Readers choice - The Beach Restaurant, Sennen Cove, Land's End, Cornwall (01736 871191; www.thebeachrestaurant.com) Right by the beach, with loft-like architecture and a terrace. Cheerful and efficient service. Book well in advance, though they will try to fit you in. Carol Smart

LONDON

11. Petersham Nurseries Café - Lunching doesn't get more luxuriantly shabby-chic than this garden-nursery café near Richmond. White peaches are plucked from the greenhouse for the bellinis, organic leaves are picked fresh for the salads. Cakes, soups, teas and tisanes are also available from the tea house - Off Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey (020-8605 3627; www.petershamnurseries.com)

12. The Gate Vegetarian Restaurant - The calm courtyard of this vegetarian haven in Hammersmith is a surprising, peaceful space in the midst of urban grind. The nearby A4 flyover seems to disappear as you eat Indo-Iraqi potato cake with tamarind sauce, Thai salad and stuffed courgette flowers. 51 Queen Caroline Street, W6 (020-8748 6932; www.thegate.tv)

13. Inn The Park - First come, first served for outside seats, including those on a roof terrace, though the glass front of the restaurant slides back so everyone basks in the surroundings of St James's Park. The self-service section adjoining the restaurant is good value for central London. You can order hampers and rugs for picnics (24 hours' notice required). St James's Park, SW1 (020-7451 9999; www.innthepark.com)

14. El Parador - This small, friendly Camden tapas bar, run by the same people for 18 years, has great dishes such as panceta asada (slow-roast belly of pork with fennel seeds and garlic) and salteado di chipirones (baby squid marinated in chilli, garlic, coriander and lemon). An outside courtyard has 11 tables where you can quaff rosé and sangria with the terrific food. 245 Eversholt Street, NW1 (020-7387 2789; www.elparadorlondon.com)

15. Greenwich Market at the weekend - Make up an eclectic picnic from the stalls at the food court of the funky weekend arts and crafts market — sushi, tapas, West Indian patties, fresh salads, organic bread and cakes, smoothies — and head to Greenwich Park for one of the most magnificent views of London. Runs from 10am-5.30pm, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays. Durnford Street/Turnpin Lane, Greenwich, SE10 (020-8293 3110; www.greenwich-market.co.uk)

16. Springfield Park Café - Malcolm Eggs, editor of the London Review of Breakfasts blog, reckons Springfield Park Café serves the best outdoor breakfast in the capital. The full English is "one of the all-time generous greats with wonderful sausage and meticulous egg". The café is in the middle of a nature reserve overlooking the River Lea and Walthamstow Marshes. White Lodge Mansion, Springfield Park, E5 (www.sparkcafe.co.uk)

17. The Gun - A Portuguese barbecue and bar run all summer long beside this historic Thames-side gastropub on the Isle of Dogs. Seafood is picked up from nearby Billingsgate and you can eat seafood cataplana (a slow-cooked fish and seafood stew), chorizo flamed in Medrono (a Portuguese spirit) and chicken piri-piri, as ships sail by and a bossa nova duo plays on Sunday afternoons. 27 Coldharbour, E14 (020-7515 5222; www.thegundocklands.com)

18. Frizzante, Hackney City Farm -Three Italians run this community café attached to an inner-city farm, where you eat good-value fresh food such as pumpkin ravioli with a tomato and pine-nut sauce near to crowing cocks and London buses. You can also buy Italian deli food to take away — Sicilian forest honey, prosciutto — as well as their own honey and fresh-laid hen and duck eggs from the farm. 1A Goldsmiths Row, E2 (020-7739 2266; www.hackneycityfarm.co.uk)

SOUTH EAST

19. The Dove - This pretty Victorian gastropub has a new formal garden for eating and drinking. Summer dishes include cassoulet of John Dory with chickpeas and celeriac, roasted asparagus with marinated globe artichokes, and clafoutis made with home-grown cherries. Catch the Dove this year before chef Nigel Morris leaves in the autumn after ten years. Plum Pudding Lane, Dargate, Kent (01227 751360; www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs)

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