Bishops Park is Fulham's riverside — the Thames Path, Fulham Palace's gardens, Craven Cottage and the new Fulham Pier. It's the part of the neighbourhood you bring people to show off: green, watery, and made for a long walk that ends in a pint. These are the places to eat and drink along the river.
Bishops Park is Fulham's riverside — the Thames Path, Fulham Palace's gardens, Craven Cottage and the new Fulham Pier. It's the part of the neighbourhood you bring people to show off: green, watery, and made for a long walk that ends in a pint. These are the places to eat and drink along the river.Read the noteHide the note
Bishops Park is Fulham's riverside — the Thames Path, Fulham Palace's gardens, Craven Cottage and the new Fulham Pier. It's the part of the neighbourhood you bring people to show off: green, watery, and made for a long walk that ends in a pint. These are the places to eat and drink along the river.
The local tip: Go for a salad lunch box, a pressed juice or a protein shake.
A proper health food shop on Fulham High Street that has been quietly serving the neighbourhood for years. Bulk bins of grains and nuts, a solid selection of organic produce, supplements, and all the specialist dietary stuff you struggle to find at Tesco. They also do a decent little cafe menu if you need a quick healthy lunch. Not glamorous, but genuinely useful and well-stocked.
The local tip: Combine the riverside walk with the tennis or basketball courts; the summer splash pad is the family draw.
The green heart of Fulham since 1893, running along the Thames from Putney Bridge to Craven Cottage. Alongside the ornamental lake, urban beach and playgrounds are tennis courts, a basketball court, bowling green and table tennis, making it as useful for an active afternoon as a riverside stroll. Fulham Palace and its walled garden sit directly beside it.
Bishop's Avenue, London SW6 6EA
With KidsDog FriendlyOutdoor SeatingGreat ViewSunday Morning
The local tip: The walled garden is magical. Visit in spring for the wisteria
Thirteen acres of historic grounds surrounding Fulham Palace. A restored walled garden with vinery, ornamental lake, wildflower meadows, and three play areas. Part of the longest moat in England. Grade II* listed and free to visit daily. A destination in its own right.
The local tip: Hidden behind the church. One of the most peaceful spots in Fulham
Hidden inside The Palace Gardener garden centre near Bishop's Park, where light pours through the glass ceiling onto reclaimed wood tables. Caravan coffee, sourdough toasties and a greenhouse setting unlike any other cafe in SW6 — you drink your flat white surrounded by plants waiting to be taken home. Walk-ins only, open until 4pm, and all the better for staying slightly secret.
The local tip: Some of the best Indian food in SW6. The lamb rogan josh is superb
Run by a husband-and-wife team with Michelin-starred pedigree, chef Shilpa trained under Raymond Blanc and at Quilon. Modern Indian fine dining in an intimate room on Fulham High Street. The dal makhani and Mangalorean chicken curry are standouts. Punches well above its weight.
The local tip: Classic riverside pub. Good for a pint after a Bishops Park walk
Historic Fulham pub that CAMRA describes as Fulham's oldest, dating possibly to the 1500s and known to have been licensed by 1757. Spacious beer garden with huts, fairy lights, and benches. Sky and BT Sports on screens. Walking distance from Putney Bridge station. History seeping from the walls in the best possible way.
The local tip: Find the bishops' tombs by the east end — and yes, this is the churchyard where The Omen impaled Father Brennan in 1976.
The ancient parish church of Fulham, with a church on this site for over 900 years. The 15th-century Kentish ragstone tower is the oldest surviving structure. Grade II* listed with a stunning riverside setting in Bishop's Park next to Putney Bridge. Worth visiting for the architecture and Thames views alone.
The local tip: Note the 2025 Ofsted split: Good across the board but early years Requires Improvement — worth probing on a reception visit.
Church of England primary school on Bishop's Avenue with Good Ofsted key judgements for education, behaviour, personal development and leadership in 2025; early years was Requires Improvement. Strong pastoral care and close ties to the local parish community.
The local tip: Happy hour runs Monday to Thursday, 3–6pm — pair it with a stone-baked pizza before the evening crowd fills in.
A neighbourhood bar and kitchen right next to Bishops Park. By day it's artisan coffee and pastries; by evening it transforms into a proper cocktail bar with uniquely crafted house cocktails. Happy hour Mon-Thu 3-6pm. Neapolitan stone-baked pizzas to line the stomach. Open until midnight Thu-Sat. The kind of versatile, all-day bar that Fulham Palace Road was missing.
The local tip: The steak frites is a sure bet. Ask for a window table
Modern British seasonal cooking at the new Fulham Pier, curated by Michelin-starred chef Adam Byatt, with floor-to-ceiling Thames views and a terrace for al fresco dining. The menu changes with the seasons and tips its hat to the cookery writer Constance Spry, and the wine list runs to more than two hundred options. For all the pedigree there are no airs and graces — dogs welcome, no dress code — and it remains one of SW6's most exciting recent openings.
Fulham Pier, Stevenage Road, London SW6 6HH
Special OccasionDate NightGreat ViewOutdoor SeatingDog Friendly
The local tip: Match day atmosphere is unreal. The Riverside Stand is stunning
Home of Fulham FC since 1896, wedged between the Thames and Bishop's Park, and arguably the most atmospheric ground in English football. The Archibald Leitch-designed Johnny Haynes Stand of 1905 — Grade II listed, original wooden seats and all — is the oldest surviving stand in the professional game, and the actual cottage still sits in the corner. At the other end of the timeline, the rebuilt Riverside Stand, completed in 2025, added a rooftop Sky Deck with views up the river.
The local tip: The lemon sole goujons are the move once you're past the cod-and-chips phase. Eat in or take away
Proper fish and chips on Fulham High Street, with fish delivered daily and a menu that goes well beyond the classic — lemon sole goujons, homemade fishcakes, and grilled or steamed options for the virtuous. It works as both a sit-down restaurant and a takeaway, open noon to 10pm, so it covers everything from a Friday night on the sofa to a proper family dinner out. Classic British done right, no frills needed.
The local tip: The Prosecco bar downstairs is a nice touch. Good wine list
The riverside cocktail and wine bar at Fulham Pier, part of Adam Byatt's Brasserie Constance project. Floor-to-ceiling Thames views, a deep wine list curated by the Trinity sommelier team, and a concise cocktail menu. This is the most elevated drinking experience in Fulham right now, proper mixology with a river panorama. Small plates available. Closed on Fulham FC match days, which is either a blessing or a curse depending on your perspective.
Level 1, Fulham Pier, Stevenage Road, London SW6 6HH
The local tip: Go on a Sunday morning. The seasonal produce stalls are the highlight
Weekly Sunday market (10am-2pm) in the picturesque setting near Bishop's Park by the Thames. Organic produce from independent farms, artisanal street food, baked goods, handmade goods, and lifestyle products. Easily walkable from Putney Bridge or Parsons Green tube. The locals' weekend ritual.
The local tip: The Tudor kitchen and botanical gardens are genuinely impressive
The Bishops of London kept their summer residence here from 704 AD, and the whole estate — museum, botanical gardens and all — is free to wander. Come in through the Tudor courtyard, find the 500-year-old holm oak on the lawn (officially one of London's Great Trees), then lose half an hour in the restored walled garden among the knot garden and bee hives. The Drawing Room Cafe does the honours afterwards.
The local tip: Check the fixture list before heading down — it closes on Fulham match days. On a clear evening the riverside tables are the point.
Opened in June 2025 as part of Fulham FC's Riverside Stand redevelopment. A year-round riverside destination with food hall, entertainment venues, comedy nights, roller disco, wine clubs, and fitness classes. Free entry and usually open 8am-11pm, but closed on Fulham FC matchdays.
The local tip: A deli, grocer and wine cellar. Stop for coffee or pick up something for lunch.
British deli, specialty grocer, and wine cellar on the corner of Fulham Palace Road and Gowan Avenue. Family-owned by long-time SW6 residents, proudly showcasing the best of British food, wine, and spirits. Serves Kiss The Hippo coffee. Open 8am-8pm daily.
The local tip: The sauna/steam room is useful after a swim or class.
A full-service gym in an unlikely, rather lovely spot: down by the Thames on Stevenage Road, right beside Craven Cottage. There's a swimming pool, a sauna and steam room, and a full programme of group classes — everything under one roof, so a swim-then-steam evening actually happens rather than staying a plan. The riverside location makes a warm-up jog through Bishop's Park the best perk of the membership. On match days, plan around the crowds.
The local tip: Sort appointments and repeat prescriptions online — the surgery runs most of its admin through the website, which beats a morning on hold.
NHS GP surgery at 510 Fulham Palace Road, part of the South Fulham Primary Care Network and the natural choice for the Bishop's Park end of Fulham. A neighbourhood practice in the plainest sense: general practice, prescriptions and referrals for the streets between the river and Munster Road.
The local tip: The match-day approach to Craven Cottage: off the train, through Bishop's Park along the river, at the ground in fifteen minutes.
District line station (zone 2) at the bottom end of Fulham, open since 1880 and sitting, despite the name, on the Fulham bank of the Thames. Gateway to Putney over the bridge, and the best-placed stop for Bishop's Park, All Saints Church and the riverside walk — all within a few minutes on foot.
The local tip: The riverside terrace on a summer evening is hard to beat
A proper riverside pub tucked away on Rainville Road with one of the best beer gardens in west London. The Crabtree sits right on the Thames and on a sunny day there's nowhere you'd rather be. The inside is classic pub territory — warm, wood-panelled, with a decent selection of ales. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon watching the river traffic, or a post-match pint after walking along from Craven Cottage.
The local tip: Sit in the garden in summer. Feels like you are not in London
A charming cafe inside Fulham Palace, the former country retreat of the Bishops of London, with garden terrace seating. It is the perfect pit-stop while exploring the palace grounds and botanical gardens — coffee and cake after a wander through the walled garden, or a breather from Bishop's Park next door. One of the few places in London where your morning coffee comes with a thousand years of history attached.
The local tip: Riverside pub with character. Grab a pint and sit outside
Traditional tavern near Putney Bridge, first licensed in 1629 as the Blue Anchor, with an 18th-century building CAMRA describes as Fulham's oldest surviving tavern. Family-run traditional English boozer near Putney Bridge. No pretensions, no gastropub menu, just a proper old-school local with history in the walls.
The local tip: Coffee in the Glasshouse Café after a Bishop's Park walk.
A garden centre with proper pedigree — founded in the 1930s by the family behind The Chelsea Gardener, tucked beside Fulham Palace and Bishop's Park. Plants, pots and tools alongside a Glasshouse Café that's a lovely, leafy spot for coffee. A characterful green corner of SW6 that's survived where so many independents haven't.
The local tip: Stop here after a walk through Bishops Park
A Grade II listed Victorian refreshment house in Bishop's Park, handsomely refurbished and run as an all-day cafe. Freshly brewed teas, artisan coffee and brunch, with treats arriving from its own bakery in Wandsworth — and the river close enough to hear the rowing coaches. Sat beside the bowling green with the playground out front, it is perfectly placed after a Thames-side walk, open seven days for eating in, sitting out, or taking away.
The local tip: Look up when you get inside — the listed billiards-hall ceiling is the show. Handy for a pint on the walk down to Craven Cottage too.
Housed in a stunning Grade II listed former billiards hall from 1909, near Putney Bridge. High ceilings, period details, and proper character. Craft beers, cocktails, and comfort food. The building alone is worth the visit, one of the most architecturally interesting pubs in SW6.
I start with places I would actually recommend, then let agree/disagree votes move the order around. Paid placement is not part of the ranking. If reader signals or new details suggest somewhere has slipped, it is reviewed and can come off.
Frequently asked
What are the best places in Bishops Park?
Start with Natis Wholefoods, Bishop's Park, Fulham Palace Gardens. The order blends my own picks with anonymous agree/disagree votes from readers.
How many places are listed in Bishops Park?
26 places in Bishops Park are featured in this guide, across food, drink and local shops.
Where should I eat in Bishops Park?
For a meal in Bishops Park, start with Pure Indian Cooking and Brasserie Constance. Full descriptions, prices and opening hours are on each place's page.
