Opened in the summer of 2018 at La Suite West hotel. Location is on a quiet tree lined street near Hyde Park, West End, and Paddington and has a sun-dappled private terrace. Features a plant-based menu with Italian influences, serving brunch menu, all-day desserts, and afternoon tea. The cafe's kitchen and menus are fully vegan. Reported closed September 2022.
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41-51 Inverness Terrace, Bayswater (at La Suite West Hotel), West London, England, W2 3JN
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- Outdoor seating
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 18 Oct 2023 by Frillykins
Update business info -
Added by HappyCow on 04 Jul 2018
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69 Reviews
First Review by IsaacTull
ArielTolkachov
Points +62
Good but pricy - Edit
Very nice and modern place. Lovely way to start the morning.
Read morePros: Full vegan menu, Finally some French deserts I can have
Cons: A bit on the expensive side, The full English breakfast was quite small
CafeFortyOneLondon
I am sorry you found the full English breakfast small, I will pass your comments back to Chef. That is not the normal review we receive. Guests ordering the full English also have the option of choosing form the continetal breakfast selection.
Read moreGuest
Phil_ukuk
Points +85
Very good breakfast - Edit
I was going to say that I felt the portion was slightly too small but then the very hospitable waitress pointed out that the continental breakfast was available because I had ordered the full English, winner!!
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Friendly
Cons: London prices but good!
CafeFortyOneLondon
Thank you for your reveiw
Read moreGuest
sfio
Points +3210
afternoon tea experience - Edit
Similar to other reviews, the afternoon tea didn’t live up to my expectations. I was really hoping it would after I tried a few years ago and thought things might have improved, especially with the French patisserie chef. But sadly no. The food was ok although the scones were too dry (I know scones are generally but these seemed particularly so and a bit on the hard side). The carrot ‘salmon’ and vegan blossom honey were the highlights for me. Service was not good-slow and apart from the main lady (not sure if she was the manager), no one had a clue what they were serving. They couldn’t explain the items on the pretty tray and we had at least one different tea from the one we ordered. Perhaps a printed menu would help guests - maybe even the servers. Wait was too long and although I was glad that we could sit outside (inside is way too dark and ‘cold’), I’m not planning to return. There are now plenty of other places offering vegan afternoon tea and certainly from an experience point, they’ll be more spot on.
Read moreSue_Pile
Thank you for your review - feedback is very important to us. I can only apologise that you were dissapointed with your experience and hope you will try us again. I will pass your comments onto Chef and her tream. We have had many good reviews on Afternoon Tea and French Patisserie from guests and the Press. We do have a printed menu so I am surprised it was not offered - daily and seasonal changes should have been explained to you. The restaurant is currently undergoing a makeover which should address your comment. We hope that you will re visit us in the future.
Read moreGuest
fosstuff
Points +162
Shockingly poor quality food with the exception of the pâtisserie. - Edit
We had two terrible lunch dishes. The mushroom pie which was all thick pastry and a mushroom polenta with everything over cooked. Both dishes came cold. Kata the manager did her best to replace the first pie and the replacement was equally terrible. However the pâtisserie was very good. Kata was good and tried hard to make up for the unpleasant experience but her colleagues were terrible and the food awful.
Read morePros: Pâtisserie
Cons: Non pâtisserie food
Sue_Pile
We are so sorry that you did not enjoy your main courses. Thank you for your feedback which I will pass onto Chef and her team.
Read moreGuest
vegansheep
Points +2767
Afternoon tea - Edit
This was my first experience of an afternoon tea so I don’t have many points of reference, but overall I really enjoyed it.
Read moreThe staff were very attentive and made sure we had everything we wanted and informed us about each item on the tray. We ate until we were full to bursting and finished everything apart from a scone, which we took home.
I enjoyed every component to the meal, apart from the pistachio and chocolate cake which was dry and hard, so overall a success I’d say. It was particularly nice to try the orange blossom ‘honey’ and the carrot ‘salmon’ sandwiches.
The only slight negatives for me were the price and the dark room and decor. £35 per person, although much cheaper than the ritz or claridges is quite steep compared to other vegan tea options like Lele’s. However, since the experience was good and it felt like fine dining I didn’t mind too much. Although I wouldn’t be rushing to have afternoon tea again I would definitely return to try a lunch or breakfast option. Some of these seemed very reasonably priced at around £8.50.
As for the decor; it would probably have created a nice, romantic atmosphere for an evening meal, but in the daytime for afternoon tea it felt a bit oppressive.
But overall a very nice experience.
Pros: Quality food , Attentive staff , About the right amount of food
Sue_Pile
Thank you for your feedback - I will pass it onto Chef. The restaurant is undegoing a makeover at the moment which will address some of your comments. I hope you visit us again for lunch.
Read moreGuest
gianniandre
Points +30
One of the best - Edit
Breakfast ever had. The full English breakfast is simply amazing
Read moreSue_Pile
Thank you, we hope you visit us again soon.
Read moreGuest
AbbyKuo
Points +552
great experience here - Edit
went for lunch! no animal product by my ask, the staff said they are all vegan, no dairy or egg. we ordered quiche, asian style salad, mushroom pie, all delicious.
Read morePros: all vegan and reasonable price, food delicious, great outdoor sitting
Sue_Pile
Thank you, we hope you visit us again soon
Read moreGuest
endofcity
Points +440
Setting nice, food average - Edit
Was looking forward to trying Cafe 41 but my experience was only average. Despite being listed as vegan on HC, 4 out of 6 smoothies contained honey and they offer dairy milk with coffee. Anyway, we visited for lunch. I had the Asian Slaw Salad, which was very disappointing. Not enough of it was was pretty much a thrown together stir-fry. Rest of the party had the frittata (boring with poor presentation) and the Courgette and Sundried Tomato Quiche (best of these 3 offerings). The average mains put us off ordering desserts, which was a bit disappointing. Dining room is dark and a bit soulless but they have outside space , which is much nicer. Service is acceptable but some of the staff need more training. Overall, not bad but lots of room for improvement.
Read morePros: Nice outside space , Prices reasonable
Sue_Pile
Thank you for your feedback, we are sorry that your experience was dissapointing. I will communicate your feedback to Chef and her team.
Read moreThe smoothies containing honey were removed as soon as it was brought to our attention.
We do serve dairy mik but only on request in case our guests have a nut allergy as almost all of the alternatives have a nut prescence.
It was a shame that you did did not try a dessert as we have had good reviews about the menus and the French Patisserie. The restaurant is currently undergoing a makeover. We hope you choose to vsist us again soon.
endofcity
Nut allergy?
Read more- Soya Milk
- Oat Milk
- Hemp Milk
> All nut free.
IMO, if you're a vegan business, you should only be serving plant milk, instead of worrying about upsetting people by refusing them dairy milk.
The food offering would need to be a lot better before I came back. Sorry but that's how I feel.
Sue_Pile
Chef has asked me to let me know that we do provide Soy, Rice and Oat Milk for guests with nut allergies. Apologies for the confusion.
Read moreGuest
Yon223
Points +40
very nice indeed - Edit
We arrived 10am and had the Full English breakfast and the Avocado on toast and ordered a pot of tea each too. Both breakfasts were delicious. After ordering, we were informed that we could also help ourselves at the buffet including fruit juices. The service was most gracious and helpful. A VERY nice breakfast indeed.
Read moreSue_Pile
Thank you, we hope you visit us again
Read moreGuest
ArchieYates
Points +13
Worth trying - Edit
We went here for lunch. My wife had the bruschetta and I the frittata. The bruschetta was rather tough but otherwise good, served with tomatoes and strawberries. The frittata was very tasty. For dessert, we had passion fruit Pavlov (very nice and marvellously egg free) and praline millefeuille - this proved a challenge and was very hard going. Prices for West London were reasonable.
Read morePros: Decent lunch choices available , Presentation very good
Cons: No alcoholic drinks available
Sue_Pile
Thank you for your feeback it is much appreciated, i will pass it on to Chef and her team. We hope you vsist us again to try our Autumn or Festive menus
Read moreGuest
hippywoman
Points +252
£35@ for afternoon tea - Edit
Afternoon tea is about both food and ceremony. For £35@ this afternoon tea is not a cheap experience and given this price point we had certain expectations that were definitely not met. I had previously been to the vegan afternoon tea at La Suite West (the hotel where Cafe forty one is based), which had also been £35@. Comparing the two teas the service and experience was night and day. The first time we were offered an extensive tea menu; the tiers were brought out quickly, and separately, in different rounds; and service had been very attentive (e.g. the server poured the tea, checked up on us regularly, we were offered to have our tea refreshed, etc), and there was a massive amount of food so the last round was almost completely packed to take home. Sadly none of these rituals of afternoon tea were part of the experience at Cafe Forty One.
Read moreSandwiches- fillings were pretty good, with things like aubergine, chipotle cheese, etc. but I would agree that the filling to bread ratio was far too low (I suspect they were using bread to fill people up) and overall I preferred the sandwiches at Lele's afternoon tea.
Scones- scones were good, but insufficient. Serving two small scones per person (one plain and one raisin) for that price is laughable. I would have preferred that the coconut flavour in the clotted cream was better disguised which even I can do. There was no vegan honey served with it, despite this being mentioned on the menu.
Desserts- because the items were not explained to us (yet another afternoon tea ritual that was absent) I can't actually tell you what was for dessert. There was a green cake with some berry compote and green icing but I took one bite and deemed it not worth the sugar intake. One was a biscuit with meringue and some passionfruit icing which was ok. There was a raspberry parfait which was good.
Setting- setting was really lovely with a nice outdoor seating area.
Overall the service and quantity and quality of the food were disappointing and subpar for the cost. It was the first time at an afternoon tea that I finished everything and did not need anything packed (had quite a bit packed at Lele's afternoon tea which was considerably cheaper at £18@). Unlike some in our group I did not leave hungry, but I would say that the hot weather curtailed my appetite. The service was also poor, despite the hot weather (high 20s) we were not even offered water and had to request some. Also they never gave us the fizz that was meant to be included. I think they need to either scrap afternoon tea, lower the price (£15-20@ max) to temper expectations, or make significant changes to make it worth £35 per person. If you are looking for a vegan afternoon tea, I suggest Lele's or road trip to Terre a Terre in Brighton for a luxe experience.
It is also worth noting that we had informed them weeks in advance that my nephew has nut allergies. When we asked about options for him at first the server told us there was "nothing" suitable on the menu. Eventually the chef was brought out and it turned out he could have the quiche. When it came out the quiche was undercooked (raw chickpea batter). Given they had said they will be able to cater for him I would expect they should have had the foresight to come up with a few options before we arrived.
Sue_Pile
I am so sorry that you wer dissapointed in your Afternoon Tea. Our guests' experiences are extremely important to us. We normally receive really good reviews especially on the French Patisserie and Afternoon Tea. I will pass your comments onto Chef and her team, thank you for taking the time to feeback to us.
Read moreGuest
DanSarkozi
Points +267
Amazing - Edit
Lovely secluded garden space and the food was amazing. I went for breakfast with a friend and we both thought they were the best vegan breakfast dishes we have ever had.
Read morePros: Amazing food, Lovely garden , Friendly service
Sue_Pile
Thank you, we hope you visit us again soon
Read moreGuest
MarionSilman
Points +33
Now Totally Vegan !!Hooray - Edit
When we stayed at La Suite West in June this year the Management were still dithering about going The Full Vegan. Glad they have made the decision. Will recommend to friends
Read more.
Pros: totally Vegan...July 2018., pretty garden to eat in
Cons: Mid -range expensive
Sue_Pile
Thank you for your referrals, we hope you visit us again.
Read moreGuest
gvarun
Points +141
Disappointing afternoon tea - Edit
We went there with family visiting from overseas hoping for a quintessential afternoon high tea experience. Don't bother! Really slow service which took over 45 minutes to bring the food out. The sandwiches were quite bready with not enough filling, with crusts left on (this is not usual right?). The desserts in the afternoon tea were ok. We were told no refills on the food (we expected to have a lot more). No one explained what the sandwiches and treats were.
Read moreLimited choice for teas and not brought out for you to taste and try. My loose leaf camomile tea didn't even have any camomile in the pot. Theyn't even bring out the fizz that's supposed to come with the tea. At the end after we complained the main waitress even acknowledged she'd never even been to an afternoon tea.
I'd say maybe the a la carte is worth trying (we didn't try it) but would not recommend afternoon tea.
We were left very disappointed and still hungry.
Pros: great location and ambience if sitting outside
Cons: slow service, tea
Sue_Pile
Thank you for your feedback, I will pass your comments onto Chef and her team Normally our Afternoon Teas and French Patisserie receive good reviews, I can only apologise that you were dissapointed. We hope that you will return to try our Breakfast or Lunch Menus. We are currenty serving Autumn / Winter Lunch Menu and in December we will be serving a vegan Festive Menu - full details cn be found at https://www.lasuitewest.com/cafe-forty-one-unbelievably-vegan-lunch.html and https://www.lasuitewest.com/CafeFortyOne_FestiveVegan_December2018.html
Read moreGuest
IsaacTull
Points +63
Absolutely Outstanding! - Edit
We went to Café Forty One for breakfast this morning and had the Continental Buffet, it was incredible at a great price £9 for a buffet of Vegan Croissant, filled pastries, vegan cheese spreads, focaccia and so much more. Their Al a Carte menu also looked outstanding for breakfast, lunch or after morning tea. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Highly recommend!
Read morePros: Entirely Vegan, Amazing Selection, Great Value
Sue_Pile
Thank you we hope you will visit us again
Read moreGuest
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