A London institution since 1849, Harrods is a must-see for anyone who loves food. A good starting point is their food hall, filled with everything from tea to fresh fish and exotic fruits. The variety is astounding and the goods are laid out artfully. It’s more like a food museum than a grocery store – especially if you’re not ready to spend your entire vacation budget in one day.
After the food hall, don’t miss the chocolate bar on the second floor. We stopped by, eager to recharge after hours of walking, and I had one of my best food experiences of the vacation – a cup of traditional Italian hot chocolate. It was sweet, dark and as thick as mousse. And with the horrible exchange rate, it was over $10. But I do not regret a sip.
Harrods: A luxurious cup of Italian hot chocolate, Macarons from Laudree
Right around the corner from the chocolate bar, you can ogle kitchenware and fancy appliances.
On a later day of our trip we returned for the Laduree store which opened in Harrods a couple of years ago. Laduree is a fancy French pastry store best known for inventing the sandwiched macaron, worshipped for its perfect texture and variety of flavors. Put off by the long line for a table, we bought a box to go. An exciting part of the Laduree macaron experience is picking out a box to house the delicate pastries. I found the perfect black box and chose a variety of flavors including rose, pistachio and cassis.
Hello Stephanie,
First of all, thanks for coming to judge my class the other day during their food competition…
…and second: I used to go to Harrods back when I lived in Lyndhurst (’02). Did you have an opportunity to see the sushi bar and live pick & choose fish? It was super expensive back then too, I wonder how bad it is now.
Hi Chef Branden! I had a great time yesterday and was so impressed with your students – I’ll definitely be making a post about it soon!
I didn’t see the sushi bar or the live fish…I did get to see their large selection of dead ones though. And some amazing cuts of meat. It was super expensive, especially with how bad the dollar is right now.
Ahahhh ahhaahh an italian hot chocolate to Harrods It’s impossible!! My God!!
The last time I was in Harrod’s the sushi scared me. Actually, the whole place did —it’s looking quite sad and tired these days. I do heartily recommend the top-floor food court at Harvey Nichols’, though —I got there too late to try the sushi but the espresso restored my faith in humanity,
Another lovely London experience is to have high tea at Liberty. Yes, the service is atrocious and sloooow, but the setting is so charming, like you’ve stepped back in time.