Italian Restaurant Knightsbridge: Skip the Harrods Food Hall Queue
Skip the Harrods food hall queue. Our Italian restaurant Knightsbridge sits opposite the store on Brompton Road - book lunch or dinner today. The food halls felt like enough at the time. They weren't.
If you're looking for the best restaurant near Harrods at that point in the afternoon, the answer most locals give is to walk out the front and cross the road. ALBA London sits at 70 Brompton Road, directly opposite the store. From door five you can see our awning.
Where We Are
ALBA is about thirty seconds on foot from the Harrods main entrance. Cross at the lights and you're with us. For anyone searching for an Italian restaurant next to Harrods, or an Italian restaurant opposite Harrods, this is the literal version of both. Postcode SW3 1ER if you're dropping a pin.
Plenty of restaurants close to Harrods sit a five or ten minute walk into Knightsbridge or down towards South Kensington. That's not a long way in the abstract. It's a long way when you've been on your feet since the store opened.
Why Our Knightsbridge Italian Restaurant Works Either Side of a Shop
The room was built around the Amalfi Coast. Lemon yellows. Citrus trees in the corners, actually scented. An open kitchen with the seafood on display. After a couple of hours in Harrods it reads as a kind of relief - quieter, brighter, considerably more horizontal.
We're open every day from noon, which means the airy interior holds up at 1pm on a Saturday as much as it does at 9pm on a Tuesday.
What to Order Before You Go In
Eating before a long shop is a balance. You want something proper but not something that's going to sit with you through the handbag department.
A few that work:
- Burrata with Datterino tomatoes and truffle
- The sea bass crudo, finished with citrus and olive oil
- Tagliolini al limone, which is the dish people ask about most when they come back
A glass of something cold and white from the southern Italian end of the list. You'll be back on Brompton Road inside the hour.
What to Order After - The Proper Meal
This is the best meal, honestly. Shopping done, no clock running.
The Lobster Linguine is the dish we're known for. The ALBA Pizza is the one people photograph - fior di latte, scrambled eggs, a spoon of black caviar across the top. In the evening, the 9-course tasting menu by our head chef Cristian Ianni walks you through the parts of Italy he grew up around. It's available every day, which surprises people. See the full menu for the rest.
Lunch in 55 Minutes at Our Knightsbridge Italian Restaurant
We do a set menu called Lunch in 55 Minutes. Two courses, £41, southern Italian, finished inside the hour. It exists because enough guests came in mid-shop saying they had a fitting at three or a train at four, and a regular two-hour lunch wasn't going to work. It's probably the most useful thing on the menu if you're searching specifically for lunch near Harrods.
When to Book
Saturday lunch between 1 and 3 is the busiest window in summer. If you have flexibility, a weekday lunch at 12:30 is the quiet version of ALBA, with good light through the front windows. Sunday evenings are gentle too - the kitchen runs until 10:30.
Book at alba-ldn.uk/book-now, or call 020 3985 4992. The bar takes walk-ins if we're full.
A Few Common Questions
Is there an Italian restaurant opposite Harrods?
Find our Italian restaurant Knightsbridge at 70 Brompton Road, directly opposite the Harrods main entrance. Book your table at ALBA London today.
Where's the best restaurant near Harrods for a quick lunch?
ALBA's Lunch in 55 Minutes set menu was built for exactly this - three Italian courses served inside the hour.
Is there an Italian restaurant behind Harrods?
A few sit in the streets behind the store. ALBA is opposite it, on Brompton Road, which is usually the easier walk if you're coming out of the main entrance.
Opening hours?
Mon-Thu: noon to 11:30pm. Fri-Sat: noon to midnight. Sun: noon to 10:30pm.
