The cafe’s popular all-day breakfast menu is extensive, with options to suit all appetites – from porridge to large cooked breakfasts complete with homemade baked beans. The chalkboard lunch menu offers a soup of the day, three sizeable salads and four hearty mains – usually a spicy chickpea stew, an expertly flavoured curry, a more traditional pasta dish and savoury pancakes. There are also tempting daily specials. And if you fancy something sweet, you have the choice of an old-school dessert like banoffee pie or fruit crumble, or one of the delicious cakes. All of the dishes are beautifully presented – the salads are topped with dainty fresh flowers – and they taste as good as they look.

There are several vegan options on the menu, including half of the cakes, and the majority of dishes can be made vegan on request. To drink, there’s tea, coffee, fresh juices and smoothies. The cafe also offers half-size, half-price food and drink for children, so it’s a great choice for families. It’s also a perfect place for catch ups with friends or quiet time with a coffee and a book, but not for working – laptops aren’t allowed at weekends or between 12pm and 3pm on weekdays, which helps to keep the atmosphere convivial.

East Dulwich is now one of the most popular places to eat out in South London, and the friendly Blue Brick Café continues to hold its own. Just to remember to bring cash as cards aren’t accepted.

The lunch and dinner menus change every week, but you’ll find creative dishes such as a beetroot burger served with beetroot chips and slaw; jackfruit and aubergine shawarma; vegan mac ‘n’ cheese; lentil bolognese on penne; and jerk plantain with mango salsa and turmeric cous cous.

On the tantalising Saturday brunch menu: huevos rancheros with homefries and smoky black beans; jerk plantain with scrambled tofu; a full vegan ‘traditional’ cooked breakfast, and more. The Sunday menu holds its own too, with a nut roast wellington served with roast vegetables and gravy. The food is always tasty and the portions generous.

When you enter the cafe, vibrant Van Gogh prints and impressionist murals welcome you into an airy room that opens up onto a large courtyard with seating. Colourful fairy lights lead the way up a spiral staircase to a charming room with many angles, many small windows and ‘The Starry Night’ painted on the ceiling.

There’s nothing pretentious about Café Van Gogh – with its chequered tablecloths and bric-a-brac on the shelves – and that’s probably why it attracts a good mix of people. It’s the type of relaxed place you can enjoy with a group or on your own. It’s the norm to see people reading the weekend papers or working with a coffee. So, if you’re looking for a quirky, arty cafe with great food and friendly staff, you’ve found it.

Inside, the long, narrow cafe is light and tranquil; tables for two made out of reclaimed wood line one wall, and a small kitchen and counter line the wall opposite. There’s a larger table at the front of the cafe, under the window, and a few seats outside if you fancy watching the world go by.

Fresh flowers in vases, dried flowers in old food tins, soft lighting, scaffold shelving, vintage signs and quirky pictures give the cafe a style that’s part bohemian, part industrial. The music is low, making conversation – or working without distraction – easy.

The menu is concise but caters perfectly well for those looking for breakfast, brunch or lunch. There’s porridge, chia pudding, homemade granola, scrambled eggs on toast, veggie and vegan omelettes, and a larger breakfast consisting of two soft-boiled eggs, British cheese, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes and toast. Avocado on toast is served with chilli-coriander relish, watercress and dukkah (a mixture of nuts and spices), which turns a simple dish into an outstanding one.

For lunch, there’s a range of grilled sandwiches, an impressive vegan lentil and quinoa burger, and a ‘veganwarma’ served on flatbread with coleslaw, potato salad, tahini sauce and pickles. Daily specials include a fresh salad, a quiche and a soup. All of the food is served on vintage crockery, adding to the cafe’s charm.

You can find a good selection of veggie and vegan cakes at the counter, and Allpress coffee, which you can take out if you’re just passing by. But it’s worth staying a while, if you can – this place has something special.

Galettes are Maloko’s raison d’être. Made from buckwheat – which is neither a grain nor related to wheat, but a distant relative of rhubarb – the galettes are gluten-free. There’s a range of vegetarian or vegan fillings to choose from, including sweet potato, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, goats cheese, beetroot and jerk tofu. Served with a fresh side salad, the galettes are crispy on the outside and bursting with flavour on the inside. Size-wise, galette can be a substantial lunch or a more-than-adequate dinner.

Also on the menu are traditional crêpes with sweet fillings, and teas, coffees and reasonably priced fresh juices.

If you’re looking for somewhere south of the river that’s informal, friendly and a little bit different, Maloko’s the place.

The restaurant’s setting perfectly complements its raw-food menu: the abundance of light, plants and wooden furnishings effectively brings the outside in. It’s a stylish, comfortable place that’s perfect for intimate catch-ups with friends and family.

If you’ve never tried raw cuisine before, it’s likely that Tanya’s will convince you of its merits. The dishes are original and elegant, designed both to nourish and energise. Brunch is served from 11am to 3pm, with options including ‘avo un-toast’ (soft, dehydrated onion bread with squashed avocado and chili flakes) and cinnamon chia (chia seeds in homemade almond milk with cinnamon, vanilla and seasonal fruits). There’s a variety of cold-pressed juices and nut-milk coffees to quench your thirst.

After midday, the menu widens. You can choose from a range of salads, inspired by different cuisines, and ‘living mains’ including Thai curry kelp noodles, a nori wrap and lasagna (layers of herbed almond and cashew ricotta, sundried tomato marinara, walnut mushroom meat and basil pesto, between sheets of courgette pasta). There’s also a good selection of tasty sides and dips. The treats – ‘cheezecakes’, mini slices and raw chocolates – are just as delicious as their traditional baked counterparts. And then there’s the cafe’s speciality cocktails made with ethically sourced alcohol, fresh fruits and so-called ‘superfoods’. The combinations include hazelnut-infused vodka, cacao, acai berry, fresh raspberries and maple syrup – a cocktail aptly named ‘Filthy Rich’.

The popularity of raw-food eateries is growing in London, and Tanya’s, with its fine food and excellent service, demonstrates why.

Attached to the grand St Margaret’s House, the cafe is large, with high ceilings, a wooden parquet floor, local artwork on the walls, and a conservatory at the back, which allows light to pour in during the day. In the evening, low lighting and fairy lights create cosiness and warmth. The tables comfortably seat four, and there’s plenty of outdoor seating too.

Inside, low music is drowned out by the sound of lively conversation. Despite being busy, and at times noisy, the cafe has a relaxed atmosphere. It’s common for people to drop by to work or read a book while having a coffee or a bite to eat.

The cafe serves breakfast until 12pm, with options including a full English, potato pancakes, a superfood breakfast bowl and avocado on toast. The lunch menu is then available from 12pm to 5pm, which includes a roasted veggie wrap, falafel wrap, classic burger, stir fry, and three seasonal daily specials.

Also on offer are fresh focaccia sandwiches with fillings like vegan sausage or avocado and pesto; cupcakes (occasionally from Ms Cupcake); cookies and pastries. There’s the usual hot drinks, soft drinks and fresh juices to choose from, plus wine and beer.

Events are held throughout the week at St Margaret’s House and in The Gallery Cafe itself. There are film screenings, live music nights, yoga sessions, arts projects and a book club – many are free.

The Gallery Cafe and St Margaret’s House have a lot to offer, and as all of the cafe’s profits go straight back into the charity, you’re not the only one who’ll benefit from your visit.

The original restaurant is nestled in a small courtyard in Hammersmith. Inside, there’s an immediate intimacy and warmth, thanks to the low lighting, candles on tables and an eye-catching wall that’s covered in colourful, reclaimed planks of wood. While tables are set closely together, the room is quiet and it’s easy to relax and get lost in conversation. Staff are friendly and helpful. During the summer, tables are set up in the courtyard for those lucky enough to dine in the sun.

The seasonal à la carte menu is the same at all three restaurants; there’s no shortage of options to choose from, and special menus offer unique dishes dedicated to a theme, such as The Gate’s annual wild mushroom festival. From mizo glazed aubergine to Mediterranean tart, the starters neatly canvas The Gate’s mixed culinary influences. Mains are no different: rotolo, Malaysian curry, an aubergine schnitzel and what may be the most striking dish, a tower of sweet potato and blackbean tortillas. Salads and sides are also available. A wine rack near the kitchen is well stocked with a selection of organic, vegan options. Stay for a decadent dessert – a soft cappuccino cheesecake, perhaps, or a strawberry eaton mess.

The Gate prides itself on inventive food, combining ingredients in unexpected ways. With a separate menu for children, Sunday roasts and lunch options, there’s something for everyone. Book ahead – there’s rarely an empty table in sight.

What this means in practice is a self-service buffet with an abundance of cold fruit and vegetable salads, soups, hot mains and desserts. Food is priced by weight: all dishes cost the same and you only pay for as much as you have on your plate. The price per 100g changes throughout the day, providing more affordable options at lunchtime.

Like any buffet, the dishes – about 40 in total – vary based on the availability of ingredients and the season, but there are cuisines that carry through one day to the next. You might find influences from Asia (noodles, dumplings, stir fry), Italy (gnocchi, lasagna, frittata, risotto), the Middle East or the Americas (guacamole, jalapeño poppers), not to mention a tantalising selection of puddings and cakes. The buffet is topped up regularly and it’s rare to see an empty dish. You can order cocktails, beer and wine at the counter, along with other drinks like cold-pressed juice and coffee.

Tibits say that 80% of their food is vegan and that everything is local and organic where possible. Breakfast is served on weekday and Saturday mornings from 9am to 11.30am. Every Tuesday is ‘Vegan Tuesday’, offering an entirely vegan afternoon and evening buffet. An ingredient guide notes whether each dish contains allergens (eggs, nuts, celery, gluten) and onion or garlic.

The restaurant is large with an additional space downstairs for groups and busy evenings. Tables that seat four or more can be booked in advance. Many tables seat two people, which, when combined with the lighting and warm decor, creates a cosy, intimate setting.

In their words, Tibits have always strived to cater to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, and the number of customers bears this out. With a consistently impressive spread of dishes, it’s not hard to see why so many people are drawn here for a delicious meal.