Wellcome Library

The Wellcome Reading Room is one of London’s best spots to work from, it is great for anyone looking for a peaceful place to work from. The space is uniquely designed, with a blend of library, art gallery, and cozy reading nook vibes. Walking in feels almost like stepping into a Victorian study crossed with a modern museum. For studying, it’s amazing. The room is filled with comfortable armchairs, bean bags and sofas, and everyone is pretty respectful, keeping their voices low. It’s not totally silent like a traditional library, but the atmosphere is calm and focused. The lighting is soft and cozy, so it’s comfortable to spend hours there, especially if you’re diving into a book or tackling some work. There are books everywhere, on topics mostly ranging from science and medicine to philosophy and history, so you can just reach over and pick something up if you need a break. Another great thing is how well-thought-out the space is. There are little nooks and sections to explore, so you’re not all packed into one spot, and you get a bit of privacy even if it’s busy. The collection itself is fascinating—alongside the books, they have all kinds of quirky objects on display, from medical exhibitions to contemporary art pieces, which makes the space feel interactive. The only downside is the seating. It can be hard to find a spot, especially on weekends or during peak times, which is a bit frustrating since it’s not a huge room and the chairs fill up fast. If you really want to settle in, it’s worth going early or during off-hours. It’s a refreshing change from crowded coffee shops or traditional libraries, and it feels like a little retreat in the middle of the city. All in all, the Wellcome Reading Room is worth a visit if you’re in London and looking for somewhere special to unwind.

Visited the reading room on 2nd floor. It’s a reading room and community building space, where prompts are used to encourage visitors to share experiences, make art, doodle and more. The various artworks hung on the wall give us insights into human body, health and using art as a means to delve more into topics of medicine and care that can be often painful or dark. I also loved the “being human” exhibition on the 1st floor - again insights into being a human being through science , medical advancements and using art to convey our experiences and progress made as humanity.

The library is quite nice. The reception staffs are always nice. To go on the second floor, you will need to obtain a visitor card which is limited in numbers. For common area, you can keep your bags. For second floor you need to out your bags in the locker (free of charge). If you have a lap top, there are plastic bags for carriage inside the library. There is a free wifi access with stable connection.

What a beautiful library in London ! . As a dentist, it was interesting that i found really old dental chair there. Perhaps, the oldest dental chair i ever met. The library room is large enough to accomodate all visitors. There are a lot of books about sciences. . It is located near from Euston station. For those who want to visit, this museum is free entrance fee

It has a lovely reading room (see pictures)space and library to visit while in London or visit to get your creative juices flowing. It's also an easy walk from the to Tottenham Court Road; about 26 minutes.

This is a lovely place to hang out. Very welcoming and the staff are helpful and friendly. The library is a good place to study. If you can't get membership, there's a reading room with comfy seating for anyone to use. There are always interesting exhibitions too.

Go to the reading room!! It’s so beautiful and filled with amazing books! HOWEVER- you can’t use plugs in the entire building so be aware of that. It’s a quirky museum with some weird and wonderful things

Nice place with interesting exhibits and a reasonably priced cafe. I wish they had more comfortable seating though in order to work and research.

Begun by the founder of Burroughs-Wellcome, the first company to introduce medicine in pill form, this marvelous free museum specializes in things related to health and the human body. Or science, medicine, life, and art. Or health, life, and our place in the world. Just looking at those descriptors sort of ensured that there'd be something compelling here and there was. A lot. One floor is given over to the collection itself, which is a quirky assemblage of old medical devices and the like, including old sexual devices. Free guided tours are one way to enjoy this part of the museum though I cop to liking the rest of the place even more. The other floors contain exhibits and art which ranged from interesting to fascinating to heartwarming and inspirational. A couple examples: * Words which, when pressed, would light up the associated internal body parts. It's fair to say I don't know where anything inside my body is except maybe my heart and stomach. Now I do. Or I did, for a moment there. * The origins of a mental health project in Africa, where mental health providers are sparse and grandmas we're trained to fill the gap. The results? Improved mental health in the community and the grandmas. There was just so much neat stuff here and not just in the museum exhibits. The ground floor cafe has very good food (try the eggplant parmesan baked individually in a sweet little French crock) and don't miss the gift shop where you'll likely blow all that you saved by coming to this free museum. I certainly did. I left wanting to return to the Wellcome Collection and that was before I even looked at their web site and saw all of the talks and group activities they regularly offer (Death Cafe anyone? Grief Group?). I wish the Wellcome Collection were in my own community as I'm certain I'd take advantage of much more that they have to offer.

I don't know if I caught the museum on a bad day or what. I walked in and said hello to the staff person near the entrance - I was rewarded with a dirty look. I was going to ask for some directions but instead just found myself a map. I checked out the two exhibitions they had open. They both were okay. Being Human was fine, not much to see in the gallery to be honest. The other one, Objects in Stereo, was a clever idea that could have been better. I don't understand the point of looking at photos of objects and storage when one could put those objects on display. Fragile things can be displayed in the right way with the right light and temp/humidity conditions. I was very disappointed to not see more of the permanent collection being used. I work as a museum registrar and I was having trouble understanding the reasoning here. Especially since similar objects were on display upstairs. The reading room was the highlight of the collection. Finally some AMAZING historical, medical related objects and art!

It's free!! This museum's reading room alone made me think about what I'm missing in my life. It is probably the most fantastic space I've seen in the last ten years of my life. Walking in here just made me experience a moment of pure nerd joy. So many comfortable places to sit and work. Whether you're an artist or a scientist or writer, this is a wonderful and inspirational facility. The collection itself has amazing pieces with many medical/ anthropological curiosities. You can easily spend a whole day here interacting with the many exhibits or participating in spontaneous activities. My only warning is that this place is more geared towards adults and not children.

Pretty small place, was interesting. They have 1 permanent collection and 2 exhibits that change with time. It is definitely an odd place with specialized items.

This is possibly the coolest museum in the world. If you are in London, have an open mind and two hours or so, then this is a free thing you should do.

What a unique and cool museum! If you are into oddity and unique collection of random things this is the place to go. Just beware that you will see human remains and "torturing devices". Check out my pictures to see what I mean by that. After you are done with the museum have a cuppa at their kitchen. I highly recommend the sencha green tea. Also check out the nearby zoology museum in the area.

I can not believe I haven't visited sooner! This place is absolutely fantastic, if you're into oddities, medicine and science you'll be in your element. The current 'Bedlam - the asylum and beyond' exhibition is fascinating, it explores the origins and progression of mental health care through the centuries. You're taken on a journey that starts many centuries ago, in the days of saints and witches, through the asylums all the way to the future of mental health care as imagined by those with lived experience of poor mental health/institutional care. I spent about 2 hours here and only managed to make my way through the one exhibition! The place is huge so I'll definitely be back. The permanent exhibit on medicine looks particularly intriguing and it seems they always have something new on offer, it doesn't get much better than that! Pros: A stones throw away from Euston station Free entry Free cloak room (you can leave your case too) Affordable café on site Friendly staff New and interesting exhibitions Cons: Nothing

A friend of ours who lives in London urged us to visit the Wellcome Collection, which we did and we found this museum to be fascinating. Sir Henry Wellcome 1853-1936) made a fortune in pharmaceuticals .He was the first to bring pills to England which revolutionized the drug industry. Sir Henry Wellcome was fascinated with the history of medicine and a collector of books and all medical apparatuses. The Wellcome Collection has over 1,000,000 books and an impressive painting collection. We took a guided tour of his collection that included everything from glass eyes to the kinds of saws used in early surgeries. We found the tour fascinating. The Collection also had an interesting exhibit on Magic and Illusions. I found the documents and posters about Harry Houdini to be fascinating. There were also videos explaining how magicians use techniques of distraction to make people think that things disappear.

Yep, I'm a fan: both of the space as well as the food they offer here. I came here for lunch today and ordered a beef pie with 2 side salads. It was really tasty and above all it was a really generous portion. It cost £7.90, which is not the cheapest lunch, but I thought given the generous portion it was justified. The café itself is a pretty cool space - loads of seating and free wifi. I often see students or other people meeting here and working on their laptops or having mini-meetings.

A modern museum with some interesting exhibitions, usually related to science and biology. On the opening lates (when a new exhibition opens, usually on a Friday) it's not uncommon to queue for an hour or more, so you definitely need to arrive early! The best times to visit are during the week, if you can escape work. The Café offers a great work space with a range of yummy treats as well as healthier food options, freshly squeezed juice and great coffee that you can have seated or as a take away. The gift shop also offers a great range of interesting books and presents, great if you're looking for a unique gift for a sister that has a master's degree in Biology J

I came for the Ann Veronica exhibition and was slightly let down but given that it's free I guess I can't complain. But do plan on what time you go because the wait can be long. Seeing medicine and art together is intriguing. I love the modern interior of this place.

My favourite place of exhibitions in London. The Wellcome Collective always brings interesting scientific exhibitions to its building the Medicine Man which is a permanent exhibition is a must and the temporary exhibitions are always a great surprise.

One of the best places for curious minds in London. Its shop was selected the best museum shop in 2015. Don't loose its exhibitions nor its publications...

A very interesting museum, the Wellcome Collection (named after Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome, founder of the UK's largest charity) has a science and medicine theme, with collections that vary throughout the year. When I visited, the ground floor's special exhibition was focused on identity - who we are, or at least, who we think we are. By focusing on 9 lives, they present a thought provoking array of historical and contemporary ideas about the self and personal identity (quoting from the handout). With displays and biological stories selected to make you think (ouch!), they included April Ashley (who had one of the first British sex-change operations), Frank Joseph Gall (who termed the 'doctrine of the skull' that later became known as phrenology), and Charlotte and Emily Hinch (biologically identical twins, though born years apart due to IVF). I was most interested in the display of Sir Alec Jeffreys, who was the pioneer of DNA profiling. (It made me think of CSI!) Lots of interesting technological displays as well as material from his own personal identity. Really cool stuff! On the first floor ('second floor' to Americans), the Medicine Man collection displays a large number of Sir Henry's own items as well as a good number of interactive and audio-visual exhibits. I was most impressed with the printout of the human genome, a dozen or so shelves of massive tomes, all printed with really small G's C's A's and T's. Wow, people are complicated! Don't skip the "Obesity" and "Malaria" sections, which are an interesting contrast, the former affecting mostly developed nations with cheap high-calorie foods and the latter affecting the developing world that doesn't have the technology or funds to fight it. There was also a collection of the Wellcome Image Awards of 2009, a really interesting display. Check out http://www.wellcomeimageawards.org. And when you're done with all of that, there's a book store/gift shop with the usual trinkets and gewgaws you would expect for a museum including purchasable prints and postcards with images from the collections. Not had enough? Try the well stocked (and slightly above reasonably priced) cafe and shop, with coffee, pastries, sandwiches, salads, soup and even beer and wine. (After the obesity display, I wasn't particularly hungry.) Sadly, visitors are not permitted to take pictures of the exhibits. There are a number of images on their website (linked at the top of the page). Admission is free and there are occasional guided tours.

The Wellcome Collection Café is located in, you guessed it, the building that houses the Wellcome Collection Museum and Conference Centre. It deserves its own Yelp page because it is truly excellent and warrants a visit to the Wellcome Collection building in its own right, that is to say, without a requisite visit to the museum as well. The food, first of all, is splendid. Clean, bright, tasty. Your normal sandwich-and-crisps café affair, this is not. I saw baked salmon, potato salad, and fresh greens on many a luncheoner's table. The pastries look too good to eat, although eaten they were. With seeming abandon. Plenty of teas, by the cup or the pot, were available, although I should say the rooibos leaves from my pot escaped into my cup en masse because I was given no strainer. Never mind, though, it was still good. A vast array of drinks, soft and hard, was on offer. The modern-looking furniture offered surprisingly comfortable respite. As I sat doing translation work for nearly two hours, not once did my body cry for a break, willing me to stand and stretch. Those cushions were damn comfy, like memory foam for the bum. I'm pretty sure the wifi was free but required a password, which I couldn't be bothered to request, so comfortable I was in my chair haven and focused on my old-school work. Also, the toilets available on the ground floor (for use by both visitors of the café and those of the conference centre and museum) were sparklingly clean and a delight to use. Seriously.

I'm really surprised no one has reviewed Wellcome Collection yet; it truly is one of London's hidden treasures and best of all it's completely FREE! Sir Henry Wellcome was a pharmacist and renowned medical researcher who amassed an impressive collection of medical memorabilia, spanning centuries and cultures. Hence the Wellcome Collection was born, and to this day is still in the original Wellcome building built to Sir Henry's specification. The place supports and promotes Sir Henry's ethos, described as 'Exploring the human condition'. There is a Medicine Man gallery that has the most astonishing, awesome and gruesome collection of artifacts i have EVER seen in my life; gynaecological equipment from the last five hundred years, a dentist chair that looks like a torture device, little porcelain dolls that have 'takeout' organs (think the game operation, only centuries ago!). It is SO much fun; I'm completely squeamish but i always have so much fun when i go here. They had an amazing exhibition here earlier in the year, entitled 'Atoms to Patterns', that explored the creations of the Festival Pattern Group. In conjunction with this, they hosted a night called 'Shifts in Perception', with Resonance FM providing the music, there was performance, art, food, drinks, everything you could want. I'd wholeheartedly recommend you check their website, or just pop in and take a look for yourself - my ramblings here really do the Wellcome Collection no justice.

This Review was for Wellcome Cafe, I'm not sure why the cafe listing was deleted and this review has been appended to the museum review. The Cafe is run by Benugo. When we were there on Friday evening, there weren't too many choices of non veg eats. There was a tuna salad and something else, that was equally uninteresting. The baked goodies on offer did look good, but I wasn't in the mood for anything sweet with my coffee, so we ended up just picking a jar of wasabi peas (not spicy enough, you can pop a handful in your mouth, without any trouble) and a packet of crisps. Good coffee though and the open plan with the neighbouring bookshop gives a very lovely feel.

This absolutely amazing museum doubles as an art gallery downstairs, a bookstore (with cool medicine books and cute dolls -- yes, including a chlamydia and cancer doll), a small research library and of course, the house of one of the coolest collection of medical artifacts in the world. And it's free! You'll find anything from medicinal shaman masks to an actual guillotine blade to ancient artificial limbs to Charles Darwin's walking sticks to Florence Nightingale mocassins to the first stethoscope to Chinese diagnostic dolls (so patients can just politely point to the areas of pain) to the complete library of human genomes... We're also lucky to be there during their "A Tooth in the Head is worth ten on a plate" exhibit, showcasing toothbrushes and dentist's chairs over the centuries. It's an pleasant stroll through medical history and watching how humans fix himself over the centuries.

A quirky little museum which is quite underrated. I like how modern and beautiful it is inside. I went here for the the Ann Veronica Janssens' yellowbluepink exhibition. A room filled with coloured mist, where you can barely see what's a few metres away from you. Quite exciting and trippy but great fun. Go check it out whilst you can - it's thrre till 3 January 2016 - I enjoyed it a lot!

If only all school science lessons were as interesting as this museum I'm sure more people would pursue careers in the sciences. Dealing with medicine and the body, the permanent exhibitions upstairs comprise a mixture of Victorian anthropological collection 'Medicine Man', and informative display of contemporary medical advances 'Medicine Now'. Highlights from the former include chastity belts and a collection of glass eyes, from the latter, the various artworks that deal with the subject of medicine allowing the subject to be viewed in a whole new context. There is usually a temporary exhibition on display in the downstairs gallery and these are always fascinating. Topics have ranged from the Heart - which had a no holds barred video of open heart surgery - to the current Medicine and War. One of my favourite exhibitions I have seen in London was 'Skeletons' which examined bones dug up from all over London's geography and history to see what they could tell us about the society they came from. On top of all this, the Collection is completely free and has a lovely Peyton and Byrne cafe in its large, airy entrance hall.

This is one of the coolest museums I've stumbled upon in a while. So much so that I wrote a post about it here http://takemetotheworld.com/wellcome-collection-london/ Anyway I was wandering down Euston Street and came across this. I went in thinking, maybe it was an art gallery. Got in just in time for a free tour where a very lovely lady (I want to say Sarah, but I might not be remembering that correctly) took us through the Medicine Man gallery (the permanent exhibit) and explained The Wellcome Collection and who Henry Wellcome was. Being Canadian I'd never heard of the man before, so it was interesting to learn about him, and all the things he's collected. There are a lot of medical items (because he was a pharmaceutical entrepreneur), but also art, and artifacts, cultural and religious items, and random things line Napoleon's toothbrush. The museum and the tour are free and well worth doing. The also have temporary exhibits, which were quite interesting. Right now there's one on called States of Mind that explores the relationship between art and the subconcious. It was quite interesting. There's also a Modern Medicine exhibit showing modern medicine and healthcare displays, and a library with a variety of medical books. I read Babar does Yoga, because that's the level of medical knowledge I can understand. This museum was one I'd never heard of, and completely off the radar from the bigger museums in London. While there were a few people it wasn't too busy when I went inside on a Tuesday morning. I'd definitely recommend coming here if you are going to be in London. It's well worth a visit.

I love all things science! For me this is one of the best galleries in London, and since the Wellcome Trust funds my research, I suppose I should be saying it the best in the whole wide world!! But I'll try not to be biased, because it really is very impressive. Entrance is free and at the minute they have an exhibit on all about heath and well being and one about the unconscious mind and dreams. There is also a reading room with a large staircase leading up to a viewing gallery with giant pillows so you can just sit on the stairs and comfortably read away the afternoon. They have a few function rooms, a large lecture theater in the basement and two coffee shops. The cafe was packed and the food looked decent, and the coffee was surprisingly good! The gift shop is huge and stocks all manor of science-y things (most of which i'm ashamed to say I already own!) as well as a variety of 'regular' books!

If you're longing for something different to explore, having seen all the other, much more tourist aimed museums and galleries of London, then this is the place to go to. Wellcome Collection came to life following the vision of Sir Henry Wellcome, who imagined this place to offer insights into the "development of medicine through ages and across cultures", and to help us comprehend better our human condition and identity. The key elements of what is presented to the visitor are medicine, life, and art, mixed altogether into a formula "from the macabre to the bizarre to the beautiful". (extracts from the Wellcome Collection website) As you enter the building you'll notice first thing the figure of an iron man hanging down from the ceiling. It's a sculpture of Antony Gormley entitled Feel ... Compelling. Wellcome Collection proves to be unveiling a unique blend of exhibitions, events, meeting, reading and eating places, also having under the same roof the world-famous Wellcome Library. It hosts two permanent collections like the Medicine Man and Medicine Now, and others like From Atoms to Patterns (until the 10th of August) and Skeletons (until the 28th of September). Coming up the War and Medicine exhibition -22 November 2008 -15 February 2009. Visitors can also benefit from free guided tours around the venue. I might be a bit of a weirdo but I was also impressed by some quotes embellishing not just the walls of the corridors, but also the toilet boothes. I happened to enter all four of them just to read the messages written there. For more information visit the website -http://www.wellcomecollection.org .

This place is amazing!Really,I'm not jocking...you HAVE TO go! I've been there twice for 2 different exhibitions (one about the crime scene and another one regarding the conscious and the dream) and both of them were interesting and well presented! Easy to access as situated on Euston Road this place is absolutely a gem that you don't have to miss. After a tour around the building,take your time to go to see the library at the 3rd floor...you won't be disappointed. ...and of course,it's free!

One of my favourite galleries. It has two rooms with rotating exhibits which run for a few months each. There is a medical exhibit which is permanent and worth a visit. A lot a time and effort goes into their exhibits. They have recently expanded and added a gallery. Also check out the taking reading room if it is open, there are some real treasures there.

The Wellcome Collection is a host of all things scientific located not too far from Euston Station. It is an excellent museum/institiute to stop by if you like more of the quirky and untalked about topics in the science world as the exhibition that I most recently visited was named: 'The Institute of Sexology'... probably best not to take the children to this one. I must point out that if you are visiting the Wellcome Collection, you have two choices on how your day proceeds. Option one is to turn up without finding out exhibition times and be forced to wait anything from a couple of minutes to up to an hour as it's timed-entry or, you can call ahead and find out the time of your exhibition and turn up moments before if you require a quick visit, however, when waiting around you can try out the Wellcome Collection Cafe inside the building which is notoriously known for it's delicious cakes and scones (courtesy of Penton & Byrne as well as Benugo's) as well as a place to relax before proceeding into the exhibition. Biggest Win: The exhibition I visited and I believe many other exhibitions here have an extensive amount of information and knowledge displayed around. I must say that there is a lot of information to take in, but I think it is done on purpose so you can take away what you have learnt and research more at home (great feature for the inquisitive mind) or a second visit may piece things together in which I'm more than likely going to take up. When reviewing museums/exhibitions, one must remember not to judge the actual displays but to review the overall experience. I really can't comment on customer service as we only interracted with the receptionist who handed us our tickets with our time of entry on, but, what I can say is that the museum is very informative in regards to letting you know on the loud speakers of when other exhibitions are starting etc. which I found quiet useful as I could have spent a whole day bouncing from exhibition to exhibition. **The Wellcome Collection deserves four stars for it's well lit and open space and also access to the café and library are key when there are timed entries as it gives you something to do. The exhibition itself was spacious with a lot of information, but, unfortunately was not what I expected as it was like a storyline but going nowhere as when you were finally gaining information on a particular topic, the whole subject of the next part of the exhibition changes that, which unfortunately made you forget everything that you've learned before and also having a no camera's allowed policy made it an experience that you can't visually share too which is a shame**

Well, I don't mind if I do! Er, that would be Welcome... not Wellcome. What is Wellcome, anyway? (Check * at bottom, once I figure that out.) From my point of view sitting in their café with blazing "internets," Wellcome Collection truly is a little slice of heaven with a library, museum, café, work spaces, conference rooms, event spaces... and get this, it's all free! In fact, it's quite a big slice, each floor proving to be more maze-like and exciting than the next. To be honest, it smells like college. (Which coincidentally does NOT smell anything like free.) You know... it's fall, and the whole place is all rather academic. The chairs and tables are something straight out of Bed Bath & Beyond's "Back to Uni" catalog, and the café is a spot on imitation of one in Ikea's mailer. In fact, we could have been in an Ikea sans those tasty little balls of meat. With so many fantastic working spaces, free wi-fi, tasty coffee, and buzzy atmosphere, all accessible just outside of Euston tube, you can bet you'll find this perma-student here on a regular basis from this point forward. *All this said, I've learned that The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK, funding, and I quote: "innovative biomedical research." So maybe there are balls of meat after all. Told you it smelled like college.

I love this cafe, and indeed.. it's worth a stop in even if you can't be bothered to run through the exhibits. Another well placed cafe run by Peyton and Byrne, this location is one of the most bright and airey cafes in the city. Perfect place to stop if you need to meet up with people for quasi-business, catch-ups or the odd sugar fix because it's not so gloomy or commercial as a chain on a high street and you'll have the opportunity to take out the laptop and use the wireless! Very good coffee, excellent cakes. I'm a big fan.

My experience of the Wellcome Collection Cafe mirrors Larissa's. If you have some spare time and want a coffee/tea whilst waiting on a train from Euston I advise you to venture across Euston road into the Wellcome Collection cafe. I find this a more relaxing and safe environment than the cafes etc within the station. Alongside a fantastic selection of salads and soups there are some very tasty 'homemade' cakes. I can recommend their giant fig rolls....surely one of these counts towards your five a day? Loose tea is served (so remember to use your tea strainer when pouring from the pot!). Other benefits include ample seating and free wifi. The only downside is you have your bag searched on entry.....so if you are calling in here on your way home make sure you don't throw your dirty washing or underwear last into your suitcase!

Yup, I'm a fan too. Stunning buttery Peyton and Byrne cakes, and a restrained selection of classy, simple lunch foods. Salads, poached salmon, chicken, and a few different pies, quiches, slices etc. All served on heavy pastel coloured plates, with free tap water in lovely thick retro tumblers. I had a spicy lentil and tomato salad, pesto pasta and a beatroot and pine nut concoction, which came to £4.70. Add in the brilliant bookshop with ever-changing themed displays to match the Wellcome Collection exhibitions, and the Wellcome Collection exhibits themselves, and you've got one hell of a destination.

Lovely quirky museum. The medicine-themed exhibition is particularly funny and interesting. Will be back soon to see the rest of it. Also a good point, the café in the lobby is truly mouthwatering (you'll most probably need a pick-me-up after all this culture!!)

Love this place. The downstairs exhibit changes every few months and the upstairs is the permanent collection. Really kooky things , some of which was once actually used as medical equipment, there's a whole row of forceps yo. Just such an interesting collection of do-dads and paintings and crazy. I would recommend taking a free tour then pursuing the gift shop before having a gorgeous piece of choco cake and tea. A good time will be had by all.

I've eaten here twice, and I give 2 stars only on the basis that the first time it was reasonable and the cafe has a nice setting, big spacious and vacuous hall with fun (but useless) furniture. I brought a business partner here for lunch and we both had a plate of mixed salads including a chickpea one. On the first bite, I was absolutely certain the chickpea salad was off. The person I was with said the exact same thing. I waited until there was no queue, then went up to the counter to say discreetly that we both felt it was off, only to be told it absolutely wasn't, and that was just how chickpeas tasted". Urm, thanks, but I know what chickpeas taste like, and they don't taste like mouldy socks. So... no offer to check with the chef, no offer of a replacement, and to be honest, abominable service all round. What happened to the customer is always right?

A truly fascinating and curiosity-tickling museum! The museum is based around the personal collection of Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (of the Wellcome Trust fame) - a crazy collection of medical and scientific curios from around the world. There's normally an additional paying exhibition ('Skin' when we visited). The cafe downstairs offers up a large and delicious range of food, but is expensive - it's more of a restaurant than a cafe! There's also free wi-fi. If I were at university in London I could see myself burrowed away with a coffee doing research! Well worth a look.

Thoroughly enjoyed this compact selection. Upstairs was a homage to the human body in scientific discoveries etc. One article I listened to was a 1st year medical student removing a human heart from a cadaver for the first time. Downstairs in the temporary collection was a piece on the Mexican tradition of painting novena's to saints. It was very interesting and colourful. All free. Free wi-fi too, a lovely way to kill one or two hours.

This was one of the unexpected gems we visited in London. We went there on a lark but it turned out to be one of our favorite museums. I am considering sending fan mail to the curators here. The museum is devoted to science and medicine, but does so in an artful and tasteful way. Glass blown viruses, visible humans, chromosomes made out of socks, and a hundred other cool pieces are on the second floor. There is another floor dedicated to Henry Wellcome's collections, including such finds as Darwin's walking stick, a whole mummified human, Chinese dentistry signs, and a Hieronymus Bosch painting. We unfortunately got there when the Image Collection and the main changing exhibit (on the history of drug use) was still under construction. One of the great things about this museum is that although relatively small compared to a monolith like the British Museum, almost everything in it is engaging and well-picked. We didn't feel dwarfed at all or rushed to finish the place, and just lazily wandered from exhibit to exhibit muttering "cool!". So, if you are of a scientific bent or are at all nerdly in an artsy way, this place will amaze you. Also try the marmalade Chelsea buns in the spacious and relaxing cafe on the main floor. Mmmmm.

As a child, after seeing King Tut's mask in London, I thought I would grow up to be an archeologist. I still love the study of things that are buried deep below the surface and instead have been working in forensics (research for TV). Given that, it's easy to see why I found this place the most fascinating of all my touristy visits on a recent trip. I saw full skeletons stretched out row upon row, revealing a plethora of medieval diseases and treatmeats... labotomy anyone? Upstairs, in the regular collection, I saw many more interesting items, all medically related too, whether it was art from past ages, chastity belts, prosthetic limbs, an embalmed and bounded Peruvian woman or Napoleon's gold toothbrush, all lying perfectly upon a backdrop of blood red.

I came here to see the Sexology exhibition. The exhibition is 5 stars, but if I had come in the afternoon, I would have left angry and dissapointed because of their messed up and unsympathetic entry system mentioned later in this review. As a result I would have given it 1 star. As a result this review gives 4 stars. The exhibition is a small 2000 square foot space filled with well thought out artistic and scientific items from ancient and recent history. It is small and it is geared to intellectuals as it is not made exciting. The narrative is great and talks generally about things and subjects. It talks a lot about people involved with studies. I would have gotten more from it if it also gave answers to questions and more practical details of things learned over the ages. It came out more as a teaser encouraging people to study the field further to get answers than an exhibition willing to give them. It is however a testimony to the tolerant intellectual culture that makes current London great. The exhibition shows can be quickly lost by guving in to intolerant politics. The exhibition by early afternoon had run out of tickets for the day. People have travelled and had no idea that it was possible for the exhibition to run out of tickets having traveled so far this was grossly unfair. The website says that at busy times, timed tickets could be in operation, but gave no clue or thought that by early afternoon they could all have run out for the entire day. They should have given a clear indication on the website that tickets could run out. Even enable booking online in advance. As tickets are free tickets, it is possible that many of the people who if given online booking, would not turn up, so they could have said that if people are more than 15 minutes late, the tickets expire. They could also use very standard statistics to work out the percentage of people that would not turn up. Yes it was a free event, but people can be traveling for an hour or more. So it is not fair from that degree to give what appears to be a false promise and upset so so so many people. It is also not fair on the people working on the exhibition to have to give such bad company news to the public. An exhibit put together by clever people, but administrated by simpletons. Like all things, if one link in the chain is rotten, the whole thing falls apart.

The exhibitions can be a little hit or miss here, but given it's free I can't really complain about that! Nothing here is really all that typical of what you would expect to see on display in London 'museums' - they've had displays about death to sex, all well curated and put together. There's a lovely little cafe space here, but it is quite expensive for food and the coffee is pretty dire. What is worth the trip alone is the awesome gift shop, filled to the brim of a huge range of books on all kinds of subjects from the history of tattoos to human biology.

Having been introduced to the Wellcome Cafe by a UCL PhD friend of mine, I am now a frequent visitor to this lovely gem of a place. For me it's an ideal place to do work or catch up on email: *Excellent food that changes daily, including the most amazing looking cupcakes in the world (so far I've resisted, but my willpower is slipping) *Free wifi and counters along the windows with plugs for laptops *Lots of seating - even when it gets really busy around lunchtime it's usually possible to find a seat. I'm a fan!

Wellcome Collection is always full of weird and wonderful collections of everything weird and wonderful! Their exhibitions change a lot and are often interactive, so there are always new things to see! Right now (Oct 2014) they are still renovating areas, so not everything is on display, but don't let that sway you! Knick knacks from around the world with have you enraptured. ALSO They have the BEST book/gift shop! They are also open late on a Tuesday for extra after-work free culture with a friend.

It probably depends on the exhibit whether or not you want to make a special trip but I really enjoyed the recent one on "Dirt" in the way that marries science and culture. The curiosities upstairs that include scientific instruments and folk art defy description as a whole and their juxtaposition is fun to see and the permanent exhibition is presented well, such as the wall of diet book. Loved the free entrance, free wi-fi, and very nice cafe and shop. My favorite was a section of stuffed bad microorganisms and other things. We took home a plush E. coli.

Wow... how did this happen? what a place. It's a meeting place and a really cool and interactive museum... and i think Mi5 work out of there as well. There's everything you need if you wanna do touristy stuff and check your emails. Lovely place. whilst i was there I had a look at the human genome project and the DNA map/books. I think they're mission statement is to make science fun. I was doing some work in there and they are so accommodating. the staff are excellent, and the facilities are to, they even have that dyson hand dryer... anyway, if you are waiting for you train in Euston and it won't be in for a while, you can pop across the road from the station and have a good look about.

If you are into sciences, medical, life and art, this is the place to come. Really recommend, a totally interesting and fascinating place. There is a particularly gruesome exhibition on at the moment, Forensics: Anatomy of Crime. The Wellcome Collection has recently undergone a massive redevelopment and now looks amazing with a stunning sweeping staircase, galleries, and spacious areas, the Reading Room and Library, and it is all free, including the cloakroom. There is also a new relaxing restaurant, Wellcome Kitchen ran by Benugo, so expect decent quality at reasonable prices, and good service.

Let's talk about sex, baby! No really, that's what the latest temporary exhibit here is all about. Plus, yeah ok, I wanted a fun intro to my 200th review (ding ding!) ;) Let me talk nerdy to you - this is one of the handful of places that sits in the middle of the venn diagram of things in London that are fun, educational and FREE. Thank you Wellcome Trust. The Medicine themed exhibition is there permanently, while the other galleries rotate. They seem to pride themselves on collecting oddities, the more rare or bizarre the better, that make this unlike any other museum I've ever visited. It's not aimed at children either, and probably makes a good date place as they're the kind of exhibits that are definitely conversation-starters if nothing else! The current downstairs exhibition from The Institute of Sexology is certainly an eye-opener and quite intellectual, though still managed to trigger some giggles - v mature of us I know. I wandered in with a group of frends about 45mins before closing time on a Saturday, which was accidentally quite perfect. It meant we didn't run into the issues others have had of tickets running out at busy times or being turned away for overcrowding (yes it's free but they do restrict numbers at peak times). So our large group got to wander through as we liked :) Don't plan a whole afternoon here or anything - it's fairly small so doesn't take long at all to have a wander round. But defo worth popping in to see and learn about a bunch of random things you won't find anywhere else and enjoy expanding your horizons!

This place is happy. It's bright and airy and open...did I mention that it's lovely? Well it is, and it's free! This is a strange building, filled with a gallery, museum, cafe, bookshop, library (but only about warts and heads falling off and other medical bits), conference rooms and more. Really it's not suprising its such a big building with all of that in it. With free wifi and tasty cakes the cafe provides a perfect working environment and when you need some quite time, check your bag into the cloakroom and head over to the library. Huge working tables with loads of plug sockets, amazing! Totally worth checking out.

I'm reading previous reviewers and they seem to LOVE the exhibits and it's sad to say, i've been here SO many times and I've just had no time to digest exhibitions! I'm definitely a fan of the Wellcome library though because it's such a brilliant resource for my postgraduate course. Anyways, The Wellcome Library itself is a brilliant place to work, it's quiet, clean, WARM and one of the reading rooms are rather grandiose with names of famous medicine men engraved into the wood surrounding you as you study, for instance, Alexander Fleming, Paracelsus. I feel like such an intellectual! (I really am, I promise you, I'm not just faking it. Honest!) They do library tours and if you do take them up on that, they'll even show you the original sketch of Jim Watson's double helix structure. Definitely up for the geek in you! (Then hop to SouthKen Science museum to see a metal structure they have of watsons double helix structure!) But WHY OH WHY do you insist on searching my bag when i come in, I'm going to a LIBRARY with a cafe that charges extortionate coffee, do I look like I'm going to knife you?! And the Locker Business in the library-if full, you have to trek/get on the lift to basement for cloakroom-which needs a £2 deposit so remember to take change! i get they want to keep the books in pristine condition but I'm totally lost without my bag. Sigh.

After seeing lovely reviews online for Peyton and Byrne cakes, I decided to mosey around the corner from work and give it a try. I'm on a quest to find UK bakers that can actually make a decent cake, so this seemed like an ideal place to try. Just don't bother. I ordered a carrot cake and a cappuccino for takeaway. The cappuccino wasn't really much better than I could have gotten from Costa, Starbucks or Cafe Nero (mediocre) and the cake was just as all cakes by UK bakers seem to be: dry, crumbly and way too sweet. Seriously. Carrot cake should be moist. That's the point of having carrots in it. And the frosting. It's cream cheese frosting, you should taste the cream cheese, not just a sugary mess.

Read about the colorful mist exhibit in Time Out. When I arrived at 10:45am the line was already very long. They posted a sign that said it would take an hour. I waited THREE hours, standing up, to go into a room filled with colorful mist. The people who worked there were very disorganized and there was no time limit to how long people could stay so photographers went in and stayed in for an hour. There were only a limited amount of people allowed into the exhibit at a time. I did wait and go in based on principle, but I was very very disappointed with the way the staff handled everything.