Gallery Cafe

21 Old Ford Road
Bethnal Green
London E2 9PL
Tel. 0208 983 3624

Locate on Google Maps.


The Gallery Cafe is a tranquil oasis near the intersection of Old Ford Road and Cambridge Heath Road. I like to head here after a good workout at York Hall leisure centre, which is right next door. To get to the entrance of this place, you first walk though their outdoor seating and down a few steps into the cafe. Normally, restaurants downstairs are dark and gloomy, but not this place - even on a typical dark and overcast London day, the Gallery Cafe is bright and airy. The front of the restaurant is lined with windows and the rear consists of a bright conservatory which extends out behind the building.

As you enter, there's a counter to the right where you place your order. The menu is presented on boards behind the counter One of the boards explains, "All the food we serve is vegeterian, except that which is vegan," (or something to that effect).

The prices are good here, allowing two to have a satisfying lunch for around £9.

I have eaten here many times and have only been disappointed once, and that was with the veggie bangers and mash. My dining companion and I agreed that you can't beat sausages made with pig meat!

Here's a quick rundown of what I have eaten at the Gallery Cafe:

Spaghetti Bolognese - a delicious meatless version of spag bol served over a generous portion of pasta.

Jacket potato with goat's cheese - this is a sublime treat. The potato skin tastes like it was gently brined before being baked in a real oven (it was served too quickly to have been cooked in a microwave and must have been baked ahead of time.)

Spaghetti with pesto - the pesto appears to have been made fresh and with real extra virgin olive oil. My only criticism of this dish is that every time I order it my portion is very meagre - perhaps this is indicative of the precious nature of their pesto.

Chilli sin carne - a meatless version of chilli con carne is a nice treat to warm you up on a cold day. Chock full of meaty beans, chunky carrots and mushrooms - it goes down a treat.

A welcome bonus, which is free, comes from the self serve jugs containing water infused with flavour by slices of orange. Very refreshing and a nice touch.

Also on offer is a selection of cakes and pies that look as if they were made on the premises. I haven't tried these but they look good.

The coffee and teas are all organic. The coffee is above average for London - but not great.

Opening Hours
Mondays to Fridays
From 9 to 5
Saturdays
From 10 to 6
Sundays 11 to 4

Oh! Cafe at Oxford House

Derbyshire Street
Bethnal Green
London E2 6HG
Locate on Google Maps.
Phone: 020 7739 9001

www.oxfordhouse.org.uk




The Oh! Cafe is a place I have been going to for about a year now. It serves as the canteen for Oxford House but is also open to the general public with seating for maybe 25 people. It's a good spot to grab a well-prepared, inexpensive and filling lunch. (Oxford House is a community organisation that was established in 1884 and is involved in a variety of youth, immigration, arts & community work.)

The cafe's specials board usually features dishes like curry, chilli con carne, and Moroccan lamb or chicken. The regular menu has a wide range of the usual jacket potatoes as well as panini. The mains are always delicious and consist of generous portions accompanied by a salad of fresh greens and cost £3.50. They also have a selection of tasty quiches that are priced at £1.80 a slice. Another favourite of mine is a selection of cold salads that are self served. These include lentil salad, potato salad, sweetcorn, beetroot, cole slaw and stuffed vine leaves among others. These are usually too cold but at £2.80 for a large plate, £2.00 for a medium, and £1.80 for a small one it's good value.

The only thing that lets this place down is the coffee. The guys who run this place are very nice but they can't pull a decent espresso to save their lives and they heat their milk way more than is necessary. You're just throwing your money away if you order coffee - it is undrinkable. This is definitely a place for tea.

Opening hours:
9-5 Monday to Friday
10-4 Saturdays

Why am I doing this?

I have been living in the East End of London for three years now and I often marvel at the quality and diversity of the restaurants, cafes, and markets that are practically at my doorstep. In the many other cities I have lived in there were usually only one or two places that I enjoyed frequenting that were within a short walk from my apartment and I often found myself taking journeys to other neighbourhoods far afield. But living in Bethnal Green I rarely have to leave this little village within a city to find a wide variety of foods. So through this blog I hope to chronicle my gastronomic adventures within Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, Broadway Market, London Fields, Victoria Park, Dalston, Hoxton and other areas that are nearby. Hopefully this blog will prove to be a useful resource to those who live in and visit this vibrant community. If you have any suggestions for places I might not know about by all means leave a comment.