Harvey Nichols – 5th floor café – Knightsbridge, London

Harvey Nichols’ 5th Floor restaurant needs no introduction. But what kind of atmosphere does it offer for customers as the area is now mainly occupied by the café? Well, my recent visit to the café happened during the peak Christmas shopping period and sure it was fairly busy, yet still a nice place to stop for a lunch.

The menu had a good selection and I chose roasted Scottish salmon with charred Jerusalem artichoke, sautéed kale with dill and butter sauce, and a rocket and Parmesan salad on the side. At peak periods the staff is a bit challenged to serve customers and surely my waiting time was a lot longer than what I had expected, around 30 minutes. Although the main course and my glass of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc were excellent, I did hit more trouble with the desert. When my pistachio cake arrived I had to ask for a second coffee, but that was on the house.

As to the acoustics the place is open and quite noisy since most surfaces in the restaurant are fairly hard. There is also some soft jazz playing on the background. However, the angled ceiling might have helped in dispersing the noise and conversation was not a problem. Overall a place worth a stop when you cannot shop anymore!

On the same floor there is a lovely champagne bar tucked away in the back for those blessed with more time and a nice bank account.

Harvey Nichols – 5th floor café
109 – 125 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RJ London
www.harveynichols.com/int/restaurant/knightsbridge-dining/cafe-and-terrace/