tate britain cafe in City of London, Westminster

Surprised at how much we spent on two drinks, two sandwiches and two cakes (£35). Not everything was priced so you had no sense of the cost until you got to the checkout. One sandwich was almost £10, and one of the cakes was almost £6 - neither marked on the shelf. Quality of food was OK, although lemongrass and ginger tea didn’t have much flavour. Place was busy and hard to find a table at lunchtime. Service was quicker than expected though. Tables weren’t very clean and they started clearing before we’d even finished, they obviously want you out as quickly as possible. In future probably look for somewhere else nearby.

As with other reviews this cafe is a disappointment and is like a school canteen area. Serving staff are unfriendly and if you can I would avoid and go somewhere else. Read the reviews Tate and change things!! Venue does not reflect the magnificent artwork upstairs

Ordered red lentil Dahl with cucumber raita and seeded bread. Dahl served with bread but no raita. I asked where the raita was. They had none and put on some raw red onion. Asked if that was alright. I said no. Got to the till, asked for a reduction as I hadn't got the whole advertised meal. No...had to pay full price. Nice saving for the kitchens if they don't give every customer what they ordered and paid for. Eat else where.

Expensive, weak, small serving Americano coffee. Pastries over priced. Recommend neighbourhood coffee shops. Would not return.

Serving staff were rude when I requested no chocolate to be added to my cappuccino as it was being completed. It made no difference to them as the chocolate had not been added. I was told off like a naughty child 'A bit late' and then told to make the request when ordering in future. I won't be ordering in future!

Went in, went straight out again. Lunchtime. Heaving with people. Unforgettable ghastly odour of the dining room at City of London school in 1976. Sandwiches looked grey. Went out of Tate, turned right, turned right again, found little cafe on a square where we had cheese toasties and chatted about the Rossettis.

Servizio a self-service, dolce e salato. Molto gradevole sedersi ai tavoli esterni in ombra al pomeriggio. Costante e garbato il sistema di pulizia dei tavoli. Ottima sosta.

Très pratique,un choix limité mais bon. Mention spéciale aux scènes avec la crème et la confiture.Le personnel est aimable et attentionné.

I found the hot meal selection to be well prepared, and the staff to be very helpful. The surroundings are clean, and let's face it, I wanted to eat lunch and return quickly to the galleries upstairs. I see there are comments about how expensive it is; I didn't notice any great difference from anyplace else in a very pricey city. The food tasted good, and it's right in the museum.

Lovely location and space, but the prices are crackers. Sandwiches £8-10, £5.95 for a slice of cake, £3.95 for a muffin. I went for the muffin - it was dry, had perceptible quantities of raising agent (bicarb taste) and was covered in an overly-sweet layer of icing. Plus £3 for a cup of tea. Also quite a lot of tables with dirty trays/crockery. There are better places nearby! Cross the river to the Teahouse Theatre in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

£8 for a vegan wrap ....twice the price of Pret. However the Tate cafe vegan wrap does include a long queue to pay, then a long wait to collect hot drink from the counter!? The seating area itself is fine and there are tables outside for fine days - I suggest bringing your own lunch to eat here

I had lunch included with my exhibition ticket. It consisted of a salad and a soup with a glass of wine. I had the apple/celeriac soup and the rice and sweet potato salads. The food was tasty and well presented. I very much enjoyed it sitting outside in the July sunshine. I would recommend.

They've had a mural painted on the ceiling since I last visited, which at least brightens the dingy space a little bit. Unfortunately the cake is still rock hard and stale as ever. The cakes are left uncovered, so no wonder they don't stay fresh - most cafes use glass/plastic dome covers, which is also much more hygienic than just having them open on a table. Even the jam and cream for scones is uncovered. The soup was nice. If the prices were a bit lower to reflect the standard of food, it wouldn't be so bad, but they are charging the kind of prices you'd pay at a much nicer cafe. Unfortunately it just doesn't feel like a treat to go here, more somewhere you'll put up with because you're hungry and there's no other option. It's a shame because it wouldn't take much to make this place a lot more appealing. For info, there was a vegan cake available.

Sadly, this is not a particularly good cafe which is a great pity as everything else at Tate Britain is so good. Food choices are minimal and - for what you get - the prices are high. The seating area is comfortable and airy but the service is slow and the food really isn’t worth the wait. Don’t be put off visiting the gallery but plan on eating somewhere else when you do.

What can I say ! a disappointedly small selection of sandwiches and wraps we purchased both and I can honestly say it was the most tasteless sandwich I have ever had the misfortune to eat in fact we both left half , the coffee was hardly any better. How is that chains like Pret can deliver good quality food that is not only vastly superior but also cheaper, come on Tate catering get your act together.

Arriving much earlier to your slot at the Tate Britain brings you straight to the cafeteria. I knew it was going to be more expensive than having breakfast at home or at the coffee place in the corner. Definitely not cheaper than in a workers...

Ugly decor and a stale, dry slice of cake for almost £5. Even in a pandemic it's surely possible to provide a decent slice of cake in a cafe? The tea was nice though and good sized pots of leaf tea, not bags.

I visited Tate Britain to see the new Paula Rego exhibition. But the only ticket available was at 4.15pm so booked to follow the 1930-present trail at 2.45pm allowing me about half an hour for a tea break in the members’ room. Situated in a...

Dining in the orange glow of Chila Kumari Burman's installation. What an absolute joy our experience was. Knowledgable, wonderful service and spectacular flavours.

For £50 I had a miserable lunch and do not feel like returning. The portions were mean and the main course was not nearly warm enough ; no warmed plate to help this on a cold winter’s day. Very disappointing in a building I love very much. I have had many happy meals in the Whistler restaurant.

The wonderful food and great view to the river made the evening very special!

The food was absolutely delicious but small portions . A large airy room with wonderful views across the river.

overpriced and old decor. You would think for a gallery it would be beautiful but the tables and chairs remind me of a care home. the hot chocolate was nice at least

Having walked round the Aubrey Beardsley exhibition we went looking for a drink and a sandwich. Due to Covid 19 there were far less tables available in the café but despite this we were easily able to find a seat. There was a good choice...

The lunch was very tasty & well cooked. The service was attentive & not intrusive. It is a little expensive but a very enjoyable experience.

Good food choices , extensive wine list with those elusive half bottles as well as by the glass options , service could improve , bit of inexperience - but sommelier excellent in helping match wine and food .

great location, interesting decor, excellent, attentive service, short but attractive menu, food well prepared and presented, excellent wine list.

A great ambiance to the restaurant and the service was efficient and friendly. The food was OK but really of the level of a "gastro" pub more than a good restaurant. I had the lamb shank which was fine but came with a minute amount of potato and veg.

The vegetarian dish was bland. Not enough variety of dishes. Beautiful surroundings, good service, reasonable value

His best times are over. It was our fours and last visit.

Superb setting with an unusual set lunch menu, charming service, excellent wine list, and of course the Whistler mural as a backdrop!!

Very efficient, polite and attentive service; the waiters are professional at what they do. And the food is delicious - thank you for a lovely experience.

Food was good quality but portion sizes are small - particularly given the relative lack of accompaniments provided with each dish. Wine was very good quality.

The food is excellent and has to be to match the quality of the wine list which is one of the best in London.

A mixed experience yesterday at the Tate, not bad but certainly patchy, and I have eaten better here in the past. Let me start by saying that despite various negative reviews I have read about service, we found the service exemplary: helpful friendly and efficient. No complaints there at all. The shellfish raviolo £16.50 was as described, with a well-flavoured shellfish bisque sauce, a little spinach underneath, nicely flavoured with lemon & tarragon and a small blob of caviar on top. A delicious sauce but a rather rubbery spongy texture, not unpleasant but not great either. The main course was the main disappointment: a small piece of roast hake, pricey at £20; the salt & vinegar beef fat potatoes did not live up to the appetising description, rather feeble in fact, served with a split pea puree and a nice hollandaise, but the fish was underiseasoned, and more importantly overcooked, with a floury/grainy texture and flabby skin. The poached pear was very good, the chocolate mousse dessert excellent. All dishes were beautifully presented but small. Wines are still fairly priced on a very fine list, with lots of halves, particularly welcome at a restaurant that concentrates on lunches. Our bill for 4 (with only one half bottle of fairly modest but delicious Alsace Pinot Gris at £17) was £243, which didn’t quite feel worth it., especially as this was a birthday lunch for an old friend, whom I feel I rather let down. I have eaten very well at the Tate in the past, so I hope that these points might get noted, particularly as others have commented on overcooked fish.

Only one veg option. It was good but would have liked at least one more. Even tho resto was not full, we were jammed at a table between bar and wall. We asked to share shellfish starter, (£16+) but were told it was too small to share! Otherwise it was lovely meal and setting.

Great restaurant. Food service and wine all brilliant. Wine competitively priced

Returning to an old favourite can sometimes be a let down....not at all the Rex Whistler is still superb, Service, food and atmosphere were 1st class, it is now back on our radar, a total joy!

A walk around the great exhibitions, followed by excellent filter coffee, flat white and gluten free/vegan cake. Would recommend and will visit again.

Sommelier (female) amazing - she recommended a perfect wine for each course. Attentive but unobtrusive service

The only problem was with the bill. A failure in communication between the sommeliers and waiting staff meant that we were charged for two glasses of a wine that had been offered on the basis that “one glass was left”. The sommelier duly poured 175 cl wine into two glasses but logged it as two glasses. The unfortunate waiter was unable to change the bill without higher authority, so we had to insist, which cast a blight over an otherwise delightful experience. The service in every other way was exemplary and the wine advice helpful and interesting.

We really enjoyed our lunch at the restaurant. The food and wine were excellent and we loved the ambience with the mural and pleasantly subdued background music. The spacing of the tables was also good - not too crowded. The only criticism we have was that the service was not coordinated - one dish was served from the trolley and the others took quite a long time to emerge from the kitchen. As a result we were offered a complimentary glass of wine which helped to restore our impressions. We are already planning our next visit.

Very disappointing! The roast lamb was flavourless and the vegetables arrived several minutes later. To call this a 'signature' dish was pretentious in the extreme. The pear dessert was hard and unappetising; the chocolate dessert was fine. Wine by the glass was ridiculously priced. Service was poor, with a couple of apologies offered. The room was gloomy and had no ambience. We sat opposite the bar, where the counter was full of trays of used glasses and no one, not even the manager, seemed to notice or give instructions for their removal - this detracted from the dining experience. We have had better food and service in our local pub, at a fraction of the cost. Would not recommend or visit again.

Only criticisms, I had to wait half an hour for my roast beef , later arrivals were served first and the beef was lukewarm. Very tasty though and the staff friendly. I have been many times in the past to enjoy the murals. But price was a bit steep so may have to curb my enthusiasm!

I think our waiter passed on to the chef different cooking criteria than we had ordered the Duck was very pink, not medium cooked and the veal was medium cooked and not pink. The duck was cooked for a very short time further. The wine was superb, desserts wonderful and magnificent ambience.

What’s up with this place? We were here in the fall and the food was quite nice. This time we ordered some of the same dishes and they were not at all the same and not at all good. Is there a new chef who just kept the name but not the preparation of these dishes? And all of the items on the the very short menu weren’t even available. The room is beautiful of course, but that’s not enough. We won’t be back for a third visit.

Nice lunch, good service, perhaps a little expensive and pretentious, but overall a pleasant lunch. i would recommend selling wine by the glass in a variety if sizes as do most other places. 125ml is quite small, it would be nice to be offered the choice of 175 or 250ml as well. Perhaps a couple more choices of main course would also be good.

Great food and wine in a wonderful setting. Service was good but not obtrusive. And all great value - two three-course lunches plus wine including service for £120

I was sorry there was no longer a set lunch menu, which used to be rather good value for money. Some of the portions were too small. The

Food was of very good quality and suitably generous quantity for a Sunday lunch. But the real star here is the wine list, which must be one of the very best in the country for offering well-chosen wines from top producers at less-than-stratospheric prices, plus an excellent range of half bottles, so you can enjoy something special without going broke or getting plastered. Service was very good, though one waiter was a little eager in grabbing items he thought were unwanted from the table and reached across me at one point, nearly knocking my glass from my hand! Sommelier was very good, offering to decant rather than just going ahead and doing it. As for the ambience, Rex Whistler's weird mural, which covers the entire wallspace, never fails to divert and intrigue, and, as at the Tate Modern restaurant, there was no background music, the bane of any intelligent diner, so hats off for that and please keep it that way.

The restaurant ambiance is very good - a really beautiful room with murals all round. However, the service was terrible - we were shown to a table but waited 25 minutes before anyone came and took any sort of order - food or drinks. The waiters seem to have developed ignoring their customers to a fine art. I ordered the hake - well cooked but the accompanying veg was virtually non-existent - not much of a meal. But very swift service when I asked for the bill.

A lovely space. In January fewer people at lunch so quieter. Limited menu choices — all dishes we had were well done. Attentive service. Great wine list with many half bottles.

Very tasty food accompanied by some excellent wines (by the glass!!!).

To be fair it was exceptionally busy when we visited on Saturday lunchtime. Sandwiches were very ‘bready’ with little filling and the coffee wasn’t to our taste but it was ok. Flapjack delicious.

As usual a vey god experience. Brgds Peter Højland

Vegetarian main option was disappointing but the seafood starter was excellent. Great wine selection. Staff and sommelier always very considerate and friendly.

This was our first visit to this restaurant and we were very impressed indeed. The quality of the food was at least as good as some Michelin Star restaurants that we have frequented. The staff were really friendly and professional. The entire experience was absolutely flawless and we will be back very soon. An absolute gem of a place

Setting and ambience excellent. Choice on menu good. Service good. Quality of food as served ok although could have been served warmer. Given the former reputation of it's cellar we thought the wine list was disappointing and overpriced. I used to take clients to the restaurant 25/30 years ago and think it was much better then. Overall we thought it seriously overpriced.

We had high expectations but left hugely disappointed. There seemed to be few staff around but fortunately our order was taken in good time and the food came promptly. However, one of our party having ordered the soup to start waited some time for more bread only to be told eventually that the restaurant had run out. The food in general was underwhelming: the duck was good and generous though it came with little else; the celeriac steak was also good but it was swimming in a mushroom sauce and that too could have benefited from something more. At no point during or after our meal were we asked for our opinion of the food, and by the time we managed to pay the bill we just wanted to leave. A good-looking restaurant but very over-priced.

We didn't anticipate going to the cafe at the museum so went looking for lunch when we felt hungry. They did have some good options but the food was just average. The kitchen staff all seemed to be fighting with each other and the cashiers...

Rex Whistler is my top choice to treat a special friend; the menu is original, service personal and ambience intimate. It is a unique experience.

It could have a little more option for vegetarians Beautiful spot and food

A perfect ending to a great exhibition.. felt totally spoilt.

We have been here before and enjoyed it. But this time the menu was very small with very little choice. The affogato was a disaster. Very little coffee, not a sniff of alcohol and the 'mousse' was a gelatinous blob of a tasteless khaki goo which could have been scraped off a pavement. The table next door felt the same way! The service was excellent, friendly and efficient and I much appreciated being able to taste the two wines before choosing which one to have with my hare. Please try to do better because I love the feel of the place and the murals, but not at the expense of good food.

Always a treat coming to the Rex Whistler. Spacious, comfortable with an excellent menu and we all loved the wine pairings. Already booked to eat there again in a couple of months.

The Rex Whistler is a charming space and everything about our visit was delightful.

Brilliant for lunch after viewing! Great service; excellent wine advice and good food - particularly enjoyed the cheese board.

A classic restaurant ; good food, elegant and sophisticated surroundings and a delightful ambieence

The venue is superb, the food good but a little over priced and far too many dishes with nuts as a part of them!

I am sorry to say the disappointing food did not do justice to the surroundings.

One of my favourite restaurants: excellent menu, service, wine list and surroundings. Feels a treat to dine here

Superb meal, fantastic wine, unbelievable cheese. Service excellent a fantastic lunch in a great restaurant

lovely venue food good and wine even better. Good art gallery attached!

excellent, imaginative cuisine and first class service. Wine also excellent anf npt over-priced

As always, the food, wine and team were exemplary. A great way to end the year.

I love going to the Rex Whistler restaurant after looking at an exhibition - it really is a beautiful place and that makes it a wonderful environment to eat the lovely food that is provided.

Great food and service, and what a fabulous location!

I went to this café before visiting the Blake exhibition courtesy of a friend who's a Tate member. It's quite spacious and comfortable. Sadly, though, I really didn't like the service. It wasn't very busy but the cashier barked out the amount of my payment...

The shellfish raviolo starter was delicious. My companion had the duck while I had the venison. Both were excellent and we enjoyed the carafe of Cotes-du-Rhone Latour.... I then had the pistachio dessert and we both had an espresso. Nice quiet surroundings, well waited upon. Enjoyed the meal very much.

Great place for Sunday lunch. Later lunches can mean less choice in meat, we ate at 2:15 and no beef left.

Exquisite service and food, a wonderful experience

Fine dining, fine wine, good company and an enthusiastic staff made for a most enjoyable two hours. This and the Tate Britain, Wow!

The Rex Whistler restaurant is a really good dining experience. The room is quite unique with the Whistler murals on the walls and attentive but not obtrusive service from the staff. The food was good, the wines served at perfect temperature with good advice from the sommelier. A very pleasant visit with a good ambience.

Beautiful room, outstanding wine list, sensitive and considerate service.

A very pleasant experience. The service was attentive without being overbearing

Good food, well presented. The service lacked warmth. The restaurant got very busy quickly. Overall, a good visit and I would do so again.

The food was excellent, the service less so.. We had to wait about 30 mins to get our main course (we opted for no starter) and eventually enquired as to its whereabouts (whereupon it magically appeared). My companion had asked for the lamb to be well done, while mine was medium-rare. Mine was fine but hers was undercooked and had to go back. As we had specified what we wanted when our orders were taken I am surprised this should have presented such a problem (and further delay). On the other hand, when we got our food it was beautifully cooked.

A very pleasant location for a quiet lunch. Thank you.

Delicious food, worthy of visiting this restaurant each time we go to an exhibition at Tate Britain.

My husband and I stopped off after the Blake exhibition for a rest and a cup of tea before leaving. We were given tiny coffee cups for the tea and charged over £5 for the two of us. Outrageous. I have seen been told you...

Really enjoyed the food and there is an excellent wine selection.

Good food, good service, sommeliers choice well worth taking, pleasantly busy creating good ambience

Needed refreshments after the Blake exhibition but selection of sandwiches very disappointing and then they were dry and tasteless. Coffee overpriced and bitter. If you didn't want gluten free cake the selection is also disappointing.

Food okay. Minimalist. Wine expensive.

Well worth a visit and a sign of its good management was that we received a complimentary glass of wine because our booking had to be delayed 30 minutes due to a function.

The reasons for going to RW are 1. Ambience 2.good wine list of names at reasonable prices

Waiter was very unhelpful when one of our party who didn't like spinach was told there was no alternative as the Chef chose the veg to go with each choice and would not alter the dish so just doubled up on artichoke. the fish portions were different sizes so one was nicely cooked and moist but the other small and dry and very little sauce. the goose fat chips were a joke 3 or 4 tiny halves of new potato. best thing about the meal was the wine .

We had just an hour before our booking for Blake - and thought we wouldn't be able to do this without rushing. Arrived early and sat outside the restaurant until our slot - they were aware of our time limit and were very helpful. Lovely guinea fowl - and pistachio pudding and Dad had a rice and mango pudding which was black, that he loved. Amazing. Friendly. Not intrusive and not too noisy either, though beginning to fill up at 13:00 when we left after tea and coffee. Very good. Yes I would recommend it. Lovely service too.

A birthday lunch, excellent food, wines, service... recommended!

A wonderful dining experience - a most memorable lunch time!