Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium

I love cats – they are, without a doubt, the most adorable creatures to grace this world – so imagine my delight when I discovered that there was a place in London where I could have a meal surrounded by them! Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium – the first cat café to open in the capital, and the second in the nation – is an extremely popular pilgrimage site for feline lovers all over, and when my aunt invited me and my brothers to go there with her, we all leapt at the offer!

How to get there

The café has a website where everything is covered concerning transport and directions to the place (see link in the section above), but I'm including this section because once I’d got to the right street, I found it very difficult to locate the actual shop. All I’ll say is that’s it’s on the right side of the street if you’re coming from the west, and that if you walk past red-brick blocks of flats, you’ve overshot your destination!

What’s it like?

If you have even the slightest interest in cats, you’ll have a fantastic time here! Entry to the café is £15 per person (there is an additional cost on the day for any refreshments consumed), and tables must be booked in advance. Once you’re there, you’ll have an hour and a half to eat, drink, and spend time with the adorable creatures. The tea room is actually located underground, and it’s a sight to behold. Not only are there cats everywhere, but a whole little world has been created for them down there, with a pretend tree, a bridge, and a whole array of secret nooks and passageways!

There are a few rules that must be obeyed at all times: namely that you can’t disturb cats if they’re sleeping, you can’t feed them, you can’t pick them up, and you can’t take flash photos. This may seem a little restrictive, but it’s actually perfectly reasonable, especially when you remember that these creatures have to get through upwards of ten sessions each day.

Besides, there’s so much that is allowed: you can play with them, using the educational toys available; you can groom them, using the various fur-brushes scattered about the place; you can take selfies with them (“pictures or it didn’t happen” and all that); or you can simply sit back, relax, and watch them go about their daily business undisturbed.

Are the food and drinks nice?

I can’t speak for everything on the menu, but I can definitely recommend the 58% hot chocolate and the salted caramel brownie. Look how sweet the artwork on my drink was! All items were very reasonably priced, and came very quickly after we'd ordered.

What were the staff like?

All the staff on duty when I went were lovely, and knew a great deal about the creatures. They were helpful with answering any questions we had (either about the animals or about the company in general), and looked after the cats very well, making sure to ask customers politely to stop if they were breaking any of the house rules.

Final thoughts

I had an amazing morning at Dinah’s Cat Emporium, and can’t wait to go back soon! Everything was very professionally run, and I learned a great deal about looking after cats (which will certainly be useful when I’m an old lady with ten thousand of them!). In addition, the staff were lovely, the refreshments were delicious, and the cats were enchanting as I’d hoped they’d be. If you live in London, or are planning a trip to the city in the near future, I’d highly encourage you to book a table there!