Five to try: Restaurants in shops

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Pit stop: The Fifth Floor Cafe at Harvey Nichols

Don't drop while you shop. Check out these places to eat at London stores.

JOHN LEWIS BISTRO Third Floor, John Lewis, Oxford Street, W1
(020 7629 7711) £21
Retailers are realising that enticing food is good for sales. Not content with a basement food hall, John Lewis has upgraded its existing cafés and added a comfortable bistro and brasserie on the third floor. With characteristic thoughtfulness, the offering of small plates, hot and cold, with all wines also sold by the glass is ideal for shoppers. The JL Club sandwich was doing a roaring trade on Saturday. On Sundays traditional roasts are served in the brasserie.

5TH VIEW AT WATERSTONE'S
203-206 Piccadilly, W1 (020 7851 2468) £25
Needing somewhere to meet near Piccadilly Circus, my friend suggested Waterstone's. Up on the fifth floor among the civilising presence of books, it proved something of a haven, even if the catering by Digby Trout could be usefully fine-tuned and service garnished with a smile. The foods of Italy, Greece, Morocco and Spain inform the lunchtime plates. In the evenings (until 9pm) when the rooftops view is particularly seductive, dips and tapas marry well with cocktails.

BULLET
Third floor, Snow + Rock, 4 Mercer Street, WC2 (020 7836 4922) £10
Not all Londoners may be aware that Aussies and Kiwis pour scorn on our coffee. Among those showing us the light and the way are New Zealanders Phil
Ross and his sister Vicki. Friends had told them “coffee is just something you have to give up when you come to London”. Bespoke blends and roasts are served in this laid-back café to which you must hike. Savoury food is perky, the brownies renowned, and you'll discover Afghans, New Zealand's chocolate-iced biscuits.

NICOLE'S
158 New Bond Street, W1 (020 7499 8408) £50
Nicole Farhi loves food and that becomes apparent when you see how seriously the subject is taken in the handsome restaurant and bar below her shop. The cooking style was set by Annie Wayte who trained at (Sally) Clarke's and the emphasis on prime ingredients is evident in the skilfully made salads and debonair grills. At a recent visit, I observed two slender women chasing the last grains of rice around their plates of artichoke risotto.

FIFTH FLOOR CAFÉ
Harvey Nichols, 109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1
(020 7823 1839) £32
Swedish crayfish season is in full swing. Chef Jonas Karlsson makes sure that customers join in the fun by offering a dozen boiled crayfish with dill mayonnaise at £15.95 for two people. Or there is my preferred option — £19.95 to share including shots of schnapps. Swedes apparently dress up in peculiar hats and bibs when they knuckle down to crayfish but in Knightsbridge it's not mandatory. Or get cracking at the delightful deli-café Scandanavian Kitchen, 61 Great Titchfield Street,W1 (020 7580 7161) £22.

Prices estimate a meal for one with a glass of wine (if applicable).

 

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