New café blooms at iconic Regent’s Park – the Waterside Café.

New café blooms at iconic Regent’s Park

Nestled within Regent’s Park, one of London’s eight Royal Parks, the newly revamped Waterside Café boasts a fantastic lakeside location with stunning scenic surroundings.

Indoor and outdoor eating

The cafe’s vibrant energy is heightened by the open kitchen concept which serves a range of freshly prepared food and drink throughout the week, from breakfast and brunch through to late lunch.

Under the operation of Life Cafés & Resorts - a British company with a local economic focus, bringing unique café concepts to community-enriching locations - The Waterside Café has recently undergone a renovation with sustainable touch points at the heart of the design.

For example, the cafe’s bespoke wallpaper is made from organic, sustainable sourced cotton, with the unique design hand-painted on, and based on clippings from the Queen Mary Rose Garden in the park.

Throughout the year, guests can enjoy beautiful lakeside views from the indoor seating or dine alfresco on the cafe’s outdoor terrace overlooking the historic lake. The café is one of the first of the Royal Park cafés to have bespoke picnic benches, which are accessible for wheelchairs, allowing the cafe’s beautiful setting to be enjoyed by all.

Carefully curated menu

The Waterside Café has two extensive menus, carefully curated by Life Cafés and Resorts’ dedicated Food Development Team, led by Chris Holland - an award-winning chef and ex-contestant of the BBC show, Great British Menu.

The breakfast and brunch menu features classics including the Cumberland Sausage Soft Morning Roll, Smashed Avo with Chili Flakes and Lime, through to tasty Breakfast Bagels and Buttermilk Waffles for those with a sweet tooth.

Served every day from 12pm, the lunch menu features Life Cafés signature Brioche Burgers, including the Slow Cooked Lamb Burger, Indian Spiced Chickpea Burger and the Park Life Burger, a 4oz Beef Burger with House Relish, Grilled Mature Cheddar and Crisp Salad in a Brioche Bun - a much-loved option in many of Park Life Café locations around the UK. The café also serves a range of tasty Pittas and Al Taglio Flatbread Pizzas.

There is also a range of vegan options available, including the Mushroom, Spinach and Hummus filled Pitta, Plant-based Spiced Soya or the Tomato and Basil Baked Flatbread. If smashed avocado is your thing, this is served on local E5 Bakehouse Sourdough, freshly baked daily and delivered to the cafe by bike. Many of the other menu items can be customised so they are suitable for a plant-based diet too.

For those who like to visit for coffee and cake, a number of speciality cakes are served alongside a unique ‘Life Café Blend’ coffee, which balances Arabica and robusta beans.

The robusta provides a silky intense crema to an Americano and espresso in a latte or cappuccino and behind every barista crafted drink, there is a carefully considered supply journey, point out the café – shade-grown beans that are bird-friendly, fairtrade certified and ethically sourced.

Sustainable schemes

The Waterside Café is also proud to operate a number of sustainable schemes including the Grounds for Growth scheme which provides used coffee grounds in compostable packaging for customers to take home and use in their gardens or house plants, as fertiliser or compost. The café also offers customers seeded and plantable loyalty cards, part of their ‘Plant your loyalty with us’ scheme.

Outside of the cafe’s design, Life Cafés have made conscious swaps to more sustainable alternatives, such as Life Café water cartons – an alternative to plastic water bottles with a much lower carbon footprint and the ability to reuse or recycle.

The cafe’s grab and go fridges are completely free of non-compostable and recyclable plastics and all takeaway packaging, including cups, lids and food boxes are 100% compostable. In addition, the cafe’s countertop is made from recycled materials and the counter-front and tables are made from reclaimed wood.

The Waterside Café is open seven days a week, with opening times varying depending on the season.