Where To Eat And Drink In Wimbledon

Laura Reynolds
By Laura Reynolds Last edited 57 months ago
Where To Eat And Drink In Wimbledon
Photo: Shutterstock

Wimbledon... home to tennis for two weeks of the year, but also worth visiting the other 50 weeks.

Whether you live or work nearby, or are just visiting the area, we've found some of the best places to eat and drink in Wimbledon. It's a spread out beast, covering four stations (Wimbledon, Wimbledon South, Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon Chase) plus a common and a village, so we've found restaurants, bars, cafes and pubs from all corners of SW19, and a bit beyond.

If you're visiting the first two weeks in July (Wimbledon Championships season), you'd do well to book a table where possible, as everywhere in the vicinity gets busy.

Breakfast and brunch in Wimbledon

Bill's, Wimbledon

Avocado on toast at Bill's

Popular chain Bill's has Wimbledon covered for morning munches. The menu — served until 11.30am — covers breakfast and brunch, from a full English and vegan equivalent, to eggs done pretty much anyway you like, and buttermilk pancakes topped with either fruit or streaky bacon. The banana, strawberry and blueberry pancakes are our go to, but anyone with less of a sweet tooth — or looking for something lighter — could so a lot worse than the cumberland sausage bun.

Brew Cafe, Wimbledon Village

Breakfast at Brew

Brew is open all day but the breakfast menu is noteworthily extensive, ranging from poached eggs on sourdough toast to a brew brunch bowl (quinoa, peas, beans, broccoli, feta, pomegranate, and mint dressing) and toasted croissants. If you're a full English kinda person, this probably isn't the place for you (although the Brew Melt — ham, gruyère, vine tomato, poached eggs & pesto served on toasted pide — goes some way to curing carb cravings). For something a bit different, try the smokey bacon Boston beans on sourdough toast. Punchy.

Cafes and coffee shops in Wimbledon

Saucer & Cup, Wimbledon Park

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Widely posited as the best coffee shop in Wimbledon — and, some claim, the best in London — Saucer & Cup is the place to head if you need a cup of joe to pep you up in the morning. The baristas here really know their beans, and all coffee served is single origin. Similarly, the cakes and pastries are sourced from local London bakeries.

The Scandi-style wood-and-white-washed interior wouldn't look out of place in an east London hipster hotspot, and is calming on the mind before that caffeine kicks in.

Gooseberry Bush Cafe

Image: Gooseberry Bush Cafe

Teetering on the Wimbledon-Merton border, Gooseberry Bush Cafe is located within the Gooseberry Bush Centre — a multi-purpose building hosting pilates, yoga and NCT classes, holistic therapy rooms, and the all-important cafe. Focus is on nutritious food, but that doesn't mean it's all health food. Cakes, quiches and soups are made on site daily using locally-sourced ingredients, and heartier meals including stews and pasta and meatballs are also available. It's a family-friendly option too, with a 'Little People's Menu' and bibs, plastic cutlery and the like available to borrow.

Kaldi Coffee, Wimbledon

Indy business Kaldi is the one if you need your caffeine fix before you're fit for anything else. It's located right next to Wimbledon station, and offers coffees, hot chocolates (if you've a sweet tooth, try the white hot chocolate), breakfasts, sandwiches, milkshakes and lunches. Pop in for sustenance — especially if you're walking up to the tennis.

Where to go for lunch or dinner in Wimbledon

Giggling Squid, Wimbledon

Photo: Giggling Squid

Mini-chain Giggling Squid made its London debut in Wimbledon in 2018, serving up a vast menu of Thai specialities. Portion sizes are generous, food is full of flavour, and prices are reasonable — your only problem might be making a choice. Read our full review.

The Ivy Cafe, Wimbledon Village

Photo: The Ivy Cafe, Wimbledon Village

It's not quite as pricey as its central London counterpart, but The Ivy Cafe is still a special occasion place. Decor is sleek and sophisticated, with the restaurant split into several unique areas, so you could almost be dining in someone's house. More often than not, a floral arch flanks the main entrance. As for the food, it's a pretty decent choice from sandwiches and steaks to fish and chips, chicken and veal dishes. Whatever you opt for, make sure you leave room for dessert — the Chocolate Bombe is one of the top dishes to be had in London — pour the hot salted caramel sauce over and watch it descend into a pile of gooey, chocolatey deliciousness.

Stage Door Steakhouse & Bar, Wimbledon Broadway

This family-run restaurant splits its specialities between Greek food and steaks, and still manages to pull both off with aplomb The excellent, friendly service more than makes up for the slightly dated interior, and it's a welcome splash of variety among the chain restaurants in this part of Wimbledon. People speak highly of the scampi starter, and it's worth hanging round for a Greek coffee after your meal.

Dip and Flip, Wimbledon Broadway

Image: Dip & Flip

For a speedy meal, Dip and Flip is a family-friendly burger restaurant offering a crowd-pleasing menu of burgers, sandwiches, fries and sides, usually served quite quickly. It's a messy option though, so one to avoid if you're in your tennis whites.

Chango Empanadas, Wimbledon High Street

Photo: Chango Empanadas

Authentic Argentine empanadas and stews meet Spanish tapas at Chango Empanadas, all washed down with Argentine wines. For the uninitiated, empanadas are small baked or fried pastries with fillings such as onion, ham, fish or sweetcorn. The venue itself is best described as cosy, the petite rustic wooden tables offering little in the way of privacy.

Al Forno, Wimbledon Broadway

Image: Al Forno, Wimbledon

Italian food — an absolute classic, and done very well at homely Italian trattoria Al Forno. Tucked away just off The Broadway, the themed exterior makes it easy to find. Pizzas are cooked in a traditional brick oven, and there's also an extensive menu of pasta, salad, risotto, meat and fish dishes. The risotto porcini is a deliciously creamy option, or try the diavola pizza for something with a bit of kick. Leave room for dessert — the tiramisu's got our name on it.

Waffle Jacks, Wimbledon Chase

Go full American at Waffle Jack's

For a full blowout meal, head to Waffle Jack's. If the decor — chequerboard floor, diner-style bar stools and jukeboxes — isn't enough Americana for you, the menu will be. Think burgers, hot dogs, waffles and mac 'n' cheese, washed down with thick milkshakes, with a dessert chaser of brownie, sundae, or banana split. It's the short of place you waddle out of.

The best pubs in Wimbledon

Image: Londonist

We've already got this covered — see the Wimbledon section of our pubs microsite to find your best bet for a decent pint.

Bars and late night drinking in Wimbledon

Image: Hemingways

With its sedate suburban reputation, Wimbledon's not known for its lively party bars, but that doesn't mean it's lights out at 10pm round here.

Hemingways, High Street Wimbledon

Image: Hemingways Bar

For cocktails in SW19, Hemingways is your lad. Styled as a lounge bar, the chic green velvet booths and stalls leave plenty of floorspace for the regular live music events. Its street corner location means there are plenty of tables on the pavement outside too, if you want to be European about it.

Cocktails vary from the classics (Espresso Martini, Mai Tai, and Hemingways Daquiri) to the bar's own signature cocktails. Make like the bar's writer namesake with The Country Club (raspberry infused Havana 3 Rum, strawberry and rose sorbet, vanilla, and lime), or get into the tennis spirit with a cucumber-infused Forget Me Not.

They're big on their wine around these parts too, with regular tasting events, and freshly-cooked pizzas are available to soak it all up.

Open until 1am (11.30pm on Sundays).

The Old Frizzle, Wimbledon Broadway

The Old Frizzle is full of nooks and crannies

Styled like a pub, but with a decent cocktail menu and regular live music nights, The Old Frizzle is an all-day venue — from brunch to pre-theatre dining — that comes into its own in the evening. Sink into a gorgeous Chesterfield sofa, surround yourself with overflowing bookshelves and work your way through the cocktail menu.

At out last count, the gin menu alone had 15  tipples to choose from, with a mix and match approach to mixers and garnishes. Classic and more daring cocktails — and mocktails — are readily available, And in case you forget where you are, Pimms is available by the glass or jug.

Open until 11pm Monday-Wednesday, midnight Thursday-Saturday, and 10.30pm Sunday.

Suburban Bar & Lounge

Image: Suburban Bar & Lounge

For a livelier night out, head to the Suburban Bar & Lounge, another place where cocktails are a speciality, and dancing the night away is encouraged. It can get a bit cosy inside, with drinkers pouring out onto the pavement on busy summer evenings, but the drinks are good, the music's decent, and it's only a five minute stumble back to Wimbledon station.

Open until 11pm Tuesday-Thursday, midnight Friday-Saturday. Closed Sunday-Monday.

Last Updated 24 June 2019