The Gallery Café is situated  in the basement of the Georgian terrace to the fore of St Margarets House and offers a welcoming aspect to our users and a worthwhile service to the local community. During the past ten years the Café has embraced a very wide variety of roles. For five years, in association with the Rathbone Society, the Café functioned as a work-experience job-training programme for people with moderate learning difficulties. More recently a registered charity of Buddhist men has staffed the Café, members practicing right livelihood and taking a basic minimum wage.

The Café offers a wide range of vegetarian food and a varied selection of teas, coffees and soft drinks. It has become a favourite meeting place for those working in St Margarets House as well as local people. Friendly staff and a pleasing environment combine to create an important focal point for the House.

In the spring of this year St. Margarets took over the direct running of the café from the London Buddhist Centre who were no longer able to find sufficient staff to do the job. We employed a chef-manager Elias Djalili who left after a few weeks to go to France to marry, then another, Bill Coombs who left to persue a carrer in Line Dancing. Fortunately a Key Worker - Mario Gago divised a staffing plan that improves on the previous working practice and gives all staff a greater say in running of the café, and for the last two months activities have been on an even keel breaking even financially and improving in every way.

Looking to the future the café is an ideal venue for evening and weekend activities. We have had various musical and poetry evenings, lectures, fundraising events and special occasions. Hopefully we will be able to do much more of this now and open the doors to the whole community.