Park life: Classic park setting with 60s decor

Prev

• 
• 

Next

View gallery

THE Serpentine Bar and Kitchen is proof that some things in life can actually get better.

Back in the day, London’s park restaurants were dour places serving curly sarnies and stodgy buns. This relaunched Hyde Park cafe, however, is part of a welcome new breed – a hectic but delightful place that doles out appetising food without overcooking the prices.

The venue is the former Dell restaurant, a beautiful site right on the Serpentine, with hungry ducks loitering in hope of snacks from the open-air ­tables. Its retro-modernist pavilion – like a Star Trek ­version of a big top – is as endearingly daft as ever, while the refit has lightened the ­interior. Strewn with chunky kitchen tables and deckchairs, the stripped-down decor keeps the 60s look without coming on all kitsch. A shadowy little lounge has sprung up in the cafe’s central core, with love seats and cushions ­perhaps more suitable for a smoochy winter cocktail than a sunny lunch.

The Anglo-Italian menu is by Benugo, and a rather nice mix of light ­nibbles and heftier plates it is too. Quality is mixed, but mostly good. A dish of cold lamb with haricot puree was generous but the meat a tad dry. A little pot of prawns and crayfish in creamy dressing was fresh and flavourful, and a mammoth ham calzone­ from the wood-fired oven spilled its ample filling from a crispy case.

With the sun, expect crowds – and the slightly messy service is evidence of growing pains. It works like this: ­order in a scrum at the bar, give your table­ number and wait . The problem is, not all the ­tables are numbered: we had to order ours for the (numbered) table next door and grab it quick on arrival.

Still, things came fast, given the packed house. It will probably never offer the slickest experience, but for honest food and a setting that’s pure poetry­, it takes some beating.

Food ***

Service ****

Vibe **

Veggie Choice ***

Serpentine Bar & Kitchen, Serpentine Road, Hyde Park, W2 2UH, 020 7706 8114, www.serpentinebarandkitchen.com