King’s Library restaurant at The British Library

Peyton and Byrne’s ever-growing list of nostalgic canteens, bakeries and restaurants have found their way into some of the proudest cultural institutions in the land from the Royal Academy and the National Gallery to the British Library – not to mention Heal’s department store. All have two things in common: easy-on-the-eye good looks and a passion for British produce (even when the concept itself is anything but patriotic). Sustaining breakfasts get the early birds going, while gourmet ‘fairy cakes’, pies, savouries and thick-cut sandwiches comprise the bulk of the group’s all-day menus, with home-baked fig tarts, treacle loaves, Scotch eggs and sausage rolls all tempting visitors away from their shopping, their books and their guided tours.