Have you built up an appetite after a hunt (or looking to fuel up before taking the museum by storm)? Listed below are a variety of hotels, pubs, cafés and restaurants near the British Museum where you can grab a bite to eat.
Please note, we’re happy to provide this list of places (all a stone’s throw to the BM) where we’ve conducted score tallying, but we don’t make reservations, nor do we negotiate menus. If your hunt starts between 2:30 & 3:30 pm it’s safe to make a 5:30 reservation (apart from Friday, when the museum’s open till 8:30)
The Bloomsbury Club
The very first YMCA in the world, this exceptionally impressive Grade II building is now an elegant hotel. It has a 1920s-inspired Coral Room bar, a wood-lined, tony hipster lounge for cocktails in the lower level (where we’ve done several corporate score tallying), a lovely verdant terrace to serve high tea (the Dalloway Terrace, where we’ve done BuzzFeed, Lego & plenty of Hen Party Prize-givings). Any of their settings hits it just right, but it’s pricy. Not a surprise, as it’s to the standard of the Doyle Collection.
Address: 16-22 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3NN
Tel: +44 20 7347 1000
Email: reservations@thecoralroom.co.uk
Directions: Exiting the BM, hang a right on Great Russell Street, cross traffic-filled Bloomsbury Street and the large, elegant red brick building will be on your left (so you have to cross the street again). Less than 5 minutes on foot.
The Russell Hotel
The old RUSSELL HOTEL has a new incarnation! For hipster clients, the 5-star Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel on Russell Square recently finished its renovation of the Grade II 1898 The-au-Lait building, with superflash bars, cafes, restaurants and spaces for treasure hunt score tallying! They have an appropriately splendid cocktail bar, Fitz’s (named for the building’s architect Charles Fitzroy Doll), a Burr & Co coffee bar with a large communal table that can seat up to a 25 people hunt or the upmarket seafood restaurant, Neptune.
Address: 1-8 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 5BE
Tel: (0)20 7520 1800
Directions: We’ll exit the back of the British Museum & wander across Russell Square & we’re there!
The Plough
Sometimes you just want a good solid Victorian pub. The Plough has an upstairs room where we’ve done the score tallying for plenty of 20 to 50-person corporate and birthday hunts. Typical authentic pub menu with fish & chips, burgers steak and ale pies, etc, this is a Greene King pub. As it’s just down the road from the museum, we’ve probably used this most often for score tallying. Staff are hit or miss…
Address: 27 Museum Street London WC1A 1LH
Tel: +44 (0)20 7636 7964
Directions: Exiting the front of the BM, turn right onto Great Russell Street & walk half a block before crossing to Museum Street. The Plough, on the corner with hanging flowers, will be on your right. An easy 2 minute walk.
Princess Louise
Historic pub with gorgeous ornate Victorian etched glass, wonderful tile walls and an upstairs perfect for a group meal, we discovered this gem when the compliance team of Disney did their THATMuse score tallying here.
Address: 208 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EP
Tel: +44 (0)20 7405 8816
Website: http://princesslouisepub.co.uk/
Directions: When exiting the museum’s front entrance on Great Russel Street, turn left onto Bury Place. Next, turn right onto Bloomsbury Way. Cross the street and make your way back onto Bury Place. Turn left onto New Oxford Street, continuing onto High Holborn till you reach the Princess Louise. This walk should take about 6 minutes.
Cake Shop
at the London Review of Books
Conveniently located just opposite the BM, who doesn’t like going through a bookshop to get to your cakes? As their website says: “Surrounded by books and fragrant with tea, the London Review Cake Shop is the modern answer to London’s long-lost literary coffee-houses” It’s a small space only good for small hunts, with a communal table that seats 16 near a green courtyard and about 8 tables seating another 16 along a banquette. Delicious heavy cakes, wide variety of teas. Plus it feels right to support small independent bookshops! We’ve hosted plenty of Luxe Travelling families on their score tallying here.
Hours: Monday – Saturday, 10 am – 6:30
Address: 14 Bury Place, London WC1A 2JL
Tel: +44 (0)20 7269 9045
Pied Bull Yard
Pied Bull Yard is an enchanting little gem of SILENCE just opposite the throngs of tourists mulling about the BM’s Great Russell Street. Tourists and natives alike walk right past its (many) elegant entrances, unaware of its picturesque, leafy courtyard just behind the London Review of Books, where you’ll find a flakey croissant by the hand of French culinary students of the Cordon Bleu or one of London’s few proper biergartens in the form of the English pub Truckles, which serves ales in pewter tankards. Tracing its history is tricky, as this delightful nest of back alleys and courtyards was off the map till 1746 when it appeared on the Rocque Map as “Stable Yard”. Accessed by Bury Lane & Bloomsbury Sq Garden.
Dickens Museum Garden Café
Dickens Museum Garden Café is about 10 minutes by foot from the BM, making it just far enough from the tourist trail that one finds themselves in genuine Bloomsbury. Well worth a walk to Doughty Street, the museum itself is a double Georgian row house where Dickens wrote Oliver Twist among others. Great for teens who may have just read one of his treasures, but also a treat for families with tots; my toddler, Baz, has investigated every stone of this garden as he patters about barefoot while I rest my tootsies over a gin ‘n tonic or tea & cake. Pleasant staff and a precious gift shop finish it off as a destination unto itself. 48 Doughty Street https://dickensmuseum.com/
The Life Goddess
Just a four minute walk from the BM, the Life Goddess in Fitzrovia is the perfect spot for you and your crew to tally up points and grab a bite to eat. The Greek restaurant prides themselves on fresh and quality ingredients from Greece, and is equipped with a mouthwatering menu that will satisfy all guests. The Life Goddess also has a “carefully curated” wine and cocktail list, and “is a must for lovers of quality food and wine.” With a relaxed and stylish setting that can accommodate groups, this restaurant might be the perfect post-hunt location for you and your team.
Hours: Monday-Sunday, 12pm – 11pm
Address: 29 Store St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7QB
Tel: + 020 7637 2401
Bibimbap Cafe
A Taste of Korea, Vegan Friendly!
If you’re not really in the mood for British cuisine, toddle along a little further (less than 5 minutes) to Bibimbab Café for some incredible Korean dishes. Bibimbab also has several vegan and vegetarian options if you have any dietary restrictions. A relaxed and cosy space, it has just enough room for a family or two to score tally after a Luxe Hunt!
Address: 37 Museum street, London WC1A 1LP
Website: http://bibimbabcafe.com/
Phone: 020 7404 8880
Konaki
KONAKI is a Greek restaurant located just steps away from the front entrance of the British Museum. It’s a family run restaurant with typical Greek fare in a cosy setting. It sits up to 50 people and even has outdoor seating for when the weather is nice. Please note, they are only open for dinner service and are closed on Sundays.
Address: 5 Coptic St, Bloomsbury, London WC1A 1NH
Phone: 020 7580 9730
Website: http://www.konaki.co.uk/index.html
