Rainforest Cafe London

The Rainforest cafe is London's largest family restaurant. The jungle feel is enhanced by the roaring elephants and other special effects.

The Rainforest Cafe London opened in 1997 and has been popular ever since. There are further branches across North America and more international locations.

You enter through the gift shop on the ground floor which has a crocodile pond where you can throw money to make a wish; it all goes to charity. There are plenty of gift ideas for all ages so this is fun place to visit before or after your meal.

The restaurant is in the basement, and there is only step access but buggies can be stored. Once you go down there are plenty of high chairs available so little ones are well-catered for.

This large family restaurant is themed as a tropical rainforest with moving animals and all the squawks and squeals of a jungle. There's even a waterfall and thunder and lightning for 'storms'. It's a bit dark, but what would you expect in a jungle? Animals to spot include trumpeting elephants (which my daughter wanted to stroke throughout our meal), a huge gorilla, a jaguar (look up, he's in a tree) and a large fish tank with piranha! And yes, it's in central London!

You can view the menu online before visiting to speed up your order as you will be distracted when you arrive. There is a Kid's Menu for deals on meals and drinks, and there was a deal with a goodie bag when I visited which, quite frankly, had so much inside it would have cost as much as the meal.

I was pleased to see how many healthy options were on offer, including options for those with food allergies and intolerances, as well as the burgers choices. Many ingredients are now organic too.

Our food was fresh and tasty and a much higher standard than I was expecting in a place that caters for so many at one time.

Drinks
There's a 'Mushroom Bar' with the funniest bar stools (animal legs!) making this a great place to stop for a drink. I really liked the smoothies but reckon an evening cocktail would be fun too.

You may initially think the prices are a little high but I actually do think they are justified as you are dining in a jungle, in central London, at a restaurant which gives a lot to charity. Also, I've often thought I was saving money and have ordered adult price meals for kids (when no children's menu was available) at cheaper restaurants and then they've eaten nothing and I've looked at a huge waste of food and money at the end of the meal. Here, all the kids I saw were eating and they were happy; and you can't put a price on that.

Also, I saw lots of kids walking around the restaurant, with their parents, to see the animals and this was fine with everyone. What's the point of trying to keep the kid's quiet and sitting down in a 'normal' restaurant when this will keep everyone happy?

Service
Staff are very welcoming and guide you to your table, and children are given coloring pencils/crayons and a paper mat. Orders are taken promptly and the food arrives swiftly too. Our waiter regularly popped back to check we were OK and always spoke to my daughter and not just me.

Noisy!
This is a family restaurant so you would expect it to be a bit noisy but with the jungle sounds the volume certainly rises. It's not 'high adrenaline dining' but it's also not a calm, quiet meal. I did have a slight headache when we left but I also had a full tum and a happy child; and I'll definitely go back.

Address:
20 Shaftesbury Avenue
Piccadilly Circus
London W1D 7EU

Use Journey Planner to plan your route by public transport.

Tel: 020 7434 3111

Opening Times:
Monday to Friday: Midday-10pm
Saturday: 11.30am-8pm
Sunday: 11.30am-10pm

Official Website: www.therainforestcafe.co.uk

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary services for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.