Footstool Cafe & Bar

38 years ago I had one of my first dates with my wife here. We came to see The Sixteen performing Handel’s ‘Messiah’. Some entirely happy memories revived.

We visited the Footstool Café before a Saturday evening concert earlier this month. As suggested by the website we booked in advance and arrived about 80 minutes before the performance. Immediately after arrival I joined the ordering queue but when I reached the front several of the hot main dishes had already run out. I was however able to place an order for a cold main dish and (fortunately as it turned out) collect our dessert and coffee. About 15 minutes before the start of the concert the main dish had still not arrived so I asked for a refund, which was given. The quality of the dessert was excellent, but the ordering system was not fit for purpose at a venue that sets out to provide pre-concert meals.

Great setting in the crypt of this lovely concert venue. Good range of cakes including gluten free options and good coffee.

Cute cafe with attentive staff. Had a ham and cheese sandwich that was excellent. On the side was some fries and a salad. Just the thing for a cold rainy London winter day.

Pleasant cafe in the crypt underneath St John’s Smith Square. Very reasonable prices, and pleasant surroundings in the below-ground crypt. Recommended!

Came across this gem last week during a guided tour of Westminster and returned for lunch afterwards. Two of us had the beetroot, feta, walnut & puy lentil salad and our friend had the leek pie. All the food was delicious and freshly prepared and brought to our table promptly. If you're anywhere near Parliament or Westminster Abbey, you really should seek it out!

The food here was so average and the portion size small. Definitely not worth the price, but I guess they justify it with location.

No internet connection inside, morning staff can put a smile on their faces. Good price. Use wir fresheners in the toilet! Big potential, but the little things take away points

It's a cafe in the crypt of a church turned music venue. And it's great. It's a good place to work or meet a friend for a cuppa. Or, as I did, it's a great space to relax before a talk. What I would like to rave about though is the baked goods. Well, technically I can't vouch for all of them except for the "Rocky Road" bar, but that one was out of this world. And really, I'm not easily impressed by baked goods as I always think I can actually do it better. This one though: divine!

After a water tour on the Thames， we were ready for a nice lunch. One person in our large party had eaten here previously and enjoyed it. Service was a little slow, but we were in no hurry. Intervals between courses were nicely spaced. Lunch took two hours and that was fine for us. Soup was a large portion and could have almost made a meal by itself. Mains were rather large portions for lunch. Desserts were also good. Ambiance was excellent.

After a fun morning of seeing the sights in Westminster, my fiancée and I were in great need of warming up on a snowy London day. Thankfully, Footstool Restaurant was close by in the crypt of St. John's Smith Square, a former church turned concert hall. The beautifully rustic restaurant with its red brick arches was the perfect place to savor a craft coffee and get an energy boost. We both enjoyed delicious Flat Whites and took in the historic surroundings. I hope to return in the future to try the delectable looking lunch buffet and to catch a performance upstairs in the music venue!

Inside St Johns Crypt is a very pleasant restaurant which opens daily for lunch as well as for special events and performances in the church above. Under the umbrella of Tate Catering you can expect a consistently high level of quality food and service. There are many tables and the restaurant rarely fills up but it is still advisable to book ahead. The food is perfectly presented, delicious without exception and the kind of restaurant that if something is not entirely satisfactory, they will bend over backwards to rectify it.

A hidden lunch place for those cheeky Friday lunch time glasses of wine, the food is filling and a nice change from the monotony of Pret and other sandwich shops in the area. The salads are quite good, you almost can't choose! It's also never packed, even on Fridays, so you're guaranteed some space.

I've had lunch a couple times at Footstool's. The food is good, well presented, and a friendly staff. But let's be serious, the only reason people come here is to experience dining in an old crypt, just the idea gives one shivers down their spines and the giddiness of their youth. Either that, or they're on their lunch break, rushing to get back to their bureaucratic paper pushing jobs at Westminster.

Pleasant vaulted restaurant beneath a famous historic church. Lunch options include a prix fixe menu and a very efficient buffet. Good value and popular. My buffet lunch for two with water and coffees came to about £24 which I thought was pretty reasonable.