Green Room Cafe & Flower Store — Restaurant in London

2019 * Review:

Hooray! They’ve clearly changed chef and the staff too. Delicious breakfast (I had Eggs Benedict which were poached to perfection, he had a full English which he said was good). Prices were still the same - so I appreciate them not increasing in 3 years and also am happy to pay them when the food is good. The service was good, the coffee very nice and they still have a lovely outdoor seating space. It’s now going on the list as a new regular brunch location.

2016 ** Review: Really lovely space inside & out, with a large surprise mediterranean style patio'd garden. Also very friendly and helpful staff. Unfortunately the over priced, underwhelming food & coffee let it down.

My friend who I went with warned that they sometimes have a long wait time (last time he went he didn't get served for 30min so just left without ordering). We did get very quickly served by a very friendly waitress so had high hopes. I ordered poached eggs on toast & she warned that the chef does them a different way to most people, poaching them in their shell & then breaking them out so they can seem undercooked... I've never heard of this as a way of doing them, so gave them a go. My friend had the full english also with poached eggs.

The poached eggs on toast (£5) were two eggs on one large thick cut slice of white toast. Unfortunately the eggs had nearly undercooked runny whites and overcooked hardboiled yolks. I did flag it up with the waitress (because I think basic stuff not being prepared correctly like that should be brought to the kitchen's attention) who offered to change them (which I appreciated), saying that she thought the chef might be cooking them longer because the day before, there had been lots of complaints they were under cooked. I chose not to change them because I was really hungry. But I think that's proof there a good reason for the standard boring way of poaching eggs in boiling water rather then being all Heston about it. If you can't execute them in your exciting different way, go back to boring standard.

My friend's full english was good (except the eggs, and apparently it was under seasoned) but expensive at £9/9.50 I think. You can easily get as good/better full english for less elsewhere on Church St.

Coffees arrived after our food did, which our waitress - who I can't fault - apologised for. I asked for a flat white, got a latte. I did ask for that to be changed & it was replaced with another latte. Which is apparently their flat white. As they don't know how to make a flat white, I asked for a cappuccino which our waitress made herself, saying she'd done it because she was a trained barista which the staff on the coffee machine were not.

We weren't sure if we should pay at the table or the til, so went up to the til. Given the number of mistakes/not so good food & coffee, we were disappointed there was no deduction made from our bill.

It feels like somewhere that's just opened up, that is still finding it's feet and has aspirations (reflected in the pricing of the food) of being better then it is. However turns out it's been open for a year and a half so there's no excuses really.

I'd recommend it for a visit on a sunny day, if you wanted a coffee only. And that coffee...

I used to visit a lot when I lived locally, but things have really gone downhill. Its a very nice space which is deceptive. I came here a few months ago and wasn't overly impressed with the food. I thought it overpriced and average tasting, but put that down to it being a Sunday afternoon and an unexpected shortness of staff, which happens!

Today, however, was pretty uncomfortable. I nipped in to do some work (internet was down at home) and asked upon arrival if I would be okay to use the wifi and work. The waiter said this was okay and I ordered my coffee. When my coffee was brought over, I was told that wifi could only be used for an hour, which I said was fine, I could hotspot my phone. There had been a bit of an awkward conversation between the waiter and what I assumed to be the Assistant Manager and the General Manager while I was waiting for my coffee. I kept getting funny looks and a bit of glaring eye contact from both AM and GM but wasn't sure why.

I had been there for an hour and was about to order lunch, when the person I assume the general manager came over to me, asked if I wanted anything else. I asked for another coffee and was about to ask for a menu, but was interrupted and told that there was a no laptop rule. I asked whether I could have a coffee or was being asked to leave, to which she said I was allowed another coffee.

Obviously, at this, I decided that I didn't fancy having lunch there. Im not sure whether the waiter was new, or whether he was just uncomfortable about relaying the policy, given I was one of three occupied tables and all the others were empty. Having spoken tot he general manager, I can see why the atmosphere between staff there was so uncomfortable. Again, I'm not sure if there really is a no laptop rule, or if its about how much money is spent per hour. If it had been rammed with customers, I wouldn't think any of this unreasonable - but it was near enough empty while I was there.

Again, if there is a no laptop policy thats fair enough. But it seems to me, that they assume if you work, that you wont be eating. Or, if you don't eat within an hour that they try to turf you out. If it had been super busy then this would be more legitimate, but I was one of three occupied tables and no more customers came in.

Its a shame really, I was about to spend more cash but decided against it after that. I didn't sample the food this time but judging from a couple of months ago, this place has lost all its former charm. Pretty sure this place is under new management and I wont...

Good, solid breaky/brunch/lunch food at The Green Room and there are great gluten free options. The whole place, inside and out, is beautiful. During summer brunching out back is pure bliss however the service is so uneven. Some days it's good, others it's awful. One visit the servers are nice and on it, the next they ignore you and are rude. My friend and I, the fourth time we went, were waiting for a staff member to come and take our order in the garden for about 15 minutes despite being told that someone would be right with us as we entered. We ended up just going to the counter and ordering ourselves. After ordering and waiting over 30 minutes for our food - it was a Tuesday at 9:30/10am with not many customers there - the server brought us a totally different/incorrect order. We told them it was incorrect, our order was retaken, 15 minutes later only my friends meal was brought out. I asked if my meal was coming and then they said it hadn't been put through. They didn't even offer to take my mates meal back so he ate then 10/15mins later my food came out. All in all about an hour of our time was spent waiting which was lame as it wasn't busy. Also, no one apologised for the muck around. I don't think I'll be going back. The three out of five rating is because I've never had a gluten reaction there, the food is solid with big portions + the food/fresh juices and coffees are a decent price for London and the place is stunning. The service, or lack of, is the only factor that lets The Green Room down. It really is such a shame because I like the place and do think it could be spectacular and very successful if they had staff with the right attitude working there. For more gluten free/coeliac reviews hit me up at The Gluten Free Minx on tripadvisor and instagram: let me help you...