Giant food halls have been a roaring success in London as of late. Just look at Eataly, the indoor Italian market in a 42,000 square foot space in Liverpool Street, serving up heaps of tongue-tingling pasta and delicate glasses of wine.
Something else that’s been having a bit of a moment recently is Battersea. So, it makes sense that the newest kid on the food hall block has opened inside the recently transformed Battersea Power Station. We got a chance to go and have a look before it opened up fully and we were pretty impressed:
The Arcade Battersea food hall follows on from the success of the brand’s unique food hall concept at its Arcade Centre Point location in Oxford Street. The new food hall boasts 500 seats, two bars, three stand-alone restaurants and a private dining room. It’s quite the dining destination!
Said Cokey Sulkin, COO of Arcade: “I’m thrilled to be leading the teams at Arcade Centre Point and Arcade Battersea. We aim to create a drinking and dining destination to attract Londoners and international guests alike via global cuisines and seamless technology in the historic Power Station”.
Food & drink at Arcade Battersea
Oh, and by the way, those restaurants and bars are in addition to the food hall’s own vendors! Guests can experience a truly unique dining experience in the food hall, with 13 different cuisines to take their taste buds all around the world. We’re talking Cantonese comfort food from Sui Sui, tasty Thai food from Phed Power, Indian fast food from Hero, and Nepali street food from Tipan Tapan (just to name a few). There’s even a new flatbread concept from TikTok butter-boy (and hugely successful restaurateur) Thomas Straker.
Two bars are on hand to keep your thirst sated: Tap Room and ABC Bar. The former features a wall of 32 taps and a huge selection of beer from local and international breweries. ABC Bar, meanwhile, is full to the brim with all of your favourite cocktails.
The best part of the food hall is the order-to-table system that made their original site so popular. What does that mean for you? All you have to do is take a seat, and you can then order widely from around the food hall, all without having to leave your seat. Grab a burger from one place, dumplings from another, a flat bread, and a round of drinks, all without ever having to queue!
The stand-alone restaurants
As if all of that wasn’t enough, there are also three restaurants at Arcade Battersea for you to stuff your face in. Manna is a US-style smash burger and fried chicken joint that has created a selection of dishes specifically for Battersea Power Station (now doesn’t that make us feel special?). Then there’s Solis, a grilled chicken and steak brand, and completing the trilogy of restos is cult Taiwanese favourite, BAO. They’re masters of (well, you guessed it) bao, and they’ve brought a new noodle shop concept to town.
A word to the wise: go with an empty stomach or you’ll regret it…