Enter food halls, the upscale and decadent dining solution for a market of hungry shoppers with diverse tastes (or picky children). Although they may serve the same fundamental purpose as food courts, halls tend to offer artisanal goods, outposts of acclaimed local restaurants, chef-driven menus, and not a single Panda Express in sight. Food courts are usually located in the mall — think tile floors, dingy atriums, and a perpetual smell of grease — but the food hall trend emerged from a different type of shopping center: the department store.
Originally popular in Europe and Asia, the worldwide trend has gained significant momentum over the past few years. Currently, you won't find any food halls within U.S. department stores, the forthcoming West Coast Eataly will be located in Los Angeles’ Westfield Century City mall, and Birmingham’s soon-to-open Pizitz Food Hall will be in a building formerly occupied by a department store — each paying homage to the origins of this movement.
While we wait for a domestic one to open, in the meantime, check out some of the most over-the-top department store food halls around the globe.
6th Floor Kadewe Food Hall, Berlin, Germany
Known for being the largest delicatessen department in Europe—the space sells over 35,000 products—it’s safe to say that the challenge here is deciding what to eat. In addition to take-home goodies available for purchase, visitors can experience a meal from one of the 150 chefs and 30 gourmet bars that have taken up residence on the sixth floor. The space also offers an in-house bakery, known for its breads, and a patisserie that crafts delectables for sweet-minded patrons.
Harrods Food Hall, London, United Kingdom
In a nod to Harrods’ roots as a wholesale grocery, the current London flagship store features an entire floor dedicated to a luxury food hall. The popular tourist spot offers a variety of restaurants, counters, purchasable goods, and wine, beer, and spirits producers. It even sells “hampers” of local goods to bring home (which, in our opinion, is the perfect souvenir). With such gorgeous foods on display, Harrods Food Hall puts a new meaning to the saying “you eat with your eyes first.”
The Basement Food Floor at Takashimaya, Tokyo, Japan
One of the best-known and most iconic food halls in the world, the basement floor at Takashimaya is often seen as a catalyst of the modern movement. Food halls located in department stores are called depachika in Japan, and this one—located at the Times Square location in Tokyo—is undeniably one of the most extravagant. Visitors can purchase hot prepared food, Japanese desserts, and local epicurean goods.
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