Food

I didn’t realize that Food Inc was all one store until about the 15^th time I was cruising Whiteleys. And someone told me. The shops (you pay at each stand, so it’s kind of like lots of shops) are spread throughout the length of the mall.
The nice part is that they frequently seem to be operated by an owner, or someone who actually cares. You can stop and chat with the fishmonger about the fish. At the Greek counter they will force you to sample everything until you find just the right treat. And I love the juice bar. Nothing new, just good fresh juice.
And it’s great if you have a baby and are looking for some stand up snacking, or need to pick up a nice piece of meat or cheese or veg. Or even better — sweets!
I really wish Unilocal had half stars!

Luxury food halls are a glorious thing — from Harrods and Harvey Nics to Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason, I can spend hours just browsing and drawing inspiration for a fabulous dinner party (note: never source all dinner-​party ingredients from one of these as it will impoverish you).
When Whiteley’s (already undergoing a renaissance of sorts) announced it was opening a food hall featuring a four-​sided grocery «installation» of specialty goods, wine shop, cheese shop, fishmonger, butcher, greengrocer, pasta stall, bar/​café etc etc, I was understandably delighted. But when I finally visited Food Inc., I was completely underwhelmed.
Spread over the huge ground floor of Whiteley’s, the stalls/​shops are disconnected and dotted in various corners or spaces (ie adjacent the Gap, under the escalator.) so you don’t get that «buzzy» market feel or the overload of smells and sights that comes with a jam-​packed food hall. It’s sparse and slightly depressing (kind of like Whiteley’s itself). And you really need that buzz to tempt you into spending £10 on specialty chocolate.