William Morris Gallery Tea Room, E17 4PP

I am always proud of introducing the William Morris Gallery (Forest Road) to friends when they visit Walthamstow. It’s an easy way of getting them to understand e17’s cultural credentials, especially since winning Museum of the Year.

The addition of a Tea Room as part of the 2012 refurbishment has helped deliver a huge transformation for visitors of the Gallery and Lloyd Park. I love the Gallery, but I wouldn’t go anywhere near as frequently were it not for the coffee, and being able to sit with the sunshine streaming through the windows, looking at the cute white bunny border on the floor to ceiling windows.

The Tea Room is glass-walled and glass-roofed and when the skylights aren’t propped open, it’s like sitting in a greenhouse. There is bench seating in the centre, where large groups can congregate and there is small table seating around the outside – the large green bucket chairs seem to be especially designed with a William Morris pattern.

The copious seating is great, but when the cafe is full, it does make it a squeeze to get round with a tray of drinks. There are also a few tables outside on a small terrace, overlooking the park. One slight downside of the layout is that their bins and the trolley used for clearing tables are in the cafe itself, rather than hidden in the kitchen - where there obviously isn’t space.

The coffee has a good flavour and it’s fair-trade, I think it's Columbian. 

They provide decaf and soya milk at no extra charge and a wide variety of herbal tea and soft drinks. Friends who have visited with me love the Fentimans bottles on offer – Rose Lemonade, Dandelion and Burdock and the Mandarin and Seville Jigger. Water is freely available in jugs on a side table.

They also provide a good selection of hot and cold sandwiches, salads and a few hot meals such as a few pies (meat and vegetarian) and jacket potatoes. Prices range from around £4 for a panini and around £6 for pie/potato. A great lunch place.

Half eaten (sorry!) chicken, rocket and basil pesto panini.  

The Tea Room is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10am – 4.30pm. Generally, I find on sunny Sunday afternoons that it is rammed to the gunnels with families (makes things rather loud) but I have also found it quiet with only a few tables occupied.

There is usually at least 3 staff working, so service is quick and they clear tables quickly too.

Accessibility... The Tea Room (and the Gallery) is accessible to wheelchair users and there is an accessible toilet. There are also baby changing facilities and they have 3 or 4 high chairs stacked in the corner for use.

Popular with... families and children, cooing grandmothers and their pals, and quiet art lovers like me.