Relaxing at the new Old Queen Street Cafe

After a swift pint amid the throng outside the Westminster Arms it was a relief to escape the melee and fall into a comfortable window seat at the newly-opened Old Queen Street Cafe.

It sits below the Club rooms of media company UnHerd that recently took over the building as its HQ and has sensibly placed an all-day-dining space on the ground floor.

It's described as a British Brasserie and the concise menu is just my cup of tea judging by the dinner menu. Comforting dishes such as chorizo, octopus and potato salad topped with a fried egg among the starters and chicken schnitzel available as a main on my visit.

The fit-out of the relaxing space and accessible menu, along with an affordable wine list, gives more than a nod to the earlier work of Corbin & King - notably The Delaunay. It did not surprise me that after my visit I found that head chef Elliot Spurdle is formerly of C&K's The Wolseley and The Delaunay.?

This seems rather a sensible approach when you want to operate through breakfast, lunch and dinner. The people behind the cafe and dining business Lantana have been instrumental in devising the OQS Café concept and have done a pretty good job.

OQS Cafe is tucked away down a side road near Parliament Square and strikes me that it's a great place to drop into, whether that's to escape the masses of drinkers around the corner, the tourists gawping at the Houses of Parliament, or simply because you need looking after – regardless of the time of day or night.

Old Queen Street Café,

6 Old Queen Street

Westminster

SW1H 9HP

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