Science Museum,
Exhibition Road,
South Kensington,
London,
SW7 2DD
0870 870 4771
The ViewLondon Review
Come for the award winning design – stay for the chocolate cake.
The Venue
Though the Science Museum have a wonderfully welcoming BYO food policy – visitors can eat in any uncarpeted area - the Revolution Cafe, one of their two nutrition uploading portals (aka cafes) is well worth a visit. The Revolution Cafe is on the ground floor, in the heart of the museum. This bright café really is stunning, with vertical strips of colour zinging around the room, plain but pleasing wooden tables and benches and glass lighting panels dangling on steel cables from the ceiling. It isn't hard to see why it recently won Design Week's Hospitality Environments award.
The Atmosphere
This is a canteen and yes, there is the clatter of trays and the chatter of children, but Revolution is a lively, fresh-faced cafe, great for re-fuelling packs of children who have worked up an appetite running between the 50 interactive exhibits in the Launchpad area, or for grown ups seeking a slice of cake after an educational look at Stephenson's Rocket.
The Food
Soups, salads and sandwiches are all fine. The small selection of hot meals – steak and ale pie with veg or battered fish with chips - are also fine, but where Revolution really comes into its own is with their cakes. And their flap jacks. Oh of course, their pastries. They are all arranged like Olympic medal winners on a series of raised platters. The carrot cake is moist, crumbly with pleasingly crunchy walnut quarters, the almond and berry tart is sweet and dreamy, and the chocolate cake is a thick almost irresistible, dark wedge. They also do a lunch box for kids with simple sandwiches, fruit jellies, fruit, snacks and yoghurt pots. The main meals are all around £6 and £7 and the cakes are between £2 and £4.
The Drink
They have great organic tea from Down to Earth including classic English breakfast, Assam as well as fruit teas. The kids can head for the little cups of squash and adults for The Serious Food Company's fruit juices. The cloudy English Apple is a sweet burst of autumn orchards – even slightly warm and from a little plastic bottle. They also have beer and mini bottles of red and white wine.
The Last Word
Don't wait for an uprising before trying the tea and cakes at one of London's best museums.
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