DanFilson's Qype reviews
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87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL
DanFilson
wrote on 17 March 2011
I have been coming to Harrods for years - at least a quarter of a century. Of course it is a wide-ranging department store, immensely popular with tourists both British and from abroad, but also regular customers from the London area.
I used to use the barber shop in the basement next to the Green Man, but eventually found it had priced itself out of my market which takes some doing.
The Sound and Music section has a good quality range - though not as extensive as HMV - of music and DVDs, with quite a good selection of international film. The Computer section nearby is almost wholly pitched at the top end of the market and way beyond most users' price range - I think they misjudge the market here, and have a lot of footfall but few sales where with a different approach they could sell a lot more.
The Georgian Restaurant at the top is one of my favourites. Here you can have your fish filleted expertly at your table or collect your roast lunch from the buffet. A pianist will be playing during the day. The restaurant is split with the buffet serving area cutting it in two - if you want to be at the piano end (the grander end) you may need to book your table. Two at least of the waiting staff have been here 25 years, and recognise and greet me which is always flattering.
The Food Halls are renowned to the extent they are slightly clogged by tourists. I think the butchery section is especially good, you can get veal or liver carved as you wish, superb fillet steaks, racks of lamb and so on. The fruit section once had peaches so tempting I bought four simply because of the smell although I never eat them and gave them to a neighbour.
The wine section used to be handily placed on the ground floor so you could almost dash in by taxi but it is now in the basement. There are some seriously good wines there, though St James's is possibly a better place to pick great wines.
Overall a great experience. Avoid during the sales owing to excessive crowds. Parking in the area is difficult, but there is a multistorey carpark just off the road on the east side. Knightsbridge tube is adjacent.