Name: Somerset House
Item: Somerset House

UPDATE:2023 It looks like Bryn Williams is no longer at Somerset House instead it appears that the restaurant is occupied by rotating chefs and for summer ’23 it is Dipna Anand. You can read (not see) about accessibility at Somerset House on this link. However Bryn has opened 2 more restaurants one in S. Wales, The Touring Club (we’re waiting to hear about its access) and one in The Swiss Alps within The Cambrian Hotel.

The restaurant Spring and Pennethornes bar with eats, are still at Somerset House, see below…

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Update 2018: The lift to the South Wing is not working according to their website and Tom’s Kitchen has been replaced by Bryn Williams a previous BBS Award winner both in 2016 and 2017.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).

Bryn Williams at Somerset House, Showcasing Best of Welsh Produce

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 (see photos on the review). 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.

Spring Restaurant at Somerset House . Light, Bright, Accessible & Expensive – A Treat!

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Update 2016: The cobbles are still a problem at the front entrance but enter via the entrance on Waterloo Bridge and the paving is less troublesome. It also leads you to the tapas bar, Fernandez and Wells and the new up market restaurant Spring (By Skye Gyngell previously from Petersham Nurseries which we loved, see review). We love Fernandez and Wells, great wine and Iberico ham, styled as a ‘local cafe’. The access is flat and they are careful to make sure there’s room for your wheelchair as there’s not a lot of room when busy. The flooring is flat and the disabled loo is through 2 sets of double doors, but again they’ll help you. Yet to go to Spring so we’ll let you know! The East Wing also houses a cool bar Pennethorne’s which again can get busy so best to go off peak or reserve a table. They again do their utmost to look after you – last time I visited I had a table set up just for me, outside in the rather grand foyer. Access is good and the disabled loos are again via double doors.

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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

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Somerset House

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