Cool Bars and Cafes in Kensington/ Chelsea (London)

Nancy's Cafe

Nancy's Cafe is a small, modern cafe found opposite Putney Bridge tube station. Its attractive blue and yellow interior is complemented by the colourful flower stall directly outside its entrance, and together these make Nancy's Café a pleasant place to put the spring back in your step with a nice, big cappuccino. As well as coffee (£1-£1.50) and other hot beverages, you can choose from salads, cakes and sandwiches with familiar fillings.

Old Goat Tavern

Built more than 300 years ago, The Old Goat Tavern has retained an olde worlde feel that is popular with the business crowd of Kensington. The tavern is a short walk from Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace, and is a good place to enjoy a pint in a real old-fashioned city pub. There is a separate full-service dining area at the rear, serving food that is a bit more upmarket than the average pub fare. Most main courses are traditional British dishes, although lasagnes, curries and chillies are also available.

Queen's Arms

Tucked away in affluent South Kensington, this recently refurbished, lively pub is frequented by a mixture of well-to-do locals and the students and staff of the nearby Imperial College. The secluded surroundings of The Queen's Arms make this an ideal stop for a refreshing pint, and the lack of traffic allows the pub's patrons to spill out into the mews at the front on sunny days. Some top notch pub food is available and, although the prices are a little higher than usual, you definitely won't be disappointed. The BLT and the Sunday roast are highly recommended.

Builders' Arms

The Builders' Arms is a quality, upmarket city pub in the heart of affluent Kensington. Surrounded by quiet mews, it is nevertheless busy on most evenings and at weekends, with a young, noisy crowd who spill out onto the pavement on warm summer days. There is table football for those of an athletic bent. The decor is stylish with plenty of big, comfortable seats to collapse on, and there are a few benches available outside in front of the pub. The food on offer is more sophisticated than you'll find in most pubs, with the menu including dishes like warm chorizo and new potato salad. There is a limited choice of desserts.

Finnegan's Wake

Finnegan's Wake is a decent Irish-theme pub with no obvious flaws or points of distinction. The clientele are mainly business types and tourists during the day and a younger crowd, including students from nearby Imperial College, in the evenings. The interior is primarily wooden with a minimal amount of Irish paraphernalia adorning the walls; it's a bit like an O'Neills really. The pub food menu is extensive, and offers snacks, burgers, fry-ups, salads and so on. Main meals are simple and service is quick, so it makes a good lunch stop.

The Wheatsheaf

This large, "olde worlde" style Fulham local seems to change its name yearly. It's hugely popular with sports fans and has a great value pub food menu - main meals cost about £5 and the menu includes snacks, burgers, potatoes, salads, sandwiches and other traditional pub food. Sunday roast is also served here. When you want a huge screen and lots of atmosphere for any international football or rugby match, then this is the place to come in Fulham.

The Catherine Wheel

The Catherine Wheel is a small, modern, city pub found just off bustling Kensington High Street. For all you Notting Hill fans, Kensington Church Street formed part of the car chase in that film. This is a relatively quiet pub, with a slightly Irish ambience to it. Plenty of comfortable seating is provided throughout, and food is served from midday until 5pm. The menu offers the usual pub food with main courses, such as chilli con carne.

Lúnasa

Lúnasa is named after a Celtic harvest festival; a strange choice, given that food, let alone Celtic food, isn't the main focus. Located on a football-driven strip of Fulham Road, Lúnasa doesn't convince as a Chelsea fans paradise, though the new plasma screen does show most matches. An elegant bar with white railings and a hint of green in the pale walls, palm trees and velvet sofas form the decor. Lúnasa is mainly a bar (open later than a restaurant), but its two levels also offer a small but well-chosen range of designer sandwiches, anti-pasti and salads. Paninis and the anti-pasti are an ideal accompaniment to a glass or two of the succulent house red. Much of the food is made for sharing - handy for an evening out with the girls (or indeed, the boys!).

Sporting Page

The over-sized TV screen at the back of the restaurant (plus a few other monitors dotted around) gives this place away as a sport-watching venue, even if the name passed you by. Sporting Page is quite a cosy pub, and it gets very cozy indeed when 200 people try to squash in to the small venue during a rugby or football game. It has become a bit of a Chelsea institution however; most of its patrons are locals and regulars. Simple British cooking features on the menu, which changes daily. Get there early to eat seated - tables are like gold dust and there is no booking.

Britannia Tap

The Britannia Tap is a really smart, modern city pub. Nostalgic paraphernalia covers the walls, there's a selection of real ales and lagers to be had at the bar, and the atmosphere is really friendly and warm. This pub is obviously prospering and has a great little beer terrace at the rear for the summer. It doesn't play host to any professional musicians, but it does have weekly sessions of Thai karaoke - a variant of this noble pastime. The menu offers a wide range of Thai dishes. All dishes can be made vegetarian, and in addition there is also a Sunday Roast.

The Ifield

An elegant pub may sound like an oxymoron, but The Ifield has pulled it off. Dark wood panelling is offset against brighter taupe-coloured walls and you literally sink into the comfortable, leather-upholstered chairs—perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon meal in a calm and elegant setting. The menu is upmarket and quite limited, but with choices ranging from risotto to the steak fillet, everyone except vegetarians (who may have to settle for a larger portion of a starter salad) should be satisfied.

Kensington Arms

The Kensington Arms is a traditional locals' pub, containing a pool table, games machines and the music of bands such as U2 playing in the background. There is a big-screen TV showing all major sporting events and popular football matches. The food menu is available at lunch and in the evenings, and offers modern pub fare ranging from snacks, salads, burgers, and baguettes to main dishes.