Lunching in Knightsbridge: Daphne’s
An escape from lunch at College
Spring fever is fast approaching. And as Mark Twain puts it, “when you’ve got it, you want - oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” Except, Mark, you know perfectly well what you want. You want to enjoy ice-cold beers in the park, a chat with that fruity bird you seemed to have missed when she was wearing more layers in the winter, and a healthy dose of copulation.
What you don’t want is to be sitting in the library studying. Setting exams at the heart of spring has always been one of life’s immense injustices, the greatest annual manifestation of academic schadenfreude there is. The stupidity of it all ranks up there with anyone that has woken up one day and thought “Wouldn’t my life be more complete with an iPad?”
Indeed, science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day. Thought that maths module on Fourier transforms was dull in mid-December? Try focusing on it when everywhere there’s suddenly more colour, more flesh, more daylight. You’d much rather be outside having fun, ogling and cavorting with that girl sitting opposite you in the quiet study area. Without any sort of respite, your revision focus will slowly dwindle.
There are a few sandwich outlets on campus, but frankly they don’t sufficiently appease the frustrated, overworked, irritable student
Which brings me to lunch – the perfect excuse to grab a well-earned rest from a morning’s hard studying and a stroll with your favourite Biologist. You won’t be welcome in the SCR, where they now check swipe cards to prevent any UGs from tasting their attempts at food – as if exclusivity would somehow make the place more desirable. There are a few sandwich outlets on campus, but frankly they don’t sufficiently appease the frustrated, overworked, irritable student. What will do the trick, however, is a sunny 15 minute walk to Daphne’s restaurant.
I’m not going to claim it’s the best restaurant in London. I haven’t eaten at enough places, my range of London dining falling shamefully short of anyone else pretending to know something about food. But in my desperation at the state of the SCR, I have tried most of South Kensington’s eateries. And none offers as enjoyable a lunch as Daphne’s.
Sitting in the conservatory, surrounded by olive trees and relaxed daytime shoppers, the place is a world away from the library café with it’s baked beans and potatoes. Serving hearty Italian cuisine, the place feels very laid back, unpretentious, and the staff are friendly. Having lunch here really does lift the weight off your shoulders.
The set lunch menu is £17.50 for two courses (or £19.50 for three), and changes regularly. Don’t let the price put you off. You’re getting top food for Carluccio prices, which makes it damn good value. The dishes are rustic, regional, and utterly authentic. There’s something for everyone, be it butternut squash soup, pork saltimbocca, veal ravioli or homemade pistachio ice-cream. Although the portions tend to be on the less-generous side.
I don’t want to set you up for a disappointment. I wouldn’t go there for dinner – the food doesn’t warrant the à la carte prices and the atmosphere becomes a bit too stuffy, a bit too full of dismally self-important pithy bankers and the worst of the nouveau riche. But the place really is good, very good, at lunch. And you’ll feel that little bit less devoured by your exams.
112 Draycott Avenue
London SW3 3AE
020 7589 4257
