As you may have seen, I’ve recently tried out the Sorolla set menu at the National Gallery Cafe. But did you know they do breakfast/brunch and afternoon tea too? Read on to see what I thought of their weekend brunch offering!
Brunch always starts with coffee for me!
* Full disclosure, my brunch at the National Gallery Cafe was free in return for this honest review, all opinions are my own*
Brunch at the National Gallery Cafe, Trafalgar Square
The restaurant & decor
Walking off of the busy Charing Cross road, you enter an oasis of calm in the National Cafe.
The restaurant area is decorated in calming greys and pinks, with Scandi touches of warm wood.
The back lit sky painting panels are inspired by works from the Gallery itself and add to the natural light in the Cafe.
Drinks options
Skinny latte perfection!
I started with a skinny latte and Laura took an English Breakfast tea.
The tea arrived in a pot with a separate jug of milk – proper British style!
Cheers to cava for Saturday brunch!
We also got a glass of cava with our food and kept hydrated with their juices.
Going for all the red things!
I had the apple & raspberry juice and Laura had the watermelon & mint juice. Both of the juices were super refreshing – I don’t drink a lot of fruit juice, but when it’s fresh there is nothing better.
Cheers!
The staff also kept us hydrated, topping up glasses of tap water for us.
Food options
Lots of options on this brunch menu!
The menu is quite large, with a wide selection of breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes if you are there a bit later. This made it super tricky to decide what to go with, but as we were there early, it had to be egg based…
Breakfast ‘basket’
Croissant, toast, butter and jam! (bread for Laura)
We started with a ‘breakfast basket’ of toast and croissants. As Laura had toothache, the staff really looked after us and made sure that there was some soft bread for her to chew on.
Summer courgette fritter
I decided to get out of my comfort zone with my main brunch course…
Summer courgette fritter – a plate of veggies
I ordered the Summer courgette fritter, which came with grilled halloumi and a salad with basil and orange dressing. You can see that the salad had fresh peas, different heritage tomatoes and pumpkin seeds in it. I had my extra poached egg, but to be fair I probably didn’t need it with so much on the plate.
My fritter was one substantial piece, made with grated courgette, onion and carrot. I think it would have worked better as several smaller fritters, as then you would have gotten more of the crispy outside. It was very filling too, the salad wasn’t so much of a side salad as a major part of the dish. I was certainly full and felt very healthy after eating all those veggies!
Avocado toast with poached egg
Avocado on toast with poached eggs, heritage tomatoes and fresh basil
Laura got the avocado on toast (but on bread for her!) with poached eggs. This also came with heritage tomatoes, feta and chilli. Despite her tooth pain, she managed to eat through most of it! Even the millennial ‘classic’ of avocado toast was made summery with the addition of fresh basil and all the contrasting colours of the heritage tomatoes.
What a good (& healthy!) looking table!
This is what a Summer brunch should look like!
Perfect poached eggs!
Beautiful vivid orange egg yolks make me happy!
A complete meal on one plate
Gotta get that gooey yolk!
Other brunch options on the menu that sounded really interesting to me are almond pancakes, the Reuben sandwich, shakshuka, and the hake and haddock cake with lobster sauce! For lunch (from 12pm-2pm) there were veggie burger, steak or chicken Kiev options too.
Visit the National Gallery for free
After our brunch we headed into the National Gallery to see some of the paintings.
Look I found a painting to match my hair!
Katie looking at a painting
Laura having a giggle over the naked butts!
As it’s free to enter the Gallery, you can literally pop in for 20 minutes (although it might take you longer to find your way back out!).
The verdict on brunch at the National Cafe
I really enjoyed our brunch at the National Cafe. The menu was super interesting and had so many options that I will definitely be coming back to check more of them out. The staff were lovely, the service very good and they really looked after Laura with her tooth pain. Our waiter also spotted that my poached egg had turned up on Laura’s plate and swiftly got me another without me having to ask. Little things like this make the difference and make the National Cafe stand out from other restaurants nearby that are more tourist focused.
The location is very central and makes for a great place to start off a day out in London. Or even just a calm place to escape from the busy galleries and Trafalgar Square.
Will you be heading to the National Cafe this Summer? Let me know in the comments below!
Obligatory fountain photo – I think I forgot to smile though!
National Cafe Opening Times:
Monday – Thursday: 9.30am – 8.30pm
Friday: 9.30am – 10pm
Sat & Sunday: 9.30am–6pm
Lunch is available from 12:00 noon daily, and the kitchen closes at 8pm Mon-Thurs, and at 9pm on Friday.
To book a table go to The National Cafe website.
Find the National Cafe:
Val says
Just added on my places to visit in London this summer! Loved the Summer courgette fritter and of course the old time classic (oxymoron right??) avocado on toast! Nice hair (and wall!) colour too!
Katie says
Haha thanks Val!
Sarah Wilson says
Ooh, this looks rather nice. Would never have thought of visiting the National Gallery for brunch. But as i will be back in London in July, I may just do that. Menu looks lush!
Katie says
You should definitely check it out for brunch/lunch or even dinner Sarah!
Linda (LD Holland) says
The National Gallery looks like a great option for brunch. Starting with cava is perfect for me. I do love that they provided a great selection of breads. And were attentive to your friend’s toothache. Both of the breakfast mains look quite yummy. I loved that the poached eggs did not look wet.
Katie says
The eggs were great Linda – I’m sure you’d love the food.
Bilal and Izzy says
This place looks so beautiful and the food looks so delicious! i really like the variety of breads they offer. Wil have to check this place out
Katie says
The food is great – it’s a lovely restaurant.
Lissy L'Amoreaux says
This brunch looks so yummy! I love how good that coffee looks and I would have totally ordered that breakfast basket since I love pastries and breads anywhere in the Uk or Europe!
Katie says
I think you would have enjoyed them Lissy!
Andrei Salokhin says
Great option for brunch. I love your shots, nice color.
Katie says
Thanks Andrei! There is definitely plenty of choice here!