Speciality Food September 2025

As growers, the teamgive fresh produce lots of attention in the hall – the farm’s own fare positioned alongside fruit and vegetables from neighbouring farms. Then there are aisles and fridges and freezers of everything else you could possibly need. Plus, a massive deli counter brimming with charcuterie, cheeses, salads, quiches, Scotch eggs and their own fabulous pies (a favourite is the Picnic Pie with local sausagemeat, chorizo, roasted peppers and sundried tomatoes), bread from Lostmill Bakery, and a butchery, led bymaster butchers who carefully prepare locally-rearedmeat, with some cuts aged in the Himalayan salt cabinet. Enjoy gazing over the Arreton Valley by stopping awhile for breakfast, lunch or cakes in the lakeside kitchen. Their signature dish is homegrown grilled asparagus with crispy egg, Hollandaise sauce, confit tomatoes and pesto. POPLAR FOOD HALL , POPLAR NURSERIES, MARKS TEY, ESSEX There was dismay in North Essex in 2017 when popular food hall, The Food Company, closed its doors. However, that dismay has been short- lived, with a nearby garden centre picking up the mantel for find food in the area. Poplar Nurseries is so muchmore than a garden centre – it’s a local institution, with a restaurant (selling one of the biggest ranges of cakes anywhere in the county), indoor and outdoor plant areas, gift and homeware, barbecues, furniture ... there’s even a miniature railway! A farm shop/food shop has long been part of the offering, but the business ramped up its offering in 2021, moving its food department out centre as customers enter – be that vivid spears of asparagus, earth- speckled new potatoes, or punnets of strawberries, their heady perfume of summer scenting the air. This leads to aisles and shelves dazzling with local, regional and British ingredients and goodies, joined by buyers’ picks from around the world – interspersed by a bakery (watch the team in action) delivering warmbread, pastries and cakes throughout the day, a butchery (famous for its sausages and steaks), a fish counter, and a deli laden with cheeses, house baked hams, pies and savouries. Find everything you need and want, andmore. HARVEY BROWNS ARRETON, ISLE OF WIGHT A sight to behold. Harvey Browns’ strikingmodern building is positioned on a fourth-generation family farm, known for cropping asparagus, strawberries, sweetcorn andmore. All feature within the enormous, capacious food hall, where there’s oodles of space to wheel around your trolley and get your fill of the Island’s feast of treasures. 26 @specialityfood W hen it comes to artisanal food and drink, food halls are in a league of their own – alighting all the senses with a multitude of epicurean experiences. Here are just some of the best you can visit across Britain today. SUFFOLK FOOD HALL WHERSTEAD, IPSWICH, SUFFOLK A fabulous family-owned foodie destination that’s just grown and grown and grown since opening nearly 18 years ago. Not only is it a hit with local food lovers, but Suffolk Food Hall has become a tourist attraction in its own right, creating a buzz amongst hungry travellers, who visit in droves to discover all the edible delights the county has to offer, under one roof. And to enjoy everything the site has to offer – from a spacious play area overlooking the river Orwell, complete with a bouncy trampoline and ice cream shack, to a café, restaurant, beautifully curated home store and garden centre. The food hall itself takes visitors on a meandering journey of all things good to eat and drink. In the fresh department, seasonal fruit and veg play a starring role, front and of the main store and into its own building. A shrewd decision, and one that’s given foodies evenmore licence to make the trip to this corner of Essex near Colchester. Well curated and laid out, every little nook and cranny of the food hall is filled with deliciousness. Chillers of smokedmeat and fish. Local seasonal produce. Breads. Oils. Chutneys. Weird and wonderful snacks. A superb array of quirky spirits you really won’t find easily elsewhere. An excellent deli counter of cheeses, readymeals, side dishes to heat at home and charcuterie. A freezer of their own preparedmeals. Standing head and shoulders above all of that, though, is the cake counter, which is truly something to behold, and has always been a crowd drawer for the food hall in all its guises. Along the length of the counter is a collection of drool-worthy bakes - the stuff dreams are made of. We’re talking blousymeringues, cheesecakes crowned with whirls of cream, towering layered cakes, big hunky chunks of brownie and rocky road ...and savouries such as sausage rolls, quiches and samosas. Resistance is futile. HARRODS FOOD HALLS LONDON Get your glam on in what’s been a source of fine food inspiration for generations. It just feels special shopping here, in a setting where chandeliers marry with touches of marble, gorgeous tiling, ornate Find some of the UK’s (and world’s) finest things to eat and drink in these foodie meccas 20OF THEBEST FOOD HALLS T VISIT INBRITAIN ceilings and bespoke display cabinets. Harrods is relied upon by gourmands for delivering the perfect balance of tradition andmodernity. Customers want to experience the latest trends, but also to relish in heritage, classic, nostalgic foods, made with the finest ingredients. At the beating heart of the food halls is the FreshMarket Hall, where shoppers can stock up on pies, fish cakes, salmon en croute, salads, rare, exotic and heritage fruit and vegetables, live shellfish, colourful eggs, cheeses and, of course, caviar. That’s not to mention Harrods’ famous rotisserie, where slow-grown, 24-hour marinated chickens are cooked to perfection. Or the fact the deli area has its own ‘master carver’ to slice slivers of Iberico ham to your liking. The Chocolate Hall features some of the best confectionery money can buy – be that Turkish delight, fudge churned in copper pans, covered fruit and nuts, more than two dozen varieties of filled chocolate bars, or the chefs’ own bon bons and chocolate slabs. Move on next to the Roastery and Bake Hall, sampling the house coffee blend at the coffee bar, picking up some outstanding patisserie for pudding, and listening out for the bell, which rings on the half hour to announce that the latest batch of pastries and breads have just been pulled from the oven. Finish your trip here in the Art Deco Wines and Spirits Hall. Did you