National Portrait Gallery Reviews Summary

Exhibition and Artwork

Pros:

• "It's one of the World's historically important repositories of Art."
• "So amazing that this is free and first rate for the information behind each work of art."
• "Great Paul McCartney exhibit right now with some of his personal photos."
• "Entry to the museum is free."
• "Very beautiful and diverse array of portraits available on display."
• "The new re-work is fabulous. Not too much, but there is so much more light and sense of space."
• "The exhibits were excellent! So many famous portraits that I had only seen in the textbooks before, with great short explanations of the context and of people's lives."

Cons:

• "Poor design, poor labelling, poor lighting, nightmare cafe design, crazy toilet arrangements."
• "The only criticism I have, which I found irritating, was the titling and information that often did not align with the portraits and sculptures."
• "The photos were poorly arranged, most without any description of who it was, and nonsensical list of musicians."
• "Contemporary portrait gallery has been moved upstairs and crammed into narrow walkway to make way for exhibition space with entry cost of £22 pp."
• "Over-hyped refurb with display areas in, basically, corridors as well as rooms."
• "The rooms were far too small for the throughput of visitors."
• "Though some of lighting was questionably glaring on a lot of the work and placement of signs was often confusing."

Accessibility and Facilities

Pros:

• "The building is also disabled friendly."
• "It is more accessible, lighter and has seating in the majority of areas."
• "Disabled friendly. Good rest room facilities."
• "Wide staircases to all of the floors."
• "Lift access to all floors and wheelchair accessible."
• "It is nicely laid out with good lift service making it mobility friendly."
• "The new entrance area is well done."

Cons:

• "Coming from another country, not knowing who is who and not understanding anything about it."
• "There's simply not enough catering to provide for everyone who wants it."
• "Main hall was very large, bright and airy, now it is small and dark."
• "The principal lift being out of order made access to some exhibits, the café and toilets more difficult than it should have been."
• "The toilet waiting situation is a disaster."
• "Ridiculous to have unisex toilets."
• "Do not take anyone who is disabled or a young child as the loos are in the basement, the lifts are tiny and very slow."

Staff and Security

Pros:

• "The staff and volunteers are great too. The refurb has been done fantastically."
• "The staff is very friendly and looks after the gallery very nicely."
• "Stuff are very friendly and approachable and the facilities generally are perfect."
• "Exceptional highlights tour led by enthusiastic and informative staff."
• "Staff were welcoming. Well worth a visit."
• "Our thanks also to kindly staff who helped us all the way with access via lifts etc."
• "Gallery assistants are lovely."

Cons:

• "There was also white visitors giving racist comments to other visitors. Staff just few feet away but they did nothing."
• "I was verbally accosted and frankly felt physically threatened by a security guard."
• "The Gallery is amazing but the reason I am giving this a 4 star and not a 5 is the welcome was not very welcoming, somebody trying to organise the queue outside basically just shouting at people."
• "The organisation for the Paul McCartney exhibition today was dire - there was none."
• "The tour guide wasn’t able to manage the large crowd of people."
• "I feel horrible putting 3 stars here since they just reopened but honestly they have a lot of work to do."
• "The staircase led us to nowhere as well, we simply trapped in the cafe and had to wait until the tour left."

Cafe and Shop

Pros:

• "It has a really large shop and great restaurant, with a brilliant atmosphere."
• "The bars and cafes are all top notch for a tourist spot, comfortable with good food and drink."
• "The cafe cuisine is delicious."
• "Good shop and cafe."
• "We had a drink in the cafe too, which was reasonably priced."
• "The cafe is much improved and better situated."
• "A great new cafe and restaurant too."

Cons:

• "Having to que for 20 mins for just a cup of coffee a bit frustrating."
• "The restaurant is lovely but £30 for a plate of pasta left me with indigestion!"
• "I think the cafes are over the top and undemocratic. This is the nation's portrait gallery but the cafe's feel exclusive/stuffy."
• "The Audrey cafe is horrendously overpriced, and the food on display needs to be covered."
• "The cafe was absolutely rammed and wildly expensive."
• "The restaurant & bar on the top floor had many empty tables yet wouldn’t admit anyone at 3pm."
• "English do museums and galleries best, all free full of superb masterpieces and modern art fantastic visit, there was a Paul McCartney exhibit unfortunately they wanted £49 to see it 2 adults one child that is outrageous rip off."