endlessummer

Ok. Apparently this is the biggest Whole Foods in the entire chain. It occupies the old Barkers building on Kensington High Street (a.k.a. Kensington Di Street because of its proximity to the Palace and she used to shop there). It opened today and it was PACKED. My husband and I were delighted to find a food hall which seats 350 people. This is no mean feat in London. We ate in a really nice area with huge chairs overlooking the street and the church. For dinner, we had:

Meze platter: 3 dips plus bread - £5.95
4 glasses of Organic Spanish cask wine - £14
2 slices of pizza: £8 (£4.50 per 250 gram)

We bought:

2 good pieces of organic salmon: £3.90
2 good pieces of yellowfin tuna: £6.21
Rachels organic coconut yoghurt: £1.79
3 big heads of garlic: £1.99
1 big head of smoked garlic: 77p
2 boxes of Celestial Seasonings cinnamon apple tea: 99p per box (10 tea bags)
1 super nice burlap bag: £1

Stupidly I thought I could get a box of Fruitloops and some Twinkies. Clearly a mistake - this is WHOLE FOODS, duh. Now I know what that is. Oh well, I guess I gotta take the rough with the smooth.

Anyway, I'll be going back. It was a lot of fun and a LOT better than that miserable Tescos.

tripgirl

Glad you are enjoying your Whole Foods.

I live right around the corner in walking distance of a WF.

I still love your and all European outdoor markets better than even WF, but I am sure you will enjoy WF.

Keep buying so my stock will go up!

BTilke

WF is nice, but in my town, I'd rather they swapped the Sainsbury's for a Wegman's.

Carrybean

Thanks for the report. I'm in the land of no Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wegman's, Publix, etc. so I'll probably be visiting this store in a couple of weeks.

I'm a grocery store geek.

endlessummer

It makes a nice change in terms of a retail experience and is very "American" in terms of communication, product displays and staff friendliness. I love the markets too but in some ways I miss the kitsch experience of the over the top American style supermarkets. When I lived in North America, I never spent much time in them. Now, when I visit my mom, I spend ALL my time traipsing up and down the aisles, looking for the latest in new frosting flavours. Not that I'll get those in Whole Foods...

PalenQ

endlesssummer: were WF all out of the vaunted Norwegian pine nuts? Or maybe Dukey slipped over there and bought them all up

Cimbrone

Just so everyone knows, there was a lengthy thread recently in anticipation of WF's London debut. I'd post the link, but I haven't mastered that yet. I want a review from flanner, no punches pulled! flanner, get thee to Kensington High Street ASAP!

In the U.S., WF is in the news because they are trying to buy Wild Oats and may be stopped by anti-monopoly laws. WF argues, correctly in my opinion, that with the mainstream markets going increasingly green, there will continue to be plenty of competition even with the purchase of Wild Oats.

endlessummer

Yes, was hoping Flanner would add his two cents worth... I think he would look quite dandy with the £1 California Clementine retro burlap resuable carbon footprint reducing ecofriendly green shopping bag!!

endlessummer

And PalenQ, WF weren't out of ANYTHING last night. My gosh, I've never seen so much FOOD. I didn't check the pine nut situation but will do so on the weekend. I just made a bee-line for the cupcake display..

Cimbrone

LOL, endlesssummer! Some patchouli incense sticks and a pair of birkenstocks will look very smart peeking out of flanner's earth-friendly sack, don't you think?

PalenQ

ENDLESS as the first Fodor conduit into the real store some Q's please:

Is there a huge wine and beer selection

and, most importantly, are there lots of Sampling Stations like in my local WF where you can eat a gourmet meal whilst shopping?

And do the shopping carts have all four wheels that swivel (this in a reference to an interesting thread on European shopping carts, whose all 4 wheels i guess swivel and some coordinated-challenged folks have trouble navigating down aisles?

thanks - and oh did you notice the store hours - assume open on Sunday as most of London seems to be.

PalenQ

<Some patchouli incense sticks and a pair of birkenstocks will look very smart peeking out of flanner's earth-friendly sack, don't you think?>

and some organic dog chow for the flanner pooch?

janisj

here is the thread Cimbrone mentions

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34999197

endlessummer

Hey, he needs to try the SPELT cupcakes. YUM

endlessummer

PalenQ, here's what I found:

Is there a huge wine and beer selection?

It's ok. Of course, being middle class BINGE DRINKERS, we headed there first. I'm only interested in Western Australian wine (just kidding but only just) but seriously, we did check it out. I tried my first glass of organic wine last night and I liked it. I didn't screw my face into a little ball after my first gulp and there were no horrific chemical like aromas rising from the glass. Weird

and, most importantly, are there lots of Sampling Stations like in my local WF where you can eat a gourmet meal whilst shopping?

NO. there were maybe a few stations but not nearly as many as I thought there would be. I was totally expecting a free feast and I didn't get it. Most disappointing.

And do the shopping carts have all four wheels that swivel (this in a reference to an interesting thread on European shopping carts, whose all 4 wheels i guess swivel and some coordinated-challenged folks have trouble navigating down aisles?

I will try the carts out on the weekend but it was so packed, only the brave tried them. They had these nifty wheely baskets instead so we gave those a try. Lots of fun and means you don't fill up your cart like a nutter and end up with a £200 food bill.

thanks - and oh did you notice the store hours - assume open on Sunday as most of London seems to be.

Yup, it's open on Sundays. It's "Open for Browsing" at 11am and then you can purchase from 12pm until 6pm. My intention is to go for a jog thru Hyde Park on Saturday at 7am and then read my papers/have a coffee at 8am when it opens on Saturday. I CAN'T WAIT

flanneruk

There's no point in my giving my tuppence worth.

I've launched more than enough supermarkets to know that crowds on day 1 (and even bigger crowds over the first weekend) prove nothing. I'd have been very worried indeed, though, if any store I'd been responsible had no empty shelves at the end of day 1, which might imply the lack of parking might well be the killer my friends in the neighbourhood all say it is.

What matters isn't whether there are lots of visitors: it's whether the store gets the £1-2 million pounds' sales a week it needs, whether it's getting that in a few months' time, and whether it's on top of its costs. And - since foreign retailers NEVER tell their shareholders the real truth about UK operations - we won't get a real inkling about that till July next year when the company have to file their UK accounts for the period up to September 2007.

I'll share my impressions after my weekend visit: but what matters a great deal more is the size of locals' purchases. Endlessummers' fifteen quidsworth of groceries (the litle old ladies in my Cotswold Co-op spend a lot more than that) isn't an impressive start, I'm afraid.

PalenQ

endless: thanks - i was hoping you would say 'open for grazing' or not browsing - a let down but it seems free samples aren't the think you ever see in UK supermarkets.

And for flanner - i have good word that he is in fact right now in WF and will have the usual sarcastic witty report that promises to make rivetting reading as usual.

flanneruk

Oh and after "Lots of fun and means you don't fill up your cart like a nutter and end up with a £200 food bill." I'm even gloomier.

They're there to get LOTS of £200 transactions. If they don't understand that, they just don't get it.

endlessummer

Oh Flanner, calm down. Grocery purchases were not there to impress you, I was more interested in what our American friends had to say. I couldn't spend any more because the crowds were giving me a headache. As for Cotswold old ladies, they must be shopping for their dinner parties. I know my granny doesn't spend that on her weekly shopping!! I'm sure lots of Notting Hill mummies will be doing HUGE shops in the weeks to come.

PalenQ

I think flammer.uk has lost any open-mind about WF's experience and i expect a fully disdaining report that he can write now and save the trip out of the hills to London Town.