A masterpiece of golden sophistication, the historic Harrods Food Halls are one of my favourite places in London. Some of my earliest memories of London are visiting Harrods on the weekends with my sisters, my favourite thing to do was to get some bakery items from the Food Halls, usually their cheese scone or chocolate twist and save it to eat for when we were walking back home through the park.
“Perhaps the world’s greatest food emporium, you enter a journey of discovery where you can devour incredible tastes which have made the historic Food Halls enduringly popular”
Visiting the Harrods Food Halls still brings me much joy; there is something comforting about seeing the staff in their green uniforms, smelling the freshly baked patisserie and bread and meandering through the rows and rows of beautifully packaged pantry items. Perhaps the world’s greatest food emporium, you enter a journey of discovery at Harrods where you can devour incredible tastes which have made the historic Food Halls enduringly popular - from sparkling seafood and exotic fruits to signature sourdough freshly baked every day.
Walking into the food halls section of Harrods definitely brings back a sense of old world charm, its what I imagine a department store would have been like in a bygone era. There is a feeling of nostalgia in how you are treated as a customer or how the products are treated with a sense of respect. Conversely, the Harrods Food Halls have been freshly renovated so it also exudes a sense of being at the cutting edge of luxury. The Harrods buyers scour the globe looking for the best produce so whether you’re biting into an apple or enjoying a dry-aged steak, you’ll know that you’re feasting the cream of the crop.
The Roastery and Bake Hall, where I have spent many weekend mornings, are the land of freshly baked bread, glistening pastries and custom blended tea and promises a decadent feast for the senses. Listen out for the bell rung every half an hour, signalling the arrival of a fresh batch of bread and pastries, still warm from the oven. The Harrods chefs are encouraged to be innovators and are continually developing new recipes, whilst the favourites remain they also have seasonally changing specials - so you never know quite what artisanal goodies to expect when you visit.
“The Roastery and Bake Hall... are the land of freshly baked bread, glistening pastries and custom blended tea and promises a decadent feast for the senses.”
Along with the Food Halls there are multiple restaurants in the adjacent area. Housing six restaurants in a historic setting, the Dining Hall entices you with a promise of diverse dishes prepared using seasonal ingredients from the Food Halls. From fresh pasta to authentic sushi and the flavours of India, the Dining Halls have something for everyone. My favourite include the Pasta Bar where the chefs serve the most appetizing dishes such as rigatoni cacio e pepe, spaghetti with fresh pomodorini and Cornish crab linguine. The Sushi Bar always promises a fantastically wide range of fish and seafood plates, served with a few signature twists, the tiger prawn tempura with caviar is a must try. The most recent addition is the Lebanese Bakery which made its debut in October of this year bringing its mouth watering offering including its signature manousheh and mouajjanet to Knightsbridge.
If you are visiting London, the Harrods Food Halls is a must see, it will most likely be jam-packed of people when you go but the experience is most definitely worth it.
You can find more about Harrods by visiting the Food Hall at Brompton Road, Knightsbridge or at https://www.harrods.com/
