Petersham Nurseries Cafe & Teahouse

I’ve wanted to go to Petersham Nurseries for quite a while, ever since I saw them at Wilderness Festival and learned of their Michelin star history. But I had no idea it was so accessible; I actually thought it was a lot further out from London! Unfortunately the day we went, the District line was down for maintenance and not going all the way to Richmond so we opted for an Über, but even that was only 25 – 30 minutes from South Kensington area. If you take the tube, it’s 25 – 30 minutes and then either another 30 minute walk or a 12 minute bus from Richmond. It’s right near one of the entrances to Richmond Park though, so I can definitely see myself pairing a visit with the park on a nice day in the summer!
The café is a gorgeous dining room with flower and arches in a covered greenhouse structure, just without the humidity! The ground is a bright dirt, so make sure you don’t put your bag on the ground and you are wearing shoes you don’t mind getting dirty and dusty. Our reservation was for 12:45 PM, but the room was about half full at the time and it filled up as our meal went on, as people seem to like late Sunday lunches. There was even a small dog at one of the tables beside us!
The menu is Italian inspired and perhaps the first thing to note is that it is rather pricey, with mains in the £20−35 range. To start, we ordered flatbread that was not at all what we expected. It was described as spiced but it was really fried and crispy, and served with a small portion of hummus made from chickpeas, cumin, and parsley. I would have liked a more generous serving of hummus to be honest, but it was delicious. We also got two orders of the burrata with grilled fennel and artichokes. They say it’s medium sized, but one would definitely not have been enough for five people.
For mains, most of us got the venison cacciatora. I didn’t really know what it was based off of the description on the menu, but when I asked they said it was venison prepared two ways, one braised and one more of a seared loin, and it was served with a mash of celeriac and potato, and some wilted cavolo nero. It wasn’t an overly large dish, but exactly what you would expect from fine dining and actually incredibly similar to my recent meal at Spring, whose chef Skye Gyngell used to run the Petersham Nurseries café. Guess that shouldn’t be much of a surprise.
After our meal, we took a nice walk around the nurseries and some of my friends bought hyacinths that were only £2 each! They also have a large assortment of other gardening items. We also walked by the teahouse that also seem very lovely and worth a return visit. I’d also like to come from the various events they have at the nurseries, such as wine tasting or the supper club. They also do weddings, and I can totally see this being a dream venue! I think they did it up really well; there are fairy lights and flowers everywhere, and it wasn’t cold in the slightest even in the dead of winter. I can’t wait to see what it is like in the spring or summer.

A beautiful space & lovely café surrounded by flora. Charming old greenhouses are full of both plants and also serve as seating for the restaurant and the café. The cakes are delicious, and stopping in for tea and a treat after a walk through Richmond Park is a treat!
The proper nursery offerings are beautiful and varied from houseplants to bedding flowers to fruit trees. Fully worth a wander round the grounds.

Very expensive, but very lovely food! Although I had a baked mouse which seemed slightly burnt and very dry… But I might try to come again when there is a new menu :)

This place could not get any more lovely! And if it could, there would be unicorns and fairies flying out from the flowers.
When you walk in, it’s lit with tea lightbulbs everywhere and there’s shabby chic furniture and different accessories and nic nacs to browse and buy. The floor is dirt which goes with the natural nursery look. It’s a really big space and is a green house so the natural light just flows in.
The food was really delicious. Pricey too. The portion was good and the flavor was great. I had the monk fish and the lentil and the salsa verde was soo good. I was trying to figure out the ingredients. Could of done with less salt though… same with the lamb, was pretty salty… but it was tasty. The table bread came straight out of the oven and so was super soft and warm. Best bread I’ve had in a while.
The staff was very friendly and attentive.
Highly recommend this place! Great to take the parents, dates, or groups.

Definitely a hidden gem of London.
A garden plant nursery, cum ethnic furniture shop, cum michelin restaurant, cum teashop.
If you look beyond the exorbidant prices for the restaurant and furniture, and restrict yourself to a cup of fine tea, coffee, delicious cakes and/​or tasty salad style lunches, then this place cannot be bettered.
A perfect place as a pick-​me-​up during a long walk/​cycle ride round richmond park or along the river to Kew gardens.

Truly the most gorgeous setting. All things considered, I give this place 5 stars as the combination of setting, atmosphere, food, philosophy and service are all top grade. It’s no Michelin, but it is a unique gem that should definitely be experienced (especially for romantic situations.)
I saw a scene set here in Woody Allen’s ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger’ and immediately tried to google the location, which didn’t get me very far, but my husband remembered that and two years later took me here for Valentine’s day. Pure perfection.
The food was very good, if expected and risk-​free. What makes it so memorable is the setting as a gorgeous flower nursery with Indian flare. The hard-​packed soil flooring, white string lights illuminating the draped tapestries, and the intimate and private, whilst still atmospheric table arrangement, makes one feel as if they’re in a fantasy land, like a surreal-​ly perfect movie ;)
I went for dinner, but I can only imagine the setting for lunch or tea — in summary, it’s a spot that one would never forget as it only can provide romantic memories.

This beautiful teahouse & nursery is the perfect stop on a walk from the Richmond tube stop to Richmond Park. Food prices are extremely high, so skip the salads and sandwiches and arrive to Petersham Teahouse early for a pot of tea and a slice of cake. After filling up, wander around the nursery and check out some of the cute shabby chic items, their wide variety of plants or even one of their gardening workshops!

we ventured out to richmond, not to walk by the river or even for the stroll through what felt like the countryside with cows grazing. we went out to richmond solely for the purpose of petersham nurseries’ chef greg malouf’s supper club (originally started by chef skye gringell). dinner is served in the nursery over candles and soft lighting, with the back drop of a rather natural garden and simple, moorish-​influenced art.
service…they really must work on service. everything you read or hear about the service is true. it’s simply lacking in timeliness, consideration, memory and warmth.
the menu was less than exciting but there were a couple gems… i had the edible flower salad as a starter and trust me, i didn’t taste flowers! the presentation was colorful and soft but the flavor was surprisingly sweet and produce-​like. no perfume or bitters. my husband had the steak… which came raw (you can ask for it med-​rare). if it was any more raw, it would moo. that is the rarest steak we hope to ever taste although it was definitely memorable and a good experience.
one more thing — don’t wear high heels. wedges at most. it’s a gravel road and tables/​chairs sit in dirt.

In my view, the food at The Petersham Nurseries Restaurant is excellent! It’s not cheap. you’d be looking at £170 for two for lunch… get saving!

Hidden just outside of Richmond between a church, pub and field of cows is Petersham Nurseries. It’s a small garden centre with an array of plants that I have absolutely no idea about. I was dragged here with family after a big pub lunch as a ‘walking off lunch’ kind of afternoon activity and wasn’t expecting to find what I did.
What I found was a REALLY nice café/​restaurant tucked away at the back of a large green house with nice looking tea and cakes and wine flowing freely. There’s probably not much point in describing it further when the pictures do the work for me. So peruse the photographs and see what you think for yourself. It looks well worth a visit for it’s quirkiness and I’ll be sure to visit again soon.
It looked pretty expensive mind you, the garden shop was through the roof too. My girlfriend saw a pashmina she liked but I refrained from spending the £700 on getting it for her birthday because I am not clinically insane.

Occasionally, restaurants or cafes become bywords for a certain style of entertaining. The Petersham café embodies the successful, upper middle class South West Londoner who has a lot of cash, and I mean a lot of cash to spend on their lunch.
The Petersham café is set behind Petersham house, and takes a corner of the nurseries which sell plants, garden furniture, antiques and gifts. It really is in a corner, by the way, the floor is soil! The restaurant part of the café is open from 12pm — 2.30pm for lunch only, Tuesday to Sunday. The food is locally sourced and the onus is on fresh produce. Believe me, the food is delicious, but Oh My God did I wince when I saw the prices. For a starter you are looking at between £12.00 -£14.00. Don’t by the way, try what I do which is order a starter as a main to save money, it won’t fill you up. Mains, are between £18.00 — £28.00. I had the Scottish girolles on bruscetta as a starter, and pan roasted chicken with lentils as a main, and I can’t fault the food. My frugal grandma was looking at little pale at this point, so I didn’t push my luck at getting a bottle of wine, although there are plenty of well chosen wines which compliment the food.
If you wanted to get the feel of the Petersham, but not at the restaurant prices then pop into the coffee shop which is in the next room. They do a great selection of teas, including the delightfully fresh mint. The cakes are great too, my top choice is the lemon polenta, which just crumbles into your mouth and has such a strong lemon zing to it. I think I will wait until a rich boyfriend takes me out on a date (and pays) before I will go for lunch at The Petersham Café again. Which means that I won’t be there for a while.