Harrods Dining Hall

The only flaw I see in the thinking is that 2 hours early is enough check in time for an international flight out of Heathrow. I would plan on three just to make sure. I would leave Harrods around 11:30. Just of out curiosity, what do you plan to do with your luggage during this time?

Do you have luggage to check? If so, I would feel that I was cutting it a bit fine allowing only 3 hours between Harrods and departure. Things can go wrong…

@Helen: We are dedicated one bag, no rolly travelers, like good little Rickniks who aren't renting a car. We might want to check one bag, if I find some nice ciders to bring home, so there's that.

@Carol: I dunno. The three hours thing seems to be when they open the flight for check in, which seems fairly standard globally. But the actual time through security and whatnot cannot take three hours, can it?

Arriving 3 hours in advance is currently the official advice at Heathrow for long haul flights.

I think that you are cutting it too close Max.

I would rather relax and kill time at the airport than be stressed about missing my plane and rushing and running for the plane.

Is there any way to fit Harrod's during your itinerary or leave at 11:30 am as another poster suggested

Thanks for posting this. I will be in London next October for four nights and I had no idea that Harrod's Dining Hall was so fabulous.

@Max. I'm sure your timing would often work, until it didn't. Most airlines flying internationally from Heathrow suggest the 3 hour check in time. Maybe you could split the difference and aim for 2.5 hours?

Things don't always go smoothly on the way from Central London to the airport. For example, today, a Mylar balloon was stuck in a train tunnel and all trains on that track, including the Heathrow Express were out of service until it was sorted.

I don't know what airline you will be flying. I usually check in online, but they will require a passport check. This will either be at luggage check in or at the gate. Luggage check is probably going to take about 10 minutes. Next step is security. Here is where people often end up delayed. The reasons for this are many but the two major ones are people who seem to be totally unprepared for going through security(there can't really be that many first time fliers can there?grr!) and fairly strict policies in terms of laptops and liquids. You can help yourself here by carefully having all liquids in the correct sized plastic bag ready to pull out quickly and any electronics the same. Double check you have emptied any water bottles. Those who have missed these details see their bags get diverted on the belt to secondary screening. This is the biggest time grabber of all. You must wait your turn for an agent to go through your bag with you. This can add 20 minutes extra easily.
Once through security, you can check the overhead monitors to see if a gate has been assigned to you yet. My TripIt app will usually notify me of the gate a few minutes before it shows up on the board. When it is assigned, begin moving toward that gate area. Many international flights begin boarding around 1 hour prior to take off.

No one can accurately predict the exact travel conditions for you on the day of departure. You may sail through everything and wonder why did they say three hours, or you may be running down concourses hoping you make your flight after the scrum at security.

Do we mean the Food Hall or the Dining Hall? There is a big difference.
The Food Hall opens at 10am on Saturday, the Dining Hall at 12 noon according to their website which I am looking at now.

I haven't seen suggestions for less than 3 hours ahead at Heathrow for transatlantic or other long-haul destinations. Maybe your flight is just a hopper over to Amsterdam or Frankfurt?

The dining hall is in the food hall but doesn’t start serving food until midday. So you can peruse the food for sale in the food hall (ie expensive supermarket) but you won’t have time to eat there.

What are you going to do with your bags at Harrods? They may not let you in with them.

There are two food areas. The Food Hall which encompasses a few rooms and where you can raw and prepared foods for consumption off the premises. There are also the restaurants. It's not a dining hall where you can choose items from different places and then sit in a central location. They are small, individual little restaurants, mostly counters, where you choose one and eat their food.

Yes, it's all upscale.

One thing people haven't mentioned is the date you plan to travel. The London Underground likes to do engineering works on weekends. As an example, last weekend, the part of the Piccadilly line was closed close to Heathrow. They offered replacement bus service between the closed stations. That eats up a lot of time. Be aware of any closures. They usually announce the Thursday before for any last minute changes.

From years of experience. 3 hours before international flight. End of story.

As it happens looking at the TFL engineering chart there is no scheduled engineering work happening on any route to Heathrow that weekend, but the previous weekend the Pic line to Heathrow is closed all weekend.
Anyone visiting London, whether or not over a weekend should really sign up to the Thursday update emails for the time they are in London.
As a for instance there is no Elizabeth Line between Paddington and Liverpool Street for the 4 day Easter weekend due to engineering.

@Isn31c: That's useful as all get out.
There's also this:
Planned Track Closures by TFL.gov.uk

On the way in, we missed the Piccadilly closure from Acton Town to Heathrow, as we're arriving on the third, and booking it for York (at a relaxed pace).

On the way back, Piccadilly line from Knightsbridge to Terminal 5. Feels easy peasy.

I guess I see the potential for nonsense, being a daily Chicago CTA "EL" rider. Since the pandemic, service and security has been the kind of thing that gets a mayor limited to a single term, but it seems like Underground ridership has rebounded faster than CTA ridership, with it getting back to 80% of pre-pandemic back in 2021, while CTA isn't there yet, and seems unlikely to get there.

So, if I trim it to airport arrival at 13:00, which is 2.5 hours to scheduled departure, would trim Harrods to an hour and forty five. Maybe not worth it at that timing, maybe worth it. Something to think about.

Thank you for the input

you can watch vlogs on Youtube of people ooohing and aaahing over the food court, but as noted and as I confirmed with them, it doesn't work like the food court you're used to at the mall. you don't buy food and then find a seat, it's all designed to take away and eat ... well at home, I guess. but as one vlogger posted, look at all these people staring at bread as if they've never seen it before.

If you have luggage with you, Harrods is a no-go. Customer Service FAQs has a list of items not allowed in the store, and that includes "- Suitcases, including cabin-sized cases, and other over-sized bags".

When we visited Harrods with our boys many years ago, we shopped the food hall for an upscale picnic in a park. Maybe you could fit in a short visit for that purpose earlier in your trip.

@Leslie. THANK YOU for that. Never would have copped it, would have been stopped at the door, and would have wound up going to the airport four hours early. Bleh.

I think the best time to hit it then is Friday, after the Tate Britain. We have 1PM entry, so maybe 3PM-4PM exit. 2 miles in a cab or TNC and we've covered it, and we're good from 4 to 9. Then either a Picadilly line to District line return to our hotel, or a #23 bus. Or another 3 miles in a cab/TNC. Or a 2 mile walk across Kensington Gardens.

Yeah, I like this idea better. We can have a relaxed brunch ahead of departure for the airport. Chilled, as I like it.

Little experience or input here Max, but my most distinct memory of Heathrow is the lighted overhead sign, when in the terminal heading for my gate, that read something like: “Gates xxx to yyy, 45 minutes walking” . Huge airport, slow going.

I think that's a wise move.

cab/TNC

what's TNC?

@Nigel

what's TNC?

US Government speak for Transportation Network Company, like Uber or Lyft. When I get map directions for London, I seem to get logos for companies I don’t recognize, and assume are TNCs. I think civilians call them rideshare apps.

@Larry

I remember a longish layover there, maybe six hours, en route to Rome, and we plopped where we were told would be the place we’d catch our connection. Five hours later, we check the board, didn’t see our flight, asked someone, and found we were in the wrong terminal, so was a rush and hustle to get there, but we got there. Honeymoon then. Good times.