The Gallery Café

Went to London as a vegan looking for English classic breakfast and found it here! the staff was super friendly and the food was a good price as well as delicious! vegans must visit while in London!

Unfortunately, the main reason I visit this place as often as I do is the proximity to my flat. I’ve given up on eating any of the food besides the yogurt and even then thee last time I did that, they gave me the wrong order. Their coffee is substandard and the staff are often quite curt and uninterested. The interiors are lovely, with nice natural light coming from the greenhouse wall on back, and the outdoor seating out front is nice, but those are the reasons for two stars, the charity aspect is the third. I love vegetarian food so I really wish this place was better.

…Just… wow!
I stumbled upon The Gallery Café by accident when in the area. It just so happens to be a vegetarian and vegan café, ideal. It has wifi. It is well-​lit. It has cake.
The Gallery Café enjoys a prime location beside the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood. The café is well-​lit with large windows, and at the weekends you can enjoy sitting in conservatory.
It serves up some tasty dishes such as tofu ‘fish’ and chips, stocks Ms Cupcakes’ famous vegan cupcakes and you can choose from soya, almond or coconut milk for your chai latte/​coffee.
It’s a chill places to work with decent wifi and ample seating in a fantastic neighbourhood. I will be back again and again.

This place is such a hidden gem, especially for a vegan like me. For starters, the entire menu was not actually vegan with a few vegetarian options. I went there for the full English and it did not disappoint. The veggie sausages and mushrooms stole the show. Got greedy and ordered the vegan pancakes too, and I was handsomely rewarded for my gluttony. They were crispy around the edge and yet soft and fluffy in the middle.
The location itself is very spacious too. Don’t be fooled by the small basement entrance. It has a lovely outdoor seating area too, which I’m sure is packed during summer.
But the nicest thing about this place is that it opens at 9! Even on Sundays! And bank holidays. With the full menu being served since the time the doors open. How awesome is that? I’m definitely going here again.

The Gallery Café was one of my highlights on my visit in London!
I was able to have traditional english breakfast, eventhrough I’m a vegan! It was so tasty and the place was so nice as well. They had a very good selection of organic teas and the staff was really nice.
Whenever I will return to London — I have to visit The Gallery Café again.

This gallery-​slash-​café-​slash-​vegetarian eatery is a little off the beaten track of Bethnal Green, making it an ideal place for vegos and carnivores alike to rest their weary feet and devour a healthy meal.
The menu isn’t very extensive, but The Gallery Café clearly goes for quality over quantity. And they definitely earn the single £ rating — you can grab a falafel sandwich, toasted to go for about £3.
The coffee is decent, and the staff are down to earth, despite having the tremendous street-​cred of a vegetarian gallery café at their disposal.
This café is worth traveling to, for a lazy afternoon in the sun room sipping coffee and pondering a meat-​free society.

Big menu — though unfortunately they often run out of certain dishes.
Small tables.
Often extra things going on like live music.
Nice vibe to the place.

The Gallery is a very nice café. Cozy environment with a very nice decoration. The place is great for drinks and eating as well. I had stuffed peppers with couscous and it was very good. Their staff was also very friendly. Very nice place.

Who would have thought that scrambled tofu would have taster so good! Their Gallery Breakfast with scrambled tofu, spinach and mushrooms on toast had a kick not even eggs have, plus the setting is lovely.

I’d read about this place, and we ate a late lunch there five days ago with a friend. It’s not real large, although we had no problem finding an empty table — and there are also a few tables outdoors (in front of the entrance). It was crowded and rather noisy, but no matter. Also, there’s a small garden in the back — with large windows looking out onto it — and we sat by the windows.
The food is all vegetarian & vegan and everything looked good. My husband & I had the stuffed peppers and our friend had the curry, for a total of 22.95 pounds. Our friend said her meal was much too bland, but ours was delicious. The portions were quite sufficient.
I’d read that some of the people working there are volunteers, as this place supports a charity. They all seemed pleasant.

Over the last year something happened to their scrambled tofu and it is now bitter and unpalatable. This has been really disappointing for me since I was ver excited about going out for vegan breakfast in the area.

Very good veggie burger– nice flavour in the mix of tofu and breadcrumbs. I got the shredded dairy cheese as a topping which only enhanced it. The 70% chocolate covered date ball is a perfect treat as it’s not too rich. The garden is also a nice spot, peaceful and very green, with chairs and tables scattered about.
Minus two stars for the indifferent attitudes of the staff.

Amazing vegan options (pancakes or bagels anyone?) for reasonable prices. Honestly everthing tastes great. Try the snickers bars.
There’s free Wifi, great lighting and a couple of outlets for those of you who like to work in such a lively atmosphere.
The Victoria park nearby is a bonus as well.

I love vegan burgers that don’t try to creepily imitate meat, so Gallery Café succeeds with its patty made from tofu and veggies. Great texture, nicely flavored, and the sourdough bun is swirled with vegan mayo that also passes muster.
Side salad and a generous helping of fries rounds out the £7.95 meal, and it was enough for me for a light lunch and dinner.
Great seating area with plenty of light, and the vibe made me do doubletakes to make sure I hadn’t warped back to Berkeley.
The place can get packed on sunny weekends, but not much trouble finding a table if you don’t mind a bit o’ a squeeze. There’s a little stage for live music as well!

Very disappointing.
This is a vegetarian place; fine.
I am a meat eater, true; but I don’t mind skipping bacon and sausages every once in a while.
This Sunday morning, I ordered a full English (vegetarian) breakfast.
The eggs are replaced by rubbery scrambled tofu, sausages by cardboard tasting vegan sticks. Hash brown are direct from the freezer, beans are direct from the can.
Mushrooms were ok. Tomatoes were not even tasty, just the watery kind…
Sourdough bread was good, just served with margarine…
I wouldn’t recommend this place, even to my vegetarian friends.

Summary:
+ Charity-​run veggie/​vegan café in Bethnal Green
+ Spacious and well-​lit dining area
+ Good food!
Gallery Café is a charity-​run café that serves vegetarian and vegan food. It is located just off Cambridge Heath Road on roughly half way point between Bethnal Green and Cambridge Heath stations. It’s a little hard to find as it’s off the main bus road, and is attached to a rather obscure non-​commercial looking building. The sign is visible from outside but the actual entrance is on the lower ground, which makes it less noticeable.
Do not be discouraged by all of these natural obstacles. This café is very good. If you summon enough courage to get past the rather modest entrance area and push through the door green door, you will be looking into a surprisingly spacious restaurant with functional black round tables laid out along the length of the long dining area. On the white walls hang some pictures, presumably the name sake of the place. Towards the end of the restaurant, there is a small, slightly raised dining area, which overlooks a small garden. The natural light that pours in from the big windows helps brighten up this already pleasant space. I’ve heard this place also hosts various music events. So I’d imagine this small conservatory area will turn into a little stage on such occasions.
I went in for a weekend breakfast. I ordered full English breakfast. I was very satisfied with the quality and portion of food. The vegetarian sausage was firm and had a nice herby flavour. The sourdough bread was crispy outside, and chewy inside. The visually most interesting item in this dish was scrambled tofu. It was fried with thinly chopped onions and carrots, seasoned with some spices. It was good but more on bland side. The portion was also not bad for the price I paid.
The service was also efficient and professional. I certainly wouldn’t have guessed this was run by charity if I didn’t know. I recommend giving this place a go next time you are in this part of town.

Just finished breakfast at the Gallery Café, and I absolutely loved it.
Lovely conservatory, delicious food, good service, and the relaxed/​bohemian vibe made me feel at home while visiting from Seattle.
I had the Gallery signature breakfast, and it was a hearty meal without being too filling. Perfect to kickstart my day.

This place is great — super chilled, lovely laid back vibe. Lovely assortment of teas, friendly staff. You can happily and very easily lose a few hours here. Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I’m a bit of a coffee fiend and I didn’t find the coffee that great — but everything else was lovely.

I made the journey out here from the Kings Cross area for a lazy Sunday brunch (served until 3PM on the weekends!)
I had the Full English breakfast and it was perfect! 2 veggie sausages, 2 hash browns, beans, portobello mushroom, grilled tomato, tofu scramble, and sourdough toast really hit the spot! No pretension, just a cozy café vibe… will absolutely be back!

It’s always nice to find a café that offers exclusively vegetarian and vegan food. Mixed bag of customers, lots of young and hip. Service is quite quick, both times our food came out within 10 minutes. The vegan burger is homemade and was delicious. It’s a large space with lots of seating and a lovely back garden (also with seating) when the weather is fine. I noticed they had a couple of high chairs for people with children. One thing: I was there twice in a week and both times I couldn’t get the wifi to work. It wasn’t a big deal for me because I didn’t need it, but if you do, best ask before you order. The sweets are mostly all vegan and really good!

I feel I should give a bad review so no one goes there and I can enjoy it all by myself but I just can’t do it.
It’s a really great place to eat. I went there with a friend (a vegetarian) and she really liked the place. We studied for a few hours trying the great food, which is amazing. The atmosphere is great, very relaxing and peaceful. The staff are very polite & helpful. I had a great day studying there thank you.
As a non-​vegetarian myself I can say its a great place to eat for an one & I highly recommend going to eat there.

I didn’t eat a meal here, because the kitchen closed for orders at 8 and I arrived at 8:30. However, I grabbed some vegan sweets that were for sale at the counter and the walnut brownie was worth ever star. I’m a brownie snob and I can’t stand a cakey brownie. This was fudgy and full-​flavored. The lemon cupcake was also good, but the brownie was the star. The folks at the counter were friendly and encouraged us to come back for a vegan breakfast, but we had to rush to catch a train back home. One day I will return and get a proper meal here. Until then, the brownie lives on in my mind!

I’ve been meaning to go here for awhile and I was not disappointed!
There was a steady queue the entire time we were there, but there were free places evenly popping up around the small café, so people could always find a seat inside or outside (I think there might even be an upstairs? Not sure.) It has a really nice relaxed ambiance, despite it being so busy.
A vegan fry-​up wooshed passed under my nose when I walked in and I was set to have that until I saw the vegan burger. Glad I changed my mind! The burger was a handmade veggie-​style burger (versus the meaty-​style ones) on cibatta bread filled with vegan mayo and optional vegan cheese. Despite the devil’s fruit in the sandwich and salad (cucumber), it was delicious and the salad was actually really good with what seemed to be a pesto/​oil dressing.
Oh, and I had a plain black Americano that was outstanding. You forget what good coffee tastes like until something like this jolts you back to your senses.
And really odd for me, it sated me for at least 5 hours. Not one pang, craving or thought about my next meal. Now that IS a feat!
I’m really excited to try the rest of the menu and also take my mom here. See you soon Gallery Café!

Had a lovely lunch at the café.
The potion sizes are good and there is plenty of vegan options.
It’s a cute place with a good atmosphere.
The only thing I found a bit annoying was that to get a refill of hot water (not new teabag or clean mug) was £1.That’s some expensive water.

I really like the concept of the Gallery Café, but I wouldn’t say the food was amazing. I had a chickpea salad and a flat white. The atmosphere of the café is nice, and I enjoyed the patio area. It’s also around the corner from the museum of childhood, so if you’re trying to look at old toys then this is a great place to go before/​after for lunch.

I was here for an acoustic/​live music night raising money for a really good LGBTQ counselling charity last week. It’s a great little venue for this sort of thing, cosy and in the hippy area of Bethnal Green.
There is patio area out the front, big wooden tables and parasols as standard. Moving inside the tables were set out almost as a gallery in long lines, which was perfect for the sort of event going on. Overall it was a really relaxed and understated atmosphere. Busy, very busy without feeling claustrophobic.
I’d ventured in for a pre-​show tipple, but was greeted by a wonderful waft coming from the kitchen behind the counter. There were rustic and colourful slices of pizza out on display. Too tempting. So I enquire about a suitable bottled beer (no draft alas, but I aint in no pub) and get a knowledgeable response from the friendly hipster guy at the till. They also sell those natural lemonades you can get in Ikea!
So I can’t say much for the meals but I had my hearty vegan slice and a cold Witchcraft and sat outside content.
There’s also a big garden/​grassy area out the back with plenty of bunting. All together an unpretentious, friendly, could be slightly cheaper (but couldn’t everything) and yummy place to wile away a lazy summers eve.

Sympathique café d’hipsters à Bethnal Green, jolie vue sur le jardin, cuisine végétarienne et vegan. Le café était bon et la musique aussi (folk, ça va de soit…)

Went here for brekky at 11:15, just 15 minutes before the breakfast kitchen closed. Good timing? Well Kind of. Odered and paid at the counter then proceeded to take a seat at an extremely cluttered table. Coffees were great, breakfast was ok but a lot more attention needed to be paid to the ‘poached’ eggs which were practically hard boiled. A real shame, because perfect poached eggs can save a meal. Eggs Florentine were satisfactory (aside the egg-​firmness), Big English brekky was slightly less so: Filling, with baked beans, hash browns, snags, tomato and mushies, but no real standout and overall a little bland. Still, not that badly priced for the quantity.
The setting is quite cosy, complete with glass atrium up back, front outside garden terrace, nicely decorated, and after the screaming child left and 11:30 ticked over the CD came on (groovy indie stuff), and a girl came out to tidy everything.
Perhaps The Gallery Café is just a little understaffed on Saturday mornings. My partner and I agree that for a place with very much potential a little more love and attention is needed here yet.

It’s vegetarian/​vegan. Which is nice and all. But.
The food is really, really uninspired.
It’s the sort of thing that your hippy vegetarian housemate would cook for you when you were in Uni. You know, the food that sat in a big pot and was nutritious but underwhelming with flavour? Think rice, lentils, butternut squash, all seasoned with a healthy dose of soya sauce, or maybe not even that.
That’s kind of what the food’s like here. It’s all right, but if I’m going to pay a fiver for a bunch of ingredients tossed (or, maybe, layered) in a pot (or, maybe, a pan) and simmered (or, maybe, baked) for a bit I want flavour. colour. texture.
Not this.