The sunny William Morris Gallery Tea room is one of our favourite hide-away places. For anyone who’s not been before, it’s a lovely place to take visitors and family for tea and cakes overlooking the gardens, after an arty afternoon in the gallery.
But recently we went along to their ‘Hotel-Breakfast’ event. It seemed an unusual idea – getting out of bed for a 9am unlimited 1 hour breakfast, in the gallery cafe, on a Sunday morning. Would this really be popular in Walthamstow, especially at nearly £15 a head? Apparently so, the event was sold-out and the place was packed with eager, early-morning breakfasters.
The central table was beautifully laid-out with an array of tempting plates of pancakes, waffles, pastries, platters of cheeses and meats, bread baskets, cereals and fresh fruit. All this was served alongside freshly squeezed juices, Union coffee and a selection of teas.
And it works some how. I really felt like I had come down from my bedroom in a boutique hotel to a lovely breakfast buffet. The service was welcoming and efficient, making sure we had drinks throughout, and offering a bag to take goodies home with at the end. We loved the quality of the ingredients – especially noticeable in the meat and cheese platter, the excellent sourdough and the Union coffee. We enjoyed the relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and the whole experience set us up for a lovely Sunday morning stroll around the park.
The Tea room café is run by local company Larder, who started up in Wanstead in 2007, and have now expanded to Bethnal Green, the Butler’s Retreat in Epping Forest, the William Morris Gallery, and in the last few months – Central Park and Plashet Park in Newham and East Ham Library. They’ll also be running the café in the Walthamstow Wetlands Engine House visitor centre when it opens in Autumn 2017.
The Tea room café is open – Wednesday-Sunday 10am-4.30pm.
William Morris Gallery: Forest Road, Walthamstow, London, E17 4PP
https://www.facebook.com/WMGTearoom/
*We were invited as guests of Larder London.
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