The Selfridges Kitchen

Ok — I’ve worked near Selfridges for close to two years now. When a friend asked to meet for lunch on 4^th floor (not the ground floor food hall) I thought he was MAD. I mean, hello, everyone knows floor 4 is the kids clothing and toys section??? What are you talking about, John? Uh, no it isn’t. Well actually it is home to the kids section, but it also home to the fairly spectacular Selfridges Kitchen.
An oasis of calm (possibly because no one local or international knows about it), this lovely bright space is a mismatch of different kitchens. Choose from lebanese, pizza, the grill, chinese, indian… All cooked fresh and made to order. There is also a fairly exciting looking dessert section which I spent a lot of time gawping at.
This is a super spot for a friendly or business lunch because you’ll get your food on a proper plate, and everybody can still pick what they want. You’ll also almost always find a table free (the ones at the far end have a great view of the city).
This is my new lunch stomping ground. So much to try! Updates a-​coming this way soon…

Ugh this place is awful — poor quality over priced messy food served in crowded unattractive surroundings. I had sushi — the fish tasted of nothing — the rice was clumped into gelatinous lumps. My husband ate a lamb curry which consisted of stringy fatty meat and rice which was congealed in a sodden mass. The lemon meringue tarts had soggy meringue and the tea pot only contained one cup. This was expensive — best part of £35 and although we are happy to pay for decent food as provided by it’s counterpart in Harrods.
Self service and unappetising — never again.

For a department store, this smallish (by American standards) food court is pretty nice. Clean, brightly lit and a nice selection of both standard fare and ethnic cuisine. I had an falafel wrap something-​or-​other and tap water (note to Americans: be precise when ordering beverages) for just under £8, which is tourist-​affordable. A solid three stars for a tasty first meal in London.

The Garden Café situated on the top floor of Selfridges is a personal favourite of mine when in need of an effortless, quick lunch and a moment to contemplate on a day of shopping.
Choose between giant pretzels, Chinese, Indian, British Pub Grub, pastries and cakes, juices and smooties and my preference, the salad bar.
All the food is served freshly so you tell them exactly what you want and that’s what you get. I particularly like being able to see exactly what I am ordering and avoids that awful moment in a restaurant when you have ordered a meal but what is brought to your table looks like the dogs dinner.
The service is instant with rarely any need to wait around or queue. The food is delicious and although the restaurant is more canteen hall like than intimate and personal, it has never disappointed me.