London Food Halls
 

Hi

I was reading about how hugely crowded Harrod's Department Store is. I was wondering if the food hall is just as crowded.

In Paris, I've been in Galeries Lafayette when one literally couldn't walk through the store's ground floor, but ducking across to the food hall, I found no serious crowds at all.

I love Fortnum and Mason's and will be in there for a few must haves for home, but I've never been in any of London's other food halls. On second thought, I have been in Marks and Spencers, but still want to try another. Please recommend your favorite.

And please let me know if Harrods food hall is not too crowded. We are staying very nearby and it would be fun to go there if it's not a mob scene.

Thanks.

Have you been to Borough Market?

http://boroughmarket.org.uk/

I haven't been to Harrod's food hall for a while, but didn't think it was overwhelmingly crowded.

Selfridge's still has a nice one, small compared to Harrod's, but well done. In the Harrod's food halls, I have trouble seeing past the food but do look up and around at the amazing tile work. I find the front hall very crowded but further back it's not as bad.

I don't recall the Harrod's hall being horrendous. Of course, there's a lot of variance based on the beholder's eye for this.

I was thinking of Selfridge's too, though it's a while since I've been there.

this website has some good ideas for food destinations in London:

http://theculturetrip.com/europe/uni...nd-food-halls/

Borough Market is ridiculously busy at weekends but much nicer during the week at lunch. Not everything is open but you can get to the places that are.

Are you interested in street food?

Maltby Market, White Cross Street, Broadway Market, Spitalfields and Brick Lane are good options. Google for their operating hours

Also Google Kerb to find great street vendors.

>> I was wondering if the food hall is just as crowded. <<

The Food Halls are busy for sure but bearable. MUCH less crowded than Borough Market on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. One can barely walk through it.

Re F&M - don't know how long its been since you've visited. The ground floor - mostly tea/coffee/biscuits - gets VERY crowded, but in the last decade they've remodeled the lower ground floor and it is a beautiful food hall including a popular wine bar.

I think Harrod's is a horror show (I was there about 15 months ago), bottom to top. And it just a showy, inflated operation, shoveling luxury food around. Surely you can find more interesting food developments in London these days.

Well guess I'm not as sophisticated as the poster above, but I still enjoy the Food Hall at Harrods ( without an apostrophe BTW ) ;) I enjoy looking at the cheeses, candies, pastries, all of it and usually come away with some small treat.

A trip through the Hall always makes me think of renting a flat on my next trip just so I can get some prepared dishes to take back to my room and enjoy. I've not manage it yet but maybe next time.:) Everything looks pretty yummy to me.

I suggest going first thing in the morning to avoid the worse crowds.

Loved the food hall. In the meat section they have the nicest burlap looking fabric bags that are waxy/waterproof for a great price. They have the Harrod's name on them. I so wish I had bought several as I gave mine away as a gift. It was a feast for the eyes for sure and not any more crowded than my grocery.

Historytraveler, no one's as sophisticated as the poster above. Which means the rest of us can relax and enjoy ourselves (IMHO).

Yep, we've been to Borough Market a bit. We've had apartments or shared houses on our last couple of trips to London and we shopped there maybe three or four times.

Also have been to ALL the floors at F&M; I'm a little bit of a sucker for that place.

I don't know if I like street food or not. The only place that I've had a variety of street foods on multiple occasions is NYC, and I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the stuff.

Even at home, at music events or such, I've rarely had something from a food stand or food truck that exceeds my expectations.

annhig, I do have that article bookmarked. Thanks.

Our apartment is so close to Harrods that I think I will be forced to shop in their food hall, even if I become horrified. I will look up, but it's hard to draw my attention away from foodstuffs.

We only have four nights and would just like a few fancy snacks for the apartment.

>>We only have four nights and would just like a few fancy snacks for the apartment.<<

Just don't let your eyes get bigger than your stomach. The times I've rented nearby I've ended up w/ the most amazing things . . . and more food then time to eat it ;)

janisj: I know what you mean. Had to leave some lovely cheese behind, but finished the sticky toffee pudding.

Tuscanlifeedit, we are going to brave Harrods food hall next month as I have a favorite tea. If we stay in the food hall Mr. Wonderful will handle it. He hates crowds so I don't plan to visit other areas of the store.

When my mom and I arrived in London in 1982 Harrods was the first place we went. We had heard actor Van Johnson talk about it and knew we had to go there.

If you've never seen this photo series on Harrod's, it's wonderful.

http://www.dougiewallace.com/harrodsburg/

There are better places to buy cheese in London.

>>There are better places to buy cheese in London<<

Yep -- and your point?

(BTW -- there are plenty of over-indulged in Italy too)

The food hall in Harrods is worth a look definitely tuscanlifeedit, and I didn't find it too horribly crowded. The whole store is entertaining.

sandra thanks for the link, that was priceless. The last time I was there (early on a Sunday) a bunch of those young middle eastern guys were rat racing up Brompton Road in a fleet of brightly coloured Lamborghinis, Ferraris etc.
Spoiled doesn't begin to cover it.

We bought that piece of cheese at F&M. Good enough, not great.

But the sticky toffee pudding was amazing. I think we had some triple cream or clotted cream with it. We don't have that where I live. I did get some stp at Trader Joe's but it was only passable.

Ahhh! A sticky toffee pudding fan. I've been on a quest for some years now to find the best sticky toffee pudding. Still doing research ;)

" I have been in Marks and Spencers, but still want to try another. "

There's no meaningful difference between M&S's, except that their food gets duller as the departments get smaller. Marble Arch offers by far the widest range in central London: there's no point seeking other branches out. Serious chain food retailing is an extraordinarily dynamic industry, and only a small proportion of the food available in M&S's today will have been there five years ago.

The most interesting food hall around Knightsbridge (at least to the neighbourhood's zillionaires) is occasionally the one in Harvey Nick's: though mostly for the store's chutzpah in finding price points that would give most of us an attack of akrophobia.

The only food hall in London anyone with a serious interest in food would dream of actually shopping in to make a meal from is John Lewis in Oxford Street, though the one in Selfridge's is good for a wider range of instantly eatable (and generally rather good) food.

Only the most irredeemably insular would steer clear of London's immense street food boom. Presumably Rick Steeves hasn't discovered it yet.

Go to Harrods early, at opening time. I've never found it 'unbearable' and the food halls are beautiful. The food halls are the best thing about the store, you can skip the rest. As a department store Selfridges is much better.

Harvey Nichols 5th floor is nice, quite small - selection a bit more interesting than Harrods perhaps. And they have Kurobuta restaurant, which I love. And there's an outdoor terrace on the 5th floor.

For me the best food store around is Wholefoods Kensington. It's huge. But if you're from the US you're probably used to that sort of thing. We don't have anything like it here.

I love the Harrod's food Hall! The seafood bar is excellent. Very crowded on weekends.

Have a great time! I miss London.

If you are staying in a flat in Knightsbridge and are looking for food; there's a branch of Ottolenghi in Motcomb Street. There's a very smart branch of Waitrose there as well.

Prefer Fortnum's to Harrod's. Everything about Harrod's is too over the top.

Boro Market is fun but is insanely crowded on Saturdays-try to go on Thursday or Friday for the full market plus food stands with a great number of cuisines represented. There are food vendors there Monday through Wednesday and the shops are the side streets like Neals Yard are open if you can't get there later in the week. I love the roast pork sandwich from Roast.

Also if you are at Boro Market, visit Southwark Cathedral which abuts it.

that would be <i>Borough</i> Market.

There is a Neals Yard at Seven Dials which would be more convenient unless one is specifically going to Borough Mkt.

Harrods food halls were fine the last time we were there - but it was late October.

Caveat: as a New Yorker I may have a different perspective on crowds. It's nothing like Macy's at Christmas (when you have to use your elbows to get through) but certainly not empty.

Certainly not looking to prepare a meal. I'm really looking for snacks, not meal prep.

As I said, I've spent a fair amount of time at Borough Market, and it is unlikely we will be there. We have a packed itinerary that so far, doesn't take us in that direction during the day.

I would never "steer clear" of London's, or any city's for that matter, street food. In fact, I'll try any if I see some that looks appealing. I will reread jamikins suggestions, and flanneruk, I'll welcome street food tips from you, too, if you have them.

I will confess that a few bits of street food in London at the Brick Lane market and at the Columbia Rd. flower market didn't thrill me; I left what I bought at Brick Lane at a bin. But open to recs, still. We will not be in London at the weekend.


Tulip, Ottolenghi is very near our apartment and I plan on a visit. Maybe the smart Waitrose can be our stop for a few days' essentials. Thank you so much.

Something to read through

http://www.timeout.com/london/restau...st-street-food

Thanks jamikins. I will soon start another dining thread and hope you see it; I value your input.

Tuscanlifeedit, that's a very nice part of London. Smart, quiet, but still central. There's Amaya on Motcomb Street - beautiful Indian restaurant.
Do try the lemon mascarpone tarts at Ottolenghi. And their granola is pretty good too. I could just eat everything there :-)

Thanks Tulips

I'm looking forward to it. We've stayed in several parts of London but never Knightsbridge. The flat is small, of course, but the price is good. It's our first AirB&B rental.

Thanks for the food recs. I am also looking forward to some nice restaurant meals. We haven't been doing much of that at home (I say that I only eat in restaurants with crayons) so this will be nice.

Historytraveler, I'm another Sticky Toffee Pudding devotee who is also doing private taste testing. Tough job, but someone like you and me has to do it. Sheila Ritchie sent me the recipe from the restaurant in Scotland that claims to be the first to have served it. I made it for Christmas dinner, and it is really quite good.

a place in Scotland may claim to have invented STP but so far as I'm aware, the kudos for popularising it, if not actually inventing it, goes to the Sharrow Bay hotel in the Lake District:

http://www.countrypuddings.co.uk/pud...toffee-pudding

I am so glad that I postponed weight loss yet again, so that I can go to England and eat all the Sticky Toffee Pudding I desire without worrying about ruining my diet.

There was a trip where we discovered Millionaire's Shortbread. That was fun.

And how about Grasmere Gingerbread? More fun, but only in Grasmere. DO NOT believe the cookbooks that say they have the recipe.