Bites

Church Service, 291 Hackney Road, London E2 (020-7613 5675) Tues-Sat dinner, Sun 12-10pm. Most of the neo-gothic St Augustine's is taken up by a gallery where currently there are performances of digital arts until 2am. The small upstairs restaurant gets great reports for mainly Italian food: low prices reflect the area, high standards don't and the format's that of a three-course meal, herring fillets, sour cream and dill for £4.25 to start, calves liver with sage, sherry and cream afterwards for a mere £7.95.

Church Service, 291 Hackney Road, London E2 (020-7613 5675) Tues-Sat dinner, Sun 12-10pm. Most of the neo-gothic St Augustine's is taken up by a gallery where currently there are performances of digital arts until 2am. The small upstairs restaurant gets great reports for mainly Italian food: low prices reflect the area, high standards don't and the format's that of a three-course meal, herring fillets, sour cream and dill for £4.25 to start, calves liver with sage, sherry and cream afterwards for a mere £7.95.

Bah Humbug, The Crypt, St Matthew's Church, Brixton Hill, London SW2 (020-7738 3184) Mon-Fri dinner, Sat, Sun 11am-midnight. This vegetarian and fish restaurant gets the vaulted crypt of St Matthew's Church kickin' of an evening, with an open-plan kitchen, thumping music and fleet of foot staff. Sophisticated food may include Japanese salad, to bouillabaisse, and a Cantonese mock duck made from soybean protein that's famous in veggie circles. Starters are around £3.80, main courses from £8.90 to £12.90, but there are salads and savoury crepes for less and various permutations of brunch at weekends. The church above houses a club, theatre space and place for worship.

Café at All Saints, High Street, Hereford (01432 370415) Mon-Sat 8.30am-5.30pm. The medieval church above still works; this vegetarian, and often vegan café occupies the crypt from breakfast to tea time when there are home-baked scones. Midday choices consist of a soup, a hot dish such as ratatouille with Asian flavours, chilli roast tofu and bulgar wheat (£5.65), and a quiche with a couple of salads. It's sedate, but it is licensed. On the third Friday of every month there's a dinner cooked by chef Bill Sewell who runs a similar set-up in the crypt of St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London (020 7329 0789).

Freud, Walton Street, Oxford (01865 311171) Mon, Tues 10am-11pm, Wed-Sat 10am-2am, Sun 10am-10.30pm. A temple in the neo-classic Greek Revival style with pre-Raphaelite associations and stained glass windows of the period was rescued from neglect by architecture enthusiasts. It thrives as a hangout that functions as a café, bar and restaurant with changing exhibitions taking up some of the space. Snacks, filled ciabatte and bagels, pizze (from £4.25) and salads are served all day and night. Live music starts with jazz piano at the beginning of the week and builds up to a full funk band at the end, with salsa dance classes on Sunday nights.