1 mile to the North of Architectural Plants, 2 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

If the team at AP have worked especially hard they always choose takeaway pizza from here – as their reward. Great in or out, really friendly staff and very good service. Italian dishes mainly, some pub grub. Sharing platters are good too. Some parking to the rear. 

4 miles to the North of Architectural Plants, 7 minute drive

Lunch, Dinner & Camping

Large pub with multiple seating areas inside and out. Plenty of parking. Good gastro style pub food, cosy fire place in the Winter and always friendly service. Feels family run.

2.5 miles to the South East of Architectural Plants, 8 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

Nestled in the centre of the picturesque village of Nutbourne, close to Nutbourne Vineyard (also worth visiting). One of the best cheesy chips we have ever had and an excellent Chowder. Best to get a table by the bar, good rear garden too. Look out for events as they often have bands playing.

11 miles to the West of Architectural Plants, 20 minute drive

Lunch, Dinner & Accommodation

Wonderful locally sourced, seasonal food, in a beautiful pub nestled by the church at Tillington. Lots of nooks and crannies to explore and beautifully decorated by the owners throughout the year. Well worth a visit, great wine list too. Recommend booking ahead and their Chablis (not so local, but damn tasty).

10 miles to the West of Architectural Plants, 16 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

Really nice vibe & interior inspiration. Small, sheltered garden to the rear for the warmer days. Great food and drink – a place to chill after a good rummage through the local shops. The velouté was excellent. Open Thursday – Sunday.

19 miles to the South West of Architectural Plants, 30 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

Like everything at Goodwood, it’s done so well. A sense of luxury, white tablecloths and fine dining but in a relaxed way. Book ahead. During Goodwood Revival we can be found amongst the plants on our garden design stand, join us.

20 miles to the South West of Architectural Plants, 31 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

The last time we visited it was a balmy Summer evening, the door to the garden was open – the perfect English day with a light breeze. Fantastic food, drink and service. Found on the high street and a good pairing with the Chichester Festival theatre, we sponsored their main show back in 2022.

Always worth booking as they get booked well in advance. Sausage dog, Aubrey, was well looked after.

15 miles to the South of Architectural Plants, 27 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

Since 2006 The George has been owned by the local community. Great walking nearby on the South Downs. Very secluded pub in a beautiful setting. Always love the food and drink selection – really worth the drive. Very reasonable for the quality – don’t miss out on their desserts.

19 miles to the North East of Architectural Plants, 30 minute drive

Café

Drop in if you are heading to Nymans. Great coffee, cakes and pastries. Friendly welcome. Close to Pease Pottage, much better than a BK Whopper.

17 miles to the South West of Architectural Plants, 28 minute drive

Wine tasting & food boards

The wine tasting is great, especially on a warm day, but the real treat was their lunch. Pick your own food pots and picnic looking over the vineyard. Keep an eye out for their event schedule through their website. It was a winner with the Mother in Law.

74 miles to the East of Architectural Plants, 1 hour and 50 minute drive

Café

The perfect place for a hot drink and sweet snack after an often windy walk. Good for spotting Yellow horned poppies and birds, of course.

16 miles to the North of Architectural Plants, 24 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

Set at the foot of Leith Hill (sort of). Good for walking locally and Redwood exploring on the East ascent, a place Darwin frequented. A bit more than pub grub, large restaurant and bar space. Plenty of parking. Excellent Sunday lunch. Dogs welcome.

A stones throw from the Grange Opera (something we sponsor regularly) you can find this lovely rural enterprise.

Rural Café & Events Space

Moon roast HQ, so tasty coffee – I particularly love their Mocha. Great food too, excellent WiFi if you are in need of a work stop mid route. Walker and cyclist hangout. Also worth venturing to the historic underground chapel nearby. On Monday to Wednesday the takeaway section is open for coffee, otherwise see their website for opening times.

40 miles to the North East of Architectural Plants. 1 hour and 14 minute drive

Deli & Café

Specialist deli, phenomenal bakery, sandwiches and much more. Good stop on the way in to or out of London. Fluffy, fresh donuts and Garlic stuffed olives are a winner.

120 miles to the East of Architectural Plants, 2 hours and 33 minute drive

Lunch & Dinner

Really informal, foodie, chilled atmosphere – clearly a hidden gem for the local customer. Intimate café bistro feel but with sophisticated and unpretentious dining. Definitely book ahead.

Lunch & Dinner

In the financial district, ignore the Michelin man in the reception – ride the elevator up to the rooftop setting. Warm welcome from the start, individual servings and explanations from each chef.

Extraordinary wood fired food. We particularly like the simple brussel sprout, dramatically served on a skewer. Well worth a visit if you are in the area – posh but understated.

Cafe, lunch, dinner & cocktails 

On the more sheltered side of the island, a very nicely laid out restaurant sitting on the beach. We approached by kayak from StMartins – left the kayak in front of the restaurant on the beach and enjoyed an excellent lunch.

Definitely worth a visit to the epic nearby Abbey gardens of Tresco (see video and explore blog). Fabulous non-alcoholic cocktail, Pentire coastal with mixer – needs lots of sugar, fresh orange and rosemary. Beer for me though. Food was very tasty on both visits, we tried the pasta, salad and sharing boards. All the staff were attentive and enthusiastic, clearly good training goes on here. Looking forward to our next visit. 

Lunch & Dinner

Hidden off a side street, we turned up early and it was closed. A very nice chap that worked here opened up the large gate doors to reveal a fairy light lit walk way. From there we found the small bar, Andy Wahloo, that accompanies the restaurant.

Super cool music and décor, really great service and drinks menu. The dinner is served in a space that feels like someone’s living room, lots of funky art, a table tennis table and hidden rooms upstairs found through glass faced wardrobes. Good food but for me it’s all about the surroundings. 

Lunch & Dinner

Magical French interior, the perfect blend of stone and wood. Felt very local and a historic place to eat. Excellent service from a very attentive waiter. Very high quality food and wine – duck well worth ordering as was the profiteroles. Go here if you want the traditional Paris experience.

Specialist Rum Bar and tasting space 

The largest Rum collection in Paris, tipples from all over the world that surround the bar. Relaxed atmosphere, great cocktails (not all Rum based) – lovely glass ware. Particularly liked the use of the palm frosted window coverings that made it feel very colonial. 

Bar, Lunch & Dinner

Head here from the Acropolis, rooftop dining with a great view. The best bowl of tomatoes we have ever eaten. Good vegetarian options, a superb lunch. Simple food brilliantly prepared. Only downer was the couple kissing on the balcony beside us… but those tomatoes made up for it. I am already looking forward to our next visit.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After a stroll along Muscle Beach, yes we did see Arnie, we travelled up and down the canals looking at all the lush Podocarpus salignus. We deserved our Californian-style breakfast and juice, everything was perfectly LA. I’ll be back.

Drinks & Snacks

DJ’s, Sundowners, beach cool. Great hang out for a few hours.

Lunch & Dinner

Brilliant service and fresh local ingredients. Cute and local café style dining – just up the hill from Lovers Point Park. Well worth visiting the Monterey aquarium whilst you are in town – linked to the infamous HP printer brand.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

All the way along the Big Sur you can see the most perfect pampas grass – grappling on to the edge of the steep cliffs. We were lucky enough to pick this café for our lunch. Really simple, no fuss, almost feels like they are more interested in their wonderful succulent collection as the chap spent a huge amount of time tending to them during our visit. View – insane. Make sure you do this drive.

4,100 miles to the South West of Architectural Plants, 9 hours away 

TThe only RHS partner garden in Barbados with the greatest cafe and friendliest chef. Very simple and lots of fresh food from the island. Garden was excellent but the cafe was the star of the show for us.   

Breadfruit chips – first try for us and definitely looking forward to the next opportunity to taste them. Black bean Tacos with fresh mango and salad  – made with a lot of love and the best tacos we’ve ever tasted. The whole ambience of the place made us feel right at home, it was reminiscent of the original Nuthurst vibes – complete with a cabin style loo in the woods.