About the Cafe

The Gallery Cafe is a unique vegetarian and vegan cafe situated near the Museum of Childhood and Museum gardens in Bethnal Green. Amongst other things, the cafe offers an imaginative selection of vegan and vegetarian cuisine, a lovingly chosen range of hot, soft and alcoholic beverages and a varied programme of music and other live events. Providing a cosy sanctuary when the weather is cold and a sun-trap terrace out the front for the finer days, this is a great spot to eat all year round.

Community & Environment

All profit generated by the cafe go back into supporting the work of the St. Margaret's House charity so by eating here you are supporting worthwhile work in the community. It has become a favourite meeting place for those working here as well as for the local population. Friendly staff and an eclectic customer base combine to create an important social hub here at St. Margaret's House.

2011 saw a drastic change in the way the cafe runs, introducing biodegradable packaging, fair trade tea, coffee and sugar, and more local, seasonal and organic produce meeting with Soil Association standards. We are members of the Sustainable Restaurants and have become increasingly more vegan which we see as the natural extension of vegetarianism; it's an integral part of a cruelty-free lifestyle and makes the biggest impact on denting your carbon footprint.

Our volunteer programme has seen a variety of people come to us through a variety of paths; some are placed with us by local charity organisations such as the Tower Project and The Arbour and some have approached us as individuals. The cafe is a great environment in which to gain some work experience as the team are very friendly and the cafe is usually very busy!

If you are interested in volunteering or placing a volunteer at the Gallery Cafe or anywhere else at St. Margaret's House, please contact terri@stmargaretshouse.org.uk

Events

The Gallery Cafe lives up to its name by holding quality art exhibitions as part of the Time Out First Thursdays initiative. We offer the community a diverse program of affordable music, poetry and cinema events which are run by a combination of external promoters, volunteers, and our in-house events team. We provide a platform for local musicians and budding promoters to showcase their talents and get involved in their local music scene.
See our What's On section for more details of our forthcoming events.

Opening Hours

Monday-Friday 8am-9pm

Sat: 9am - 9pm

Sun: 9am - 9pm

(N.B our hours do vary slightly when we have events and we may be open later than advertised on certain days)

See our WordPress site for Seasonal Opening hours.