Wimbledon is London's middle class dream suburb. It has that most desired urban artefact– the High Street with real High Street shops (and not over run with cheap chains– although there is a Café Rouge but isn't that where Bridget Jones went with Shazza and the gang?– so that doesn't count). It also has the Common. That means horse riding. And it also means vast numbers of dog walkers.

For those who have not seen Wimbledon Common, it is huge and largely "wild". It is unlikely you would get gored by a boar or England's last wild lion but the trees are actually quite lovely. Once you have crossed the common you end up in Richmond Park which also is very large but is a lot more open and has wild deer grazing in it. If you can afford a house near the Common or the Park, you probably consider the BMW 4x4 as the family car because the Lotus is too impractical for anything other than driving to work.

However, it is easy to poke fun.

One thing that did strike me, is that the High Street has lots of chain pubs (Youngs seems to own nearly all of them) but there are relatively few simple places to have lunch. Myself and my lovely companion were nearly on the common, dying of thirst for a cup of tea, before we found The Light Café.

It is a lovely bright space with big windows facing the road where the horse riders pass from the stables on the High Street into the common. The menu is clearly about eating and the wine list is chosen with food in mind. The tables are far enough apart for men-who-brunch to push a double baby-buggy between without disrupting anybody's Guardian reading.

We arrived at about 2pm and it was very buzzy but we did get a newly vacated table in the window. To each I chose a wonderful (if quite rare) burger with homemade sauces and fries. My fabulous companion chose the gnocci with a rich tomato sauce. The food menu was imaginative with something for most people without being too long.

For wine we went for a New Zealand Riesling and a McLaren Vale Shiraz (which was better than the Riesling and slightly cheaper). We were there for a good couple of hours chatting and reading without ever receiving a hurry on. As the lunchers left, the afternoon tea-ers rocked in.

For me at least, it will not become my regular lunchtime habitat until the BBC elevates me from my short paragraphs on food to a properly paid position. However, in the Wimbledon High Street it is currently the only place to go.

Getting There: On the High Street just past those shops selling dresses for over £1,900 each (seriously).

Who should eat there: people who know people who work for the BBC.

Dining Style: Anything but common.

Price: £15 each with a glass of something.

Quality: Best of British Café society.

Would I go Back: Whenever I didn't feel like a pub (but did feel like a womble).

Phoenician Trader

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