The Wolseley is a cafe-restaurant in London’s Piccadilly worth visiting for its grand interior as well as its excellent Eggs Benedict. It has a wonderful interior and is located right next to the Ritz. Families with young children feel welcome and the service is generally courteous.
It’s okay to dine alone. In fact, you will see many diners alone at breakfast time; Speaking of breakfast, they don’t make you feel rushed. On our visit, we stayed for 1.5 hours, which gave us plenty of time to eat and fill out the free postcards.
Outside the downstairs bathrooms, you can pick up postcards from inside The Wolseley. Write them on your table, hand them in at the reception and they will pay the shipping costs! However, before you go, you should know that it is not cheap and you will need to book in advance.
History of The Wolseley
The building dates from 1921 and first served as an automobile showroom for Wolseley Motors . The cars did not sell well and the company went bankrupt. It was then a bank for many years and the smallest dining room at the front of the restaurant was the Bank Manager’s Office.
When the bank needed to upgrade, they were unable to make any changes to the building as it is ‘on the list’ (must be kept), so they sold it and it was converted into a Chinese restaurant in 1999. In 2003, the building was sold again and restored Work was undertaken to preserve the Japanese black lacquer and marble floors. The Wolseley restaurant opened in November 2003.
Basic information
- Address: The Wolseley, 160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB
- Website: www.thewolseley.com
- No Photography – You are not allowed to take photos inside The Wolseley, which is a good thing as you have to enjoy the moment and trust your eyes to capture the splendor of the interior.
- The Interior: The high ceiling is impressive and the décor striking with abundant black lacquered wood and natural marble. The chandeliers are huge but they are simply designed and not shiny.
- Dress code: A smart and relaxed casual dress code applies for most settings, although you may want to dress up for dinner to complement the opulent surroundings
Breakfast review
The Wolseley is a great place for a relaxed weekend breakfast. (On weekdays it is popular for business meetings). We had to reserve a table, but we were able to reserve a few days before and I was informed by phone that we could have the table for 1.5 hours, which is more than enough time for breakfast.
The breakfast menu offers many pastries and many options in English, such as bacon and fried egg roll, herring (fish) and the traditional fried full English breakfast. Eggs Benedict is one of their signature dishes and I must say that it was very tasty.
The all-day menu is served from 11.30am to midnight. Highlights include oysters, shellfish, and caviar, and Plats du Jour like Coq au Vin and Rabbit Casserole. There is not a great selection on offer for vegetarians.
This is a fun place to have a snack, as their dessert and cake menus look delicious. They also have a cream tea or afternoon tea, but you should definitely reserve a table in advance. If you want to just have a coffee, you can often get a table in the late afternoon without booking.
There is a good selection of coffee, but when in England try a traditional tea. We liked the silver teapot, milk jug, and tea strainer and we can understand why they now sell copies of their silverware. Loose leaf tea needs a tea strainer, so be sure to use it. It looks confusing but it leans over.
Conclution
Two cups of tea, eggs Benedict, and a 12.5% service charge added to the bill came to less than £ 15 ($ 30 approx.) Not a cheap breakfast spot, but that’s not the reason why that I would go there. At the same time, it is not outrageously expensive either. It’s more about the chance to see inside, soak up the magnificent surroundings, and be treated really well for a couple of hours by friendly and courteous staff.
