Harrods Food Hall, London 1973

A beautifully atmospheric view inside Harrods’ famed Food Halls in 1973, where shopping still felt like a grand occasion. The scene is framed by the hall’s signature Edwardian tiled architecture—gleaming cream surfaces, ornate columns and arches, and the magnificent hand-painted ceiling panels depicting pastoral and maritime scenes.

Counters curve gracefully around the room, each marked by coloured arches: Harrods Home Made, Selected Poultry and Game, and Finnan Haddocks – Kippers. Behind them, white-coated staff arrange displays of fish, poultry, and delicacies, while shoppers in overcoats and hats browse the offerings—this was long before the supermarket age fully reshaped Britain’s food landscape.

Suspended from above, garlands and decorations hint at seasonal preparations, adding to the sense of theatre that Harrods was famous for. The counters themselves, with their marble tops and polished brass rails, evoke an era when retail design embraced craftsmanship and luxury at every turn.

The photograph captures Harrods at a moment when its Food Halls still looked much as they had in the early 20th century: part market, part museum, part stage—an irresistible blend of tradition, spectacle and indulgence.