Oliver Peyton's perfect day

Oliver Peyton

Oliver Peyton is a renowned British restaurateur with several restaurants in London including Inn the Park (www.innthepark.com/) in St James' Park, the National Dining Rooms (www.thenationaldiningrooms.co.uk/) in the National Gallery and the Wallace Restaurant (www.thewallacerestaurant.co.uk/) in the Wallace Collection. Oliver's constant mantra is "restaurants should be about having fun". Here he shares his perfect day in London.

"My perfect day would have to start with breakfast at one of my restaurants called Inn the Park (St James's Park) on a Saturday morning when I am in London. You can usually find me there with my family tucking into the a la carte menu of fresh organic produce. Best time is to get there at around 09:30 and just soak up the morning with your nearest and dearest.

Tea at The Ritz © Britainonview.com

At about 11:00 I would head off for some serious retail therapy around some of the London antique shops. One of my favourite areas for antique shopping is Alfies Antique Market (www.alfiesantiques.com/) in Church Street, off Edgware Road. There are lots of antique stores to dive into here with a real mix of modern and antiques to choose from. My tip here is to take your time as there is so much to see and do.

Then I would follow this by a lunch at The Wolseley (www.thewolseley.com/) next to the Ritz Hotel. It's a European style café on the grand scale. Don't get there too early for lunch as it can be very busy and if you leave it a bit later you're more likely to get the right table. The restaurant is very good at catering for my kids as well which always goes down well with me. For afternoon tea I would head for Browns (www.brownshotel.com). It says everything about this great tradition.

A photography exhibition in the Tate Modern gallery, the national collection of modern and contemporary art © VisitLondonImages / Britainonview.com

Another opportunity that I'd include in my perfect day is a trip down the River Thames on a boat, stopping off at the Tate Modern and if you have time, popping further along the river to Greenwich. It's such a nice way of taking in some of London's best sites.

I love visiting the Tate Modern because there is always something for the kids to do - we just let them get on with it. When the kids pop along to a painting workshop I have time to wander around and enjoy the Tate's many opportunities. I love it when you can mix culture with something else - the Tate Modern is perfect for that.

Another place I have to include in my perfect day is a visit to Borough Market, one of Britain's most important food markets. Again, this is a place I love walking around in. My top tip is to either visit Borough Market very early or at the end of the day. That way you get to really appreciate the place walking around at your own pace."

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