Ashleigh M.

This bookstore is really cool! The staff are neat and helpful. The book arrangements are fun and inviting. We ended up purchasing a book for my husband and some stationary that was themed. One said 'When the bard plays a banger on your birthday' and we cracked up at that one. It was a worthy buy. It was fun to walk around and just be near books. Thanks for having us!

Jacques I.

Holy shit. Hatchards is amazing. I would've spent all day and money here if I could as this bookstore has flights of books and collections and stories and titles and authors that are available for discovery. I walked in this store and loved everything about it. Hatchards is right next to Fortnum and Mason, which is where I was originally heading to. So this was a fortuitous coincidence to stumble upon here. I walked in and loved that the bookstore is laid out like a house with different rooms throughout the space and you'll have to walk in each room and flight of stairs to find different genres. Staff were great. They made recommendations and even told me about their book subscription that mails out to the U.S. The selection is amazing. I was actually looking forward to getting a Winston Churchill biography while in London and guess what? Hatchards has an entire section just on Churchill! Gahhhh! I wanted it all, and had to cut down the stack of books I ended up leaving with. Love, love, love!

Evelyn F.

Beautiful bookshop that I stumbled on while making my way to Fortum and Mason's. The collection of Diane Wynn Jones books displayed in the window drew me in. I can't think of a more beautiful, well-organized bookstore, I could've easily have spent the afternoon here. Just a heads up to those with mobility issues, this shop has lots of stairs.

Sapphire M.

There aren't a lot of bookstores where you can browse beautiful rare books. On the top floor, we found Bronte, Dumas, Dickens, and even a novel by Winston Churchill. Because of the age and value of these books, they were protected by plastic dust jackets, and the clerk said we were allowed to pick them up as we browsed. He also gave us personal recommendations on books he liked and didn't. The prices ranged from £60-600 from what we saw, and while that was way out of our budget, it was exciting to take a look. New books of all genres are located on the lower floors, including a section for the British monarchy on the ground floor towards the back. This is one of the best bookstores I've been to and a historic gem in the middle of London! Don't just walk by, have a look inside.

Brian L.

By and large, bookstores are hard to come by these days. Yes, I've read many a list of "bookstores you MUST visit!" and have had this place bookmarked for a long time. I was really happy coming in here after my uncomfortable experience in Maison Assouline a few doors down. It was crowded with people, but all book lovers... and let's be honest. By and large, book lovers are generally nicer and more respectful than the casual tourist or shopper. Five floors of books, some of them being special/first editions or cloth-bound volumes of classic and contemporary works. Some books were signed by the author, and there were also rare and out of print books. It was a lot of fun looking at what was on offer. I'd loved to have picked up a first edition of Animal Farm or The Plague, but I did not have £250+ to spend. I picked up a couple books. I had to. One had been in my goodreads queue for quite a while. The other was a special book published through the bookstore itself. Two little souvenirs from an epic bookstore. Even the shopping bag was fancy and keepsake worthy. Even if I never use or look at it again. It is the sort of bag that is not to be thrown away. Top three of bookstores I've ever been to! Must go!

Abby S.

STUNNING! So beautiful. We stopped by before our tea at fortum's and got two books. Knocking off a star since checking out took like 20 minutes since their card reader was down but still 4 stars for the selection of books, the set up, the cuteness and little sofas perfect for reading. A special place historically too.

Appalling customer service, dodgy business practices, arrogance and dishonesty (Order 19861120) I think it is important to make this public. At least 6 orders we are aware of (but probably more) placed on 22 September 2021 for the Paul McCartney signed deluxe limited edition of The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present by Paul McCartney at 750 GBP were cancelled by Hatchards on 28 September 2021 arguing that: "a system error on our website resulted in more copies of The Lyrics Deluxe Edition being released for sale than we physically have allocated by the publisher". This was a blatant lie, as Hatchards covertly offered the exact same book for the exorbitant amount of 10,000 GBP on Thursday 26 January 2023, through a notice board stood outside their shop (see picture). As it now transpires, my order and others were cancelled despite the book being still available at Hatchards. They have shown absolutely no respect for their customers and displayed poor judgement, greed and dishonesty, a far cry from the mission statement of Tim Waterstone when he started the company. They are also most likely in breach of their publisher agreement and Waterstones policies. Do not buy from a store with such poor ethics.

Jeffery A.

I like order. I like the peace. It's what attracts me to bookstores (that and the books). I'm a fanatic when it comes to books. Being a fanatic is a weakness, the fanatic is always concealing a secret doubt. A longing to be somewhere, someplace, someone else that just maybe...they can never be. Reading is not merely for knowledge, it's empathy. Reading teaches us to put ourselves in another's shoes. The sociopath/psychopath doesn't read, I think, he watches, he studies. Not that I don't have sociopathic tendencies, we all do. I just own mine. I'm driven. What a beautiful find for a book store. So delicately peaceful, full of a menagerie of book lovers, and hushed tranquility. Palatial red carpeted isles overflowing with bound knowledge, and someone to direct you with oracular clairvoyance to your desired destination. My desire: Marco Pierre White's classic cookbook: White Heat I was looking for a first addition and at a reasonable price. You'd think that the place to find this would be in his home country. Having been originally published in 1990, and hitting a price spike after his Hell's Kitchen success, I was informed that such a unicorn dose not exist, most especially in the U.K. I bought it new. I did meet many likeminded cooking enthusiasts and had a robust exchange of ideas and favorites (they were very impressed by my recent visits to Antica Macelleria Cecchini and even more so by my knowledge of the duck shepherds pie at Balthazar). "By God! A Yank with standards!" The top floor: Used book section is loaded with rare finds! Hemingway's (First addition, superb dust jacket) Men Without Women (£195), and Winner Take Nothing (£395) both of which were fun to hold but For Whom the Bell Tolls would have been a deal breaker (and pocket, I'm sure). Then there was poor Graham Greene's The End of the Affair (£95). It's soon to be a relic, a bookstore dedicated to selling books, not coffee. Thank you for keeping it real. A place for readers. That was something my grandad taught me. Real men? They wash the dishes, they eat quiche (and any damned thing he set in front of them), and they read books. Aloha

Nola G.

Hatchards is appointed as the bookstore for the Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales. The store, located near Fortnums, has been in existence since 1797 and I was told had been both a publisher and a store. I actually found a book published by Assouline that was not at Maison Assouline. Also, I had spent £4 less on a book that I found at Waterstones that was also carried at Hatchards. The store is old and beautiful. It was nice to see children sitting in the children's book department reading. The associates are very helpful. The stairs could be hard to navigate by some. (I assume there is an elevator.) There is a register immediately located at the entrance. There was a long line of holiday shoppers which made navigating the entrance of the store and accessing the stairs difficult. This bookstore is gorgeous and if you appreciate books, then I recommend you visit Hatchards. They also ship globally. FYI...there is no sales tax on books in the UK. They participate in Waterstones reward program and they also have a Hatchards reward program. www.hatchards.co.uk