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V&A Café

The V&A's first director thought a museum should feed its visitors, and in the 1860s he commissioned three refreshment rooms from the best young designers in England. You can still take a tray into them.

What it is
Museum café
Opened
1868
Area
South Kensington
Nearest museum
Victoria and Albert Museum, 100 m

London this week

    What V&A Café is known for

    1. The Gamble Room

      The central room, glittering from floor to ceiling with cream, gold and blue ceramic tiles, mirrors and enamelled iron, under great round lamps.

    2. The Morris Room

      Dark green and gold, with panels of figures painted by Edward Burne-Jones and a plaster frieze of hounds and hares. It was one of the first commissions of William Morris's firm.

    3. The Poynter Room

      The old grill room, lined with blue and white tiles painted by women students of the art school, with the iron grill still in place.

    What to know

    • Opened in 1868 as the first museum restaurant in the world
    • One of its three rooms was designed by William Morris's firm
    • Entry to the museum is free, so the rooms are open to anyone

    Where V&A Café is

    Address

    Cromwell Road
    London SW7 2RL, United Kingdom

    Nearest station

    South Kensington (District, Circle, Piccadilly), five minutes by the pedestrian tunnel

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.

    A museum that fed its visitors

    Henry Cole, who founded the museum, wanted working people to come in the evenings, and gave them gas light and somewhere to eat. The three rooms were finished between 1866 and 1868.

    Food is chosen at a modern counter in the next hall and carried through. In summer the tables spill into the garden court.

    V&A Café: common questions

    Where is V&A Café?
    At Cromwell Road, in South Kensington, London, inside the Victoria and Albert Museum. The nearest station is South Kensington (District, Circle, Piccadilly), five minutes by the pedestrian tunnel.
    Which museums and sights are near V&A Café?
    Victoria and Albert Museum is 100 m away, Westminster Abbey is 3.1 km away, The National Gallery is 3.3 km away. Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.
    What is V&A Café known for?
    The Gamble Room, The Morris Room, The Poynter Room. The first museum restaurant in the world, inside the Victoria and Albert Museum: three rooms of the 1860s covered in tiles, gilding and stained glass, one of them by William Morris.
    When did V&A Café open?
    In 1868. Opened in 1868 as the first museum restaurant in the world.

    What visitors say about V&A Café

    Rating from Google

    4.2

    1,526 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 8 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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