London’s Best Places to Eat in Unexpected Locations
"While Townsend isn’t necessarily as hidden as some of its fellow listees, the fact that it’s an outstanding restaurant situated in an art gallery may come as a surprise. Replacing the also lauded Whitechapel Refectory in 2020, Nick Gilkinson — formerly of the Garden Museum Cafe — and Joe Fox — formerly of Petersham Nurseries — have taken the restaurant from strength to strength in its short, pandemic-clipped life. Dishes like Red Leicester croquettes with pickled walnut ketchup; potato and crab dumplings blackened with squid ink, rife with garlic and chilli; and roast mallard with braised radicchio, spiced carrot and prunes betray the fact that this is a modern British restaurant, meaning it’s really old European with an accent." - Jonathan Hatchman
