Update 2018: The lift to the South Wing is not working according to their website and Tom’s Kitchen has been replaced by Bryn Williams a previous BBS Award winner both in 2016 and 2017. This is good news and we have reviewed them separately and access is not affected by the non working lift as it’s on the ground floor. Access is via the Strand entrance of Somerset House you then have to cross the courtyard (the cobbles can be avoided in parts by using the paving surrounding the courtyard), and enter through the Hej Cafe. It’s flat access down a corridor and inside is all flat and not as dark as the photos suggest. There is also a disabled toilet (unaudited by BBS).
There is also a great tapas bar on the Waterloo Bridge side which is easier to access (flagstones avoid the cobbles) and one of my favourite haunts –Pennethorne’s which is reviewed here. The only disadvantage is the distance to their disabled loo. Additionally if you want something more upmarket, again on the Bridge side entrance, there’s Spring a restaurant with high quality fresh food in a cool space.
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Somerset House is ” is a major arts and cultural centre in the heart of London”. It has been established since July 1997 and is one of the “country’s finest and largest 18th century buildings and is of international importance to our architectural heritage”.
Somerset House has a number of restaurants and bars. There are lifts to everywhere and portable ramps. The only problem is getting in through the front entrance which has a lot of cobbles. So if you’re in a wheelchair or walking with sticks it can be uncomfortable if not impossible!
There is a disabled toilet in Tom’s kitchen, Fernandez and the Terrace Bar. Tom’s Kitchen is in the South Wing and Fernando’s in the East Wing.
Somerset House is a spectacular place to visit, especially when the fountains are working in the summer, when the ice rink is there for the winter, or when they have an open air screening of a film. Somerset House is also home to London Fashion Week
Somerset House gets 2.5 BBS Ticks
