London’s aesthetic appears to be in a moment of conflict right now. It’s cold and it’s wet and it’s dark; not great. But the leavers are filling the streets, the parks, the paths; and it’s reached the time to wear our big jackets and head out on a stroll around the city in fine Autumn colour during the limited hours of sunlight; pretty great.
In such adventures around London’s fantastic leaf-brushed parks in the cold season, a café befitting of the autumnal joy-serving hot drinks is going to be on our radars – and a mean option has just opened up in Regent’s Park.
At The Waterside Café you can sit by the lake and take in the landscape around you while sat down, resting from your long walk, in the warmth, surrounded by a floral décor. Whether the leaves are crunchy or damp, it’s an ideal pit stop from shuffling round the royal park.
The Waterside Café caters to the needs of London’s earlybirds with a mean breakfast offering that stretches out into brunch and late-lunch for those traipsing round the city into the afternoon. When the weather is warm, you can sit on the large outside area, with the weeping willow and lake for company, but at this time of year you’d be sensible to take to the brand new interior made from bespoke wallpaper; based on the Queen Mary Rose garden and made from sustainably sourced cotton.
Arriving early? There’s Cumberland sausage soft morning rolls, smashed avocado with chill flakes and limes as well as some tasty breakfast bagels and buttermilk waffles. When the clock strikes 12 the menu takes on a new life, with slow cooked lamb burgers, spiced chickpea burgers, mushroom, spinach and hummus filled pitta and a whopping 40z beef burger with relish, grilled cheddar and salad in a brioche bun making up part of the lunchtime offers.
Both menus have been carefully curated by the Life Cafés and Resorts food development team, led by award-winning chef (ex-Great British Menu contestant) Chris Holland. It wouldn’t quite live up to it’s café name if it didn’t have some staples to tell you about, though. Life Café Blend combines Aribica and Robusta beans to lift your espressos and Americanos to a different stratosphere; and you can also look forward to a mean selection of cakes to compliment them.
Eating at Waterside is also a guarantee to be part of a number of sustainable schemes. The Grounds for Growth scheme provides used coffee grounds in compostable packaging for customers to take and use as plant fertiliser or compost, and there’s seeded and plantable loyalty cards to be part of the Plant Your Loyalty With Us scheme.
The Waterside Café will be open 7-days a week, with opening times dependent on the season.