Given that the hubs and I were in London recently, I felt it my duty, as your intrepid Critter Lady, to check out a few animal-related places. Today I’m featuring one that I’d been wanting to visit for a while now but never had the time to do so. It’s a nifty little place called Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium.
Although its Bethnal Green Road location is accessible from three Tube and overground stations, we had a bit of difficulty finding the place. We ultimately hailed a taxi from outside the Bethnal Green Tube as we were worried about arriving late. We never would have found the place otherwise.
Having perused their website before our trip, I learned that a reservation is a must. Apparently, many people want to visit, and, as we discovered, the place is quite small. We booked a table for tea and had to agree to a number of rules before the computer would accept our reservation. The rules included the following, which may sound simple, but if you’re a cat person, they’re difficult to honor in the midst of eleven cats:
* No kids younger than twelve. No groups comprised mostly of children.
* No groups larger than six.
* Don’t wake up our cats.
* Don’t feed our cats, or bring treats from home.
* Don’t pick up, confine, or restrain our cats.
* No flash photography.
Phew, that’s a lot of rules! But refusing to agree to them won’t get you in the door, so naturally, I agreed. Once inside, we were asked to wash our hands before gaining access to the dining room. Only then were we invited to a table.
I should note here that the hubs was nowhere near as enthused about the Cat Emporium as I was. Indeed, I believe his exact words were, “As long as you’re happy, honey!” Actually, I was right chuffed about it. You can go for tea at the Ritz any time. The Cat Emporium takes your afternoon to an entirely different level!
After we were seated, I took the opportunity to check out the surroundings. The placed catered for cats. There were shelves on the walls, all within jumping distance of one another. A wooden bridge hung suspended from the ceiling, allowing cats to cross the room without setting a paw on the floor. One of the windows held a large cat bed, complete with a cat who looked to be bird-watching.
There were also several cat houses and hidey holes available, as well as more esoteric cat preferences such as a plastic storage bin and a large scrap of fabric. Next to our table was a raised area with what looked like an over-sized top hat. A ginger tabby was fast asleep inside. He ended up sleeping through our entire visit.
A number of the cats woke up and made the rounds, once the place had filled with people. They wandered in and out of petting range, and of course I petted as many as I could. We had been told that in spite of a daily infusion of humans, none of the cats were overly friendly. They seemed to tolerate our attention more than actually enjoy it, but I saw no incidents where a cat had taken offence, or lashed out at a guest. Mainly, they seemed mildly amused by us.
Tea itself was good, although, if I’m completely honest, I must report that the service was rather spotty: occasionally, we asked for things, but the staff seemed to forget our requests until they’d heard them more than once. Still, I can’t fault them too much as their serving job was frequently confounded by cats who’d clearly decided that the middle of the floor would be a grand place to stretch out and nap. It’s a wonder that none of them got stepped on, but I gather the staff are used to that sort of thing.
The seatings last an hour and a half. We didn’t actually require the entire time to eat, but taking pictures of ourselves and the cats used up the rest of our allotted space. Having had the experience, I don’t feel any pressing need to go back. If you haven’t been there yet, though, I urge you do so. Every feline fan should experience the Cat Emporium!
Overall, I give the place 3 out of 4 paws.
Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium offers high tea with cats every afternoon except Wednesdays. 152-154 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6DG
Please note: the opinion expressed above is solely that of the author, and not the Sussex Newspaper.