There are a number of places where food and drink are sold in the Park.
by the lake, serves homestyle italian food, coffee and icecreams, and you can sit outside watching the ducks and boats.
operated by Five Star Catering, hidden away between the fountains and the zoo, serves drinks and a good freshly made selection of sandwiches and other snacks.
And of course, there a number of ice cream vans situated around the park;
just look around, you will usually see one somewhere in the distance!
Nearby there are numerous cafes, pubs and resturants. Below is an extract from a short article by Christine Fremantle in issue 74 (Summer 2007) of the Battersea Park Review.
The stretch of Battersea Park Road between Battersea Park Station and the Latchmere, is architecturally not the most seductive street in the neighborhood. But it has its delights and no shortage of variety when it comes to eating and drinking.
I’ve counted 42 restaurants and cafes in the mile between Battersea Park Station and the “Little India” tracks. Just a snapshot will confirm that of the Chinese variety, there are two restaurants and 5 take-aways. Then you have one Albanian, two Thai, one Spanish, one Mexican, and three Italian restaurants and one new Italian deli-restaurant.
As if that was not enough, there are three pizza parlours, two sandwich bars, five varieties of Indian take-away, four fried food emporia, four cafes with internet access, and two or three good old English Breakfast/Roast Beef lunch cafés, as well as six pub-restaurants along the South side of the road.
There is something for every taste, and every Park user, and the purveyors are as varied as the food, coming from all over Europe, the Middle East, and many parts of Asia. I may not be a huge eater but I like this sense of diversity reaching out across green spaces and concrete.
So here are some tentative cheap but cheerful recommendations Not far from the station, there is the Chinese NewCity restaurant: friendly and delicious. Across the road it’s the Italian named after the patron saint of Naples San Gennaro: young crowd, excellent food, genuine pizza, cheery atmosphere. The one-time Turkish Adalar, on the corner of Cupar Road, is in the midst of transformation into an Albanian restaurant. That should be interesting.
Next on my walk from east to west, there is, do I dare mention it, Battersea’s least best kept secret: Corelli’s . For Italian home-style cooking and best lunchtime neighborhood experience, there is still nothing that comes near it!
Also in my good books is the excellent Indian take-away Holy Cow and the two Thais: the posh Chada and more intimate and less expensive Dee. Nearby are The Lighthouse (ex-Clock Tower) pub for garden, wine list and atmosphere and The Latchmere for a traditional pub cum theatrical experience. The new Mexican Margarita Loca is for those with cast iron palates and a sense of fun. And Il Molino Café for atmosphere and internet. And I am not denigrating the 32 remaining eateries!
Chacun a son gout! Salud! & Buen apetito!
With summer at last arriving there is live music on at La Gondola al Parco (the cafe by the lake) Tuesdays (7-10pm), Fridays (7-10pm), Saturdays and Sundays (2:30-6pm), with a BBQ.
The Friends Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 7th July, starting 7:30pm, at All Saints Church, 100 Prince of Wales Drive, SW11. This is your chance to meet the Friends Committee, Wandsworth Council's Park Managment and other enthusiastic Park users. Refreshments will be available. Please do come along and let us know your views.
Landscaping at the Winter Garden was completed in April with only key trees and shrubs remaining, forming the foundation of the garden. The spaces opened up will be replanted with a range of trees for winter interest with shrubs, perennials and bulbs grouped beneath them. The planting list includes no fewer than 303 trees and shrubs, 22,375 perennials and 46,780 bulbs. Depending on the funds raised, it is hoped that planting will start this autumn. Meanwhile the open area has been sown with grass and wild flowers.