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The dining room at Ochre
What do we need to know about Ochre?
If you haven't been before (and we'll admit, this was our first time too) this is the brasserie at the National Gallery. The folks behind it are Charlotte and Sam Miller, the duo who also run Muriel’s Kitchen in the gallery. Ochre is an all-day dining space on the ground floor with a strong focus on seasonal British produce.
Where exactly is it?
You'll find it on the corner of the gallery where Charing Cross Road meets Trafalgar Square. It has its own entrance, although you can also come in from the gallery. Your nearest tube stations would be Leicester Square or Charing Cross.
This is where you're heading to
What kind of place is it?
It's actually a beautiful-looking dining room, with huge windows looking out onto Trafalgar Square. We particularly liked the booth tables along the southern side of the dining room with their arc lights.
A lovely spot to while away an afternoon
And there's a new afternoon tea?
There is. Much like the brasserie's main menu, the afternoon tea offering is given a regular seasonal switch-up. For the coming months, they're serving up a Winter Scene afternoon tea. The menu's been inspired by one of the gallery's paintings, A Winter Scene with Skaters Near a Castle (c. 1608–09) by Dutch painter Henrick Avercamp. Ochre's Head Chef, Alex Piludu (ex-Fifteen and Chuc's), has taken that as a jumping-off point for an afternoon tea that's a bit different to the norm.
Here's what you get for the afternoon tea offering. It's £55 per person, or £65 if you opt for a glass of Champagne or mulled wine.
So what's on offer?
The first thing to note is the absence of finger sandwiches. Instead, they've opted for a selection of more northern European open sandwiches. There's beetroot, horseradish and St Ewes egg alng with smoked chalk stream trout with dill creme fraiche and caper berries. Finally, there's a cheese and chutney option made with Irish cheese Coolea and an apple and sultana chutney, which proved to be our favourite of the trio.
The open sandwiches selection (left to right, beetroot and egg, chalk stream trout and cheese and chutney.
Next up, there's layer of pastries and cakes. For this wintry tea, there are Dutch madeleines served with a homemade cherry compote, a poached pear and custard tart and a very rich chocolate and orange mousse.
The sweet selection
But there are also scones, right?
Absolutely. You'll get a mixture of plain and fruit scones, served with clotted cream and jam and it's useful to note that if you're ravenous you can ask for a second helping of both the sandwiches and the scones.
We're a jam first, cream second operation here at Hot Dinners
What about liquid refreshment?
The Winter Scene afternoon tea comes with a pot of loose leaf tea. Our second flush Darjeeling was a perfect match for all those cakes and scones. But you can also upgrade with a choice of either the usual flute of Champagne or, for the winter season, a glass of mulled wine.
It's definitely the season now for mulled wine
It's also worth knowing that Ochre has a rather large standalone bar, making it a very useful watering hole in this part of town.
Ochre's bar
Anything else we should know?
Yes, there's a rather nice keepsake card for each customer on the table showing the Avercamp painting that inspired the tea. Better still, go and see the painting in person before or after you sit down for tea.
Overall thoughts:
Whether you're looking for somewhere very 'London' to take a visitor from out of town, or just want to treat yourself to a lovely afternoon drinking tea and eating cakes, then Ochre fits the bill. It's a gorgeous space, and the addition of the gallery next door makes booking afternoon tea here one of those great London days out that we shouldn't just leave to the tourists.
More about Ochre
Where is it? National Gallery, Trafalgar Sq, London WC2N 5DN
How to book: book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @ochre.london
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