Somerset House, The River Terrace photo #2
Somerset House, The River Terrace photo #3

Somerset House, The River Terrace

Location pin

Strand, London, WC2R 1LA - 

  • Users

    Up to
    500 standing

  • Table with chairs

    Offers
    catering

Built on historic foundations at the very heart of the capital, Somerset House is London’s working arts centre, home to the UK’s largest creative community and one of London’s best loved public spaces - run as a charity by the Somerset House Trust, all event hires directly contribute to its cultural programme, education and outreach work.

Our spectacular, neoclassical building offers 12 blank canvas event spaces, suitable for staging events of all styles and size. Clients also have the opportunity to enhance their event by connecting it with Somerset House’s diverse cultural programme, with private tours of the building and exclusive access to our exhibitions.

The grandeur and heritage of Somerset House’s diverse venue, coupled with the expertise of our Events team, offer an unrivalled location for an unforgettable event.

The River Terrace is one of Somerset House's most exclusive spaces. Available for evening hire for up to 500 guests as an alfresco reception space, the River Terrace has beautiful views of the building's 18th century façade and across the Thames to the South Bank.

Capacity & layout

Standing

Standing

up to 500

Pricing
& opening hours

Weekly schedule
  • monday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • tuesday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • wednesday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • thursday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • friday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • saturday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • sunday

    0:00 - 24:00

Catering & drinks

Catering facilities

Catering facilities

Refreshments

Refreshments

Alcohol

Alcohol

Amenities

Tea

Tea

Disabled access

Disabled access

Public transport

Public transport

Premises parking

Premises parking

Breakout rooms

Breakout rooms

Space rules

Cancellation policy

Strict (50% refund up until seven days prior to arrival, except fees)

Location

Reviews

  • Harry K

    February 2024

    A cultural center. A hub for arts. Superb Architecture. Amazing open square. Polite, knowledge staff. A must visit for all people. Easy access from Temple underground stop.

  • Andre Lucas Ribeiro

    December 2023

    Beautiful historical building to visit during the day. In the summer and during other seasons, they offer recurrent concerts in the inner patio. The acoustics is surprisingly good. There are several drinking and eating options. The shows are on time and end early, making it easy to work the following day.

  • Venetia Cattroll

    February 2024

    Lovely building had a Historical Tour, nice to find out about Somerset House and all it's history. It lasted an hour, It was very informative, the guide was very good and had lots of knowledge. The forecourt is very impressive very large and has fountains in the summer and ice rink in the winter. We were taken under the forecourt by the guide to see the old graves from churches around the area, that they knocked down to build Somerset House. We were shown the impressive staircases lovely stone staircases especially the Nelson staircase very beautiful looks like their are floating. We were taken under the front of the building near the Thames and saw where the boats and barges used to come in right in to the building as the Thames was much wider then and there wasn't the Embarrassment there, no road and so it used to come right into the building and there is a barge still there underneath to show where the river was, it's on loan from the Maritime museum. We were shown the new wing with lots of new artists work in. It has a few restaurants and cafes in the building. The Courtauld Gallery holds lots of artwork. It used to hold the births deaths and marriages until 1970.

  • Olivia Helene

    February 2024

    Went to the Cute Exhibition and Hello Kitty ARTBOX Cafe pop up. The cafe is extremely busy currently, with waits up to two hours. I went on 12 Feb, Monday, (which it’s usually closed on but it was open on this Monday), and the wait was about only an hour long which I was happy about, since they said it could be up to two hours. The prices of the snacks in the cafe is of course overpriced but this is London and a Hello Kitty pop up, of course it’s going to be. About £7 for a slice of cake. The cafe is more about its cute aesthetic and for the experience of it all, me and my friend went dressed as My Melody and Kuromi, and we had a lot of people ask for photos! The cute exhibition itself was fun, and really entertaining. I am usually a bit bored by museums and exhibitions but I was very interested in this one. It was cute and lived up to its name. It’s quite a short exhibition, and I was particularly a bit disappointed by the gift shop because I always like to get a magnet or pin as a souvenir, but I couldn’t find any souvenirs. (Luckily got a pin from the Hello Kitty cafe though.) They also didn’t list a price on most of their products. I really appreciated the fact that you could buy job seeker tickets to the exhibition for about £5 less than a normal ticket. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Somerset House is a bit of a maze though!

  • Christine L

    February 2024

    Took my sister here for the cute exhibition. She really enjoyed it! Hello kitty pop up cafe probably not worth it.. super long wait. But it's more for the novelty! Go early in the morning if you are keen for it.