everything from life-drawing and terrarium-making classes to live comedy and reflexology workshops. If you're looking for something a little less hands-on, their art space hosts exhibitions of emerging and exciting artists. Be sure to get to them before they're gone!
Carousel
71 Blandford St, Marylebone, London W1U 8AB
020 7487 5564
Rex Whistler Restaurant
Before Tate Modern turned a power station into a cultural institution and before Tate St Ives and Tate Liverpool became the UK's trendiest artistic outposts, there was Tate Britain. The gallery is home to some of the greatest works of British art, from Hogarth to Turner to Bacon, all of which can be admired free of charge as part of the permanent collection. One of Tate Britain's greatest pieces, though, can only be seen in their restaurant, as it's painted directly onto the walls. Rex Whistler's mural, The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, was unveiled in 1927 and has been delighting diners ever since. The other delight here is the wine list – if you can tear your eyes from the walls, you'll find some truly amazing wines and might even snag a great deal on a bottle or two. We think an underpriced glass of fine wine is a work of art in itself.
Rex Whistler Restaurant
Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
020 7887 8825
Sketch
The UK's art scene has embraced Instagram and nowhere is this more in evidence than at Sketch. The aptly named Gallery restaurant is entirely designed by top British artist David Shrigley and, while the food is delicious (especially the afternoon tea), it's probably the crockery covered with Shrigley's uniquely hilarious drawings that will end up on your feed. They do serve perfectly shaken cocktails and excellent wines but you may be more interested to know that they arrive on a tumblr pink and copper drinks trolley, also designed by Shrigley. That drinks trolley, by the way, matches the pink domed ceiling, pink velvet booths, pink velvet swivel chairs, the copper bar and copper table lamps... you may feel like taking a picture. Then there's the loo, complete with individual pods, a rainbow roof and a bar underneath. You might have seen it somewhere before...
Sketch
9 Conduit St, Mayfair, London W1S 2XG
020 7659 4500
MEATliquor
Once upon a time, art was made on canvases and graffiti was a public nuisance, but that was a very long time ago indeed. Today, London is so proud of its street art that you can take a tour of the very best, so it's no great surprise that local burger mavericks MEATliquor chose to cover their central London restaurant in art from a spray can. There's a lot to look at here – the metal trays groaning under their signature Dead Hippie burgers, friends piling into the photo booth and very hungry diners (with very strong stomachs) taking on the Triple Chili Challenge – but the graffiti is the star of the show. Created by UK-based design "crüe" I Love Dust, there are details hidden all over the restaurant. If you can put down your burger for a moment...
MEATliquor
Locations across London
Scarfes Bar
Do you fancy grabbing a cocktail with Mick Jagger, a cup of tea with Harry Potter or perhaps sharing a portion of butter chicken with Prince Harry? As unlikely as it may seem, all you need to do in that case is head to London's most luxurious hotel, Rosewood. They've teamed up with caricaturist Gerald Scarfe to turn their bar into a gallery of the UK's great and good. From the Royal Family to Simon Cowell to Boris Johnson, you can spend an evening here finding your favourite funny portrait – but we won't blame you if you're a little distracted by the drinks on offer.
Scarfes Bar
Rosewood London, 252 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EN
020 3747 8670
Bronte
Great design is hard to find but at Bronte it seems to be everywhere. Everything from the bottle-green leather booths to the pewter pendant lights hanging from the double-height ceiling and the pink cocktail bar is a designer's dream. This shouldn't come as a surprise, though, as Bronte was imagined by Tom Dixon. The iconic British designer's pieces reside in MOMA and the V&A, and his attention to detail at Bronte makes popping in for a green juice feel like stepping inside a great curator's collection. As well as the larger interior design, small artworks are scattered across tables and booths, to be discovered at your leisure. Rush to Bronte immediately but linger once you're there. It's not just a monument to great design and a great British artist, it's a beautiful place to be.
Bronte
Bronte, Grand Building, 1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5EJ
020 7930 8855
The Gallery Café at St. Margaret's House
If you're looking for somewhere to feed your mind as well as your stomach, we have just the place. The Gallery Café is part of Bethnal Green's St. Margaret's House, a charity that's all about creativity and wellbeing. Here you can find great vegan and vegetarian food but also an ever-changing art exhibition, open mic night, philosophy discussion group and book club – all of which you can enjoy completely free of charge. Should you feel inspired, sign up to one of their workshops or classes and become the artist you always knew you were. You could leave having learned to paint, embroider, philosophise or just having had a great vegan brownie. Either way, we say it's worth a visit.
The Gallery Café
St. Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PJ
020 8980 2092
Coda
When Queen Victoria opened The Royal Albert Hall in 1871, she was reportedly too overcome by the majesty of this monument to her beloved husband to speak. The building, and the art it contains, has been leaving people speechless ever since. Everyone from Albert Einstein and Pink Floyd to Cirque du Soleil and Eurovision has graced the Hall, which now also boasts its very own restaurant, Coda. With stellar views of the building's lit-up facade, you can dine from a menu of top seasonal food and sip fine wines in a space that some of the UK's greatest musical and comedic talent has called home.
Coda
Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, Kensington, London SW7 2AP
0845 401 5045
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