The Cafe In The Crypt

A fantastic place to grab lunch as you’re sightseeing in the area. Lots of choices for everyone and decent prices. The only downside is that it is underground with no window light but it’s a cool and different atmosphere.

I stumbled upon this place by accident while exploring and I am sure glad I did!
My little escape during my trip to London. This hotspot is located under the Church of St. Martins in the Field. I was on a long trip to London and spent most days submerged among large crowds of people from the streets to the tube. Typically in the late afternoon I would escape to St. Martins and listen to the beautiful music rehearsals for a quiet refreshing moment to myself. I would then head down below to the Café in the Crypt to freshen up in the clean bathrooms, browse the gift shop, and sip on a cup of coffee. I only had hot beverages while here but the food from the looks of it seemed pretty great too! A nice little quiet spot to fill up and refuel for your day. I am truly thankful for this peaceful spot.
Right in Trafalgar square next to the national gallery — stop by and marvel at the beauty of these crypts.
And bonus: They have a side room that has an acoustic surprise to those who venture in! Check it out next time you are there :)

The food here was great! The apple crumble with the pot of custard is a MUST. It’s a really well done place for food. Very hearty meals. Large portions. Fun atmosphere. Great price, too.

A friend took me here one knight and I wasn’t sure exactly what she was doing when we proceeded to walk into the basement of a Cathedral but I was pleasantly surprised the food was excellent. The best garlic mashed potatoes i’ve ever had. Afterwards we partied in the club down the corridor. I’d recommend going and I will be back.

Is it me or is there something creepy about eating in a crypt. Dead people were contained where you partake in tea and crumpets… awww… Who cares. This place was great. Desserts served with custard and tea for everyone. Plus there seems to be a great atmosphere. If you can get past what people 400 years ago would think about you drinking booze on the dead bones of their relatives then this is the place for you.

Inspite if all the coffee shops around Trafalgar Square, I think that the best coffee is served here in the crypt. Freshly made and bursting with flavour.
The setting itself merits a visit. In the crypts below St Martin in the Fields church. So you are seated below a series of beautiful and old stone archways that hold up the entire building.
It’s a cafeteria style café, but quality and variety of food is much better than you would tend to expect from most cafeterias.
They serve a variety of hot meals through the day, with a lot of lovely little touches. Which other cafeteria offers you a jug of hot custard with your apple crumble?
Lots if vegetarian options too and they are open till around 8, so you can even pop in for an early dinner.
Trust me, this is not coffee shop fare, but good hearty cooking and given that winter is almost here, it’s nice to get out of the cold.

The food was decent — big portions for good prices though! I went with two friends and we all ordered different things. I got a platter with Greek salad, couscous, and curried cauliflower. The Greek salad and couscous were great and very flavorful. The cauliflower… had no flavor. My friend got a steamed vegetables platter and… maybe I’m just used to vegetables with seasoning, but there really was no distinct taste to them. I did enjoy the atmosphere very much though — it’s very conducive to long conversations and you do get a sense of wonder that you’re dining in a crypt. Definitely perfect for a light lunch or afternoon tea if you’re in the area but it’s not somewhere I’d plan specifically to go to.

This is a beautiful café by Trafalgar square. It’s hidden well enough that the majority of the tourist stay away meanwhile the ones who really appreciate the atmosphere will be there. I came with a friend who was visiting because it was a different experience than going to a pub for typical British food.
Although it is cafeteria styled, the place is beautiful to keep the history and architecture lovers attracted. Food was decent, but as it was cafeteria style, my food was only warm by the time i got to my table.
This place is always busy. So it’s best to grab a table before going up to grab food!

Great prices and amazing food. Everything is served cafeteria style, but don’t let that dissuade you. The food is gourmet and the setting is completely unique. They have special deals for soup and sandwich or soup and dessert. Very charming restaurant with a friendly staff.

The food left a LOT to be desired. As did service. The atmosphere however was one we will never forget. I’d recommend this café if you’re going for the thrill of a different sort of place to eat. But not if you’re looking forward to fabulous food.

This restaurant is located sort of hidden in Trafalgar Sq. area. We were on a tour and our guide highly recommended it because it was a place that the locals go. There were more tourists there than locals. We had fish n chips. The fish was ok but the chips were cold. I’m used to having a bit more seasoning on my fish. It was nice and flaky though. To order our food, we were in a line similar to a school cafeteria. We told them what we wanted and the servers plopped it on a plate and we were off. The atmosphere was friendly and casual with plenty of seating. It wasn’t what I expected based on the recommendations but it was ok.

A solid option if you are in the Trafalgar Sq. area. Nice place for something simple, whether it’s tea and snack or light lunch. Plus it’s a funky space down in the crypt.
If you want to dodge all the chain type places in the area and eat in interesting surroundings then check out The Café in The Crypt.

Venue — 5 stars
Food — 3 stars
Friendly service — 4 stars
This beautiful and unique venue beneath the earth’s crust is tucked away from the chaos of Leicester Square. Retreat here for a breather and sit atop old and weathered headstones, beneath the brick arches and low lighting, and have some mediocre coffee, tea, or cafeteria food. Though the food leaves much to be desired – think very very cafeteria/​hospital food, it is reasonably priced, and they do change the menu daily. Sunday roasts are always fun, a large selection of sides like veggies and starches, and they provide a great veggie option as well, never bland or boring. The prices for a full meal are also desirable. Nothing is ever over £9, unless it’s Wednesday jazz night, and in that case, it’s about £12, but you get a glass of house wine to go with it. They offer afternoon tea pastries, but think hospital caf-​like pastries. The reason to come here is the fact that it’s underground, tucked away from all natural light, and it makes you feel as if you’re in a bona fide crypt – it is naturally called Café in the Crypt. But there is no morbid feel to the place. Many of the patrons are casual diners, probably church-​goers looking for a quick and decent meal, spot of tea, glass of wine. All profits go to the church as well, but it’s not crazy religious down there either. You do have to go through the gift shop to get to the crypt, which makes it a little touristy feeling, but other than that, a great escape from the chaos at the ground level, and they’re usually open till mid-​evening or later on jazz nights. It can get a little echo-​y and loud but that’s because the acoustics aren’t set up to absorb lots of chatter, but other than that, a great ambiance. A must-​check-​out, even if you don’t stay to eat or drink.

Wonderful place to stop for a meal! We were up early, and as the Crypt opens at 8am, we went for breakfast. I had the full English (delicious! blood sausage, sausage, bacon, egg, toast, tomato, mushroom) and tea. I think the breakfast was 8 pounds– and the dining rooms were almost empty. It was a Monday. You pick up your tray and dine cafeteria style– but we were alone in the creepy crypt, which was kind of fun. My students, who I was traveling with, enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. I also love that the proceeds from your meal go to charity. So it’s a superb location (directly across from the National Gallery and Portrait Gallery, UNDER St. Martin in the Field church.) It’s super cool, the food is good, and it’s for a good cause! Is this not the best?

Great place for lunch. Nice selection of salads and sandwiches along with some hot food items such as chicken and soup of the day. Service not super friendly and they do not accommodate if you want to order something that is different from the menu. Overall, good food and reasonably priced for London.

Not only is the premise intriguing, but this café was warmly recommended in all the tourist books I consulted. Right next to the National Gallery, you find an erect glass tube that reads «Crypt». You have arrived! A lot of the previous reviews mention a «cafeteria setting» and I suddenly got scared: was I gonna be seated between groups of strangers at a single long table?! Absolutely not. This is pretty much like a smaller, and fancier IKEA, you line up and select whatever you want along the counter (but don’t make the mistake of trying to take anything yourself though!). Also, everyone calls you «madam», oh it’s so quaint!
There is a good selection of salads and in the evening 2 warm meals, and 2 choices of dessert.
I opted for the grilled chicken leg in lime and. tomato sauce I think? It was lovely if a bit cold. The veggies were very tasty and well-​seasoned. The apple cobbler with custard cream comes with a full pot of cream! Luscious and soo rich. The alternative was berries in cream which I’m still curious about.
Don’t make my rookie mistake of taking a mineral water bottle, there are pitchers and glasses, as well as utensils and sauces behind the cash. So don’t madly dash into the dining area, there’ll be plenty of seating available. The crowd seemed fairly mixed as I was seated between a loud French school group, and a very English elderly couple. All in all my dinner was 13 pounds and delicious. I disagree about the «creepy» vibe, relaxed, casual, even intimate, but never creepy. The actual tombs are only noticeable if you make a point of it.
Lastly, I should mention the bathrooms, which are the museum’s, and located right next to the entrance. They are absolutely mesmerizing. Not that they are luxurious, but if you are, like me, already completely impressed with the space in a British toilet, this will take the cake because… the sink is in the stall! Whaaaaaat!!!

Really cool place. Tonight was about 47°F outaide so it was nice and warm.
I think this place was a crypt before. There are tomb stones in the ground and the cafeteria-​style open restaurant had kind of a creepy feel. It was definitely cool!!!
We had the Christmas Dinner which consisted of: a few slices of turkey; a slice of a meat (not sure what it was) then topped with a weenie of some sort wrapped with bacon; potatoes with gravy; red cabbage; and carrots with parsnips. I’ve never had parsnips and I LOVED them!
It’s neat to taste a different country’s Christmas dinner. We also had Christmas Pudding, and I think it was fig with a cream sauce on top –now bring me some figgy
Pudding. …
Since it was cafeteria style food it was all self serve. The food was not piping hot and the turkey a little dry but I truly enjoyed having dinner beneath the church.
There are a couple shops in the crypt, which are themed for the holidays so there are tree ornaments and lots of unique gift ideas.
I highly recommend stopping by and listening to Christmas carols and having something to eat down here. A unique experience for sure!

Just love this place under the Church, with its beautiful surroundings, relaxed ambience and original tombstones under your feet! You enter via the new glass pavilion entrance next to the Church. The very fresh food is cooked onsite. There are also some meal deals, for instance, a bowl of soup and a thick slice of bread, and apple crumble and custard for £6.50, which seems to be very popular. Mains are £8.95. There are salads, hot and cold sandwiches and hot vegetarian and meat dishes, and afternoon cream tea. It was awarded Les Routiers Café of the Year in 2012. All profits go to fund the work of the Church.

Tolle Atmosphäre, lecker & man tut was Gutes (Gewinn gemeinnützig!). Kleiner Geheimtipp.

Oh how creepy and cool is it to lunch in a crypt under the streets of London???
Cafeteria style order system. Really basic food but I really loved my eggplant and hard boiled egg sandwich on a baguette. Sounded weird tasted really good and was really satisfying.
The ambiance is what really makes this place. Grab a bite and than walk around and see the various burial markers.

A super wiw interior design! It more or like for kings and queens to visit.
Prices are expected to be relatively unreasonable but still i love to come here!

A meal so good, it would wake the dead.
Wait, that might be bad.
The Café in The Crypt is a little hidden gem hidden in plain sight. It rests, as most crypts do, below a church. St. Martin In The Field to be exact, the giant church across the street from Trafalgar Square (you may have passed it many times without realizing that’s what it was called.)
And next to the church is a little glass dome that read

In St. Martin in the Fields gibt es in der Krypta ein Café, Imbis, Restaurant. Die Atmosphäre ist durch das Gewölbe natürlich sehr schön. Es gibt hier eine schöné Auswahl an Snacks, Süßem, warmen Gerichten, Salaten und Getränken. Was die Leute auf den Tellern hatten sah sehr gut aus. Wie es geschmeckt hat, kann ich leider nicht beurteilen, da wir am Nachmittag dort waren und nur etwas getrunken hatten.
Durch Fairtrade liegen die Preise hier schon recht weit oben, aber es ist in Ordnung.
Schade fanden wir, dass die Selbstbedienung mit Tabletts und Kassenanordnung uns ein wenig Kantinenatmosphäre vermittelt haben. Da hier aber alles sehr jung und modern wirkt und eine schöné Kombination zu der alten Krypta ist, war auch das ok.
Einen Besuch ist es jedenfalls wert!

Das Café befindet sich in einem Gewölbe und hat dadurch ein recht schönes Ambiente, allerdings mit latentem Kantinencharme.
Das Speisenangebot hatte einen guten Umfang, war geschmacklich in Ordnung und nicht zu teuer.

Als eine soziale Einrichtung versteht sich die Gastronomie von St-​Martin-​in-​the-​Fields, die ein preiswertes Selbstbedienungs-​Buffett mit täglich wechselnden Mahlzeiten anbietet.
Links neben der Kirche gelangt man durch einen zylindrischen Glaseingang mit dem Hinweis Crypt über eine Treppe oder einen Fahrstuhl in das unterhalb des Gotteshauses gelegene Restaurant.
Regelmäßig werden dort kostenlose Lunchtime-​Konzerte angeboten.

Das Café in the Crypt befindet sich in der ehemaligen Krypta unter der Kirche St. Martins in the Fields.
Die Atmosphäre ist toll: Sehr hohes Kreuzgewölbe, in dem eben dieses Restaurant eingerichtet ist. Das ist auch richtig beliebt, wir waren kurz vor 12,00 h da und haben noch bequem Platz gefunden, aber dann ist es richtig voll geworden.
Die Speisenauswahl ist groß, von warmen Fleischgerichten über Vegetarisches, Salate, Suppen. Das Essen ist auch extrem lecker und für die Qualität und die Portionen preislich absolut o.K. Wir hatten einen großen Teller mit 3 verschiedenen Salate und pochiertem Lachs für GBP 6,50 — das ist wirklich nicht teuer. Und die Atmosphäre ist kostenlos!