Simply Abu Dhabi III

187 SIMPLY ABU DHABI The famous Fifth Floor Although Harvey Nichols is most distinguished for the fashion retail side of the business, the top floors of all Harvey Nichols full-size stores feature Harvey Nichols restaurants, bars, cafes, wine shops and food markets which have become popular destinations in their own right. If you start to feel a little peckish from all the energy you’ve expended whilst shopping in the London store, the Fifth Floor is the place to go. It’s all about Food on the famous Fifth Floor with a restaurant, cafe and roof terrace, champagne bar, foodmarket and wine shop. Looking out over Knightsbridge from the roof terrace, the chic and airy fifth floor cafe provides the perfect respite from all that shopping, serving beautiful afternoon tea in a relaxed and informal setting. In fact, the cafe menu can change up to four times a day to accommodate breakfast, elevenses, lunch and dinner, so no matter what time you’re in need of refreshment; you’re in for a treat. From the open plan kitchen, a delicious array of European inspired dishes is served throughout the day. The diverse range of sandwiches on offer on the Fifth Floor is nothing short of incredible and packed full of delicious fillings to leave you feeling truly satisfied. We can vouch for the fact that these bespoke takeaway sandwiches created to exacting requirements are extremely popular with hungry shoppers on the go. Whilst browsing the tempting and colourful aisles in the Fifth Floor Foodmarket, we discovered a vibrant menu of original, seasonal and downright delicious fare. In keeping with the Harvey Nichols commitment to quality, the Foodmarket is the place to stock up if you’re serious about food and take great pleasure from both cooking and eating. At the Deli counter our senses were awakened by a dazzling display of fresh Taramasalata and Tzatziki dips alongside freshly prepared food like stuffed aubergines and peppers, delicious chorizo and vegetable salad, BBQ chickens and mouth-watering salmon fish cakes. We know they were delicious and mouthwatering because we sampled them for ourselves! We took a little time to appreciate the stunning selections of cheese, bread, fruit, vegetables, wine, meat and fish on display which were extremely impressive in their diversity. Such a perfect day Having exhausted the Fifth Floor – well until dinner at least – we were off in search of scented candles. No mean feat when you are presented with such a vast choice. This was followed by a good forty-five minutes exploring the latest Anya Hindmarch collection – well we did warn you not to stop at Harvey Nichols unless time is on your side! Next stop was the homeware department. Now I confess not to be too enamored by such departments usually, but then this is no usual homeware department and it’s strange how you never realised you needed a suede pot holder until you stumble across one! I persuaded Jordana the vintage cake stand and Riedel Champagne flutes were sufficient purchases and maybe we should leave the elaborate candlesticks – believe me when I say it’s easy to get carried away by the whole Harvey Nichols experience. After a fantastic day shopping and having heard so much about it, we decided to stay on for dinner at the famous Harvey Nichols Restaurant. A healthy approach to food is evident in Executive Chef Jonas Karlsson’s menus inspired by seasonality and sustainability. I opted for the Gressingham Duck Breast with mediterranean fig and piquillo pepper bulgar wheat whilst Jordan tucked into the West Coast Skate accompanied by white bean purée, candied walnuts and curry beurre noisette. Despite a mouth-watering selection of desserts, having already had delicious sandwiches earlier in the day – not to mention a few treats in the foodhall during the afternoon – we settled upon sharing some honeycomb cookies. It was the perfect finale to a perfect day. Thank you Harvey Nichols The Harvey Nichols Group Limited is now owned by the Hong Kong-based businessman Dr. Dickson Poon whose retail businesses extend to North America, Europe, Japan, China and South East Asia. Dr. Poon has been Chairman of Harvey Nichols since October 1991 and Joseph Wan, a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Arbitrator, became Chief Executive of Harvey Nichols in August 1992, having previously been the group finance director of Dickson Concepts for five years. Through a family trust, Dr. Poon wholly owns Harvey Nichols Group Limited, and he is the majority shareholder of Dickson Concepts (International) Limited, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and S.T Dupont SA, which is listed on the Paris Bourse. With their incredible retail knowledge and with their forward-thinking directorship, Harvey Nichols continues to thrive and attract customers from all around the world not just to its London flagship store but to its many other successful stores across the globe. The Harvey Nichols name is now truly synonymous with sheer quality and luxury and everyone should indulge in a little luxury while in London. We did and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience we would recommend to anyone. A&J would like to thank everyone at Harvey Nichols for a pleasurable day out. I’ll look back with fond memories every time I use my suede pot holder and am sure I’ll be back soon for more much-needed homeware! The London flagship store is located in the heart of Knightsbridge, London’s most fashionable and exclusive shopping district, making it highly popular with tourists and UK visitors on a shopping expedition to the capital. Harvey Nichols also has stores in Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Leeds in the UK, Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, a store in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in Hong Kong, China, in Dubai, UAE, Istanbul, Turkey, Jakarta, Indonesia and even a store in Ankara, Turkey. That’s what we call a global success story!