Ruthie Rogers

Deeply seasonal in her approach, Ruth Rogers – the owner of this Thames-side Italian – prioritises ingredients above all else. Annual olive oil tastings in Tuscany come under chefs’ perks, and while the bill may pack a punch, it’s a credit to this ethos that a visit is always worth it. Go big on the antipasti, followed by primi pasta (tagliarini with white pork ragù, perhaps), and you could skip a secondi altogether. No booking? Try The River Café Café next door, which holds space for walk-ins.

Inside three knocked together 18th-century cottages on Blacklands Terrace is the marvellous John Sandoe Books. It’s proudly independent, and its quarterly catalogue is packed with the best recommendations in the literary world. But there are also beautiful botanical books, architectural tomes, pretty prints and notelets. Plus, a picturesque window seat upstairs near the paperbacks, which makes a lovely browsing perch.

Discover divine rambling roses and wild poetic planting in London's oldest botanical garden, a walled oasis tucked away in historic Chelsea. Enter through a set of tiny doors and it feels like sneaking into somewhere private. On Saturdays the marquees might go up for lucky Londoners getting married here but on any other day there are few places more delightful, or peaceful, for a cup of tea.