Ochre, the all-day brasserie and cocktail bar inside London’s National Portrait Gallery, tells more stories than with just the faces on the walls. Each cocktail and dish echoes a life captured still – personal, expressive, and full of unexpected details. A pre-theatre pit stop, a stylish lounge and a place where you eat and drink among legends.
Van Gogh
Sunflowers on the walls. Sunflowers in a glass. The “Sunflowers” cocktail is one of Ochre’s vibrant homages to Van Gogh – golden, smoky, and emotionally complex. Mezcal meets turmeric and apricot in a drink that burns bright, lingers long, and manages to taste like both summer and sorrow.
Pair it with something equally layered – like the organic spelt risotto, where roasted Delica pumpkin and pickled celeriac create a dish that’s warm, earthy, and quietly eccentric. Van Gogh would approve. He might even smile.
Lucian Freud
Unconventional beauty. Take the steak tartare: raw Hereford beef coated in a glossy egg yolk, spread over rich beef fat toast. It’s honest and unapologetically bold. Freud would have devoured it in silence, possibly while sketching you mid-bite.
There’s also the Norfolk chicken schnitzel – comforting but never bland and served with wholegrain mustard jus, romesco, and rocket. Think of it as a portrait of a classic, touched up with sharper brushstrokes.
David Hockney
Ochre’s daytime vibe leans casual, but with the kind of colour pop Hockney would notice. Sparkling wine and oysters make a mid-afternoon entrance feel celebratory, and the afternoon tea service is cheerful, modern, and layered with finesse.
If you’re here early evening, the Prix Fixe Pre-Theatre menu offers a tight edit of house favourites – light, smart, and timed so you won’t miss Act I.
Amy Winehouse
The Classic Negroni here is a little like Amy: strong, bittersweet, and instantly recognisable. Served with all the confidence of a cocktail that doesn’t need to reinvent itself, it holds its own alongside richer plates like steak and fries with a peppercorn sauce that sings louder than expected.
End with the chocolate fondant. It’s dramatic, it’s indulgent, and it arrives with Madagascan vanilla ice cream in full velvet curtain mode.
