Located inside the curiously weird and wonderful Wellcome Collection, the newly refurbished Wellcome Kitchen will offer a full service throughout the day from breakfast through to light lunches, sharing plates, and afternoon tea.
I’ll take any excuse to scuttle over to the Wellcome Collection, one of London’s under-appreciated gems. Now there’s a new excuse: Wellcome Kitchen.
This latest addition to the Wellcome’s food and drink offering occupies a skilfully designed space on the second level. Nothing is showy, but every detail is quietly lovely. Check out the ceiling lights.
We inadvertently went during the soft opening when they were offering a 50 percent discount – presumably while they ironed out first-week kinks. Apart from a slight hesitation in some aspects of the friendly, eager service, any expected teething problems were invisible to us.
We assembled a meal from starters and light plates, and everything was good despite some flaws. The vegetarian platter (£7) and a white onion soup (£5) would together have made an ample meal. Chopped salad (£7.50) was sprightly and generous in portion, though the vinaigrette needs to be less sweet and less glutinous. The high point was a starter of game bird croquettes with winter coleslaw and blueberry dressing (£7), three hefty lozenges deftly fried.
The well-chosen wine list starts under £20, making dinner here (Thursday only) an appealing idea. No main course tops £15, and there’s afternoon (£16) and cream (£8) tea from 3 to 6pm.
Please note: from February 26 to June 21, the Wellcome is mounting an exhibition called ‘Forensics: the anatomy of crime’. You might want to see it after you’ve eaten, not before.