A two-minute walk in San Antonio separates a converted 19th-century brewery from a former glass factory that now holds two Michelin-starred restaurants. Five minutes away in Edinburgh, a 19th-century church-turned-hotel sits close to a room full of Scottish cheese counters and chef-led kitchens. Food halls have become destination dining in their own right, not just a stop between sights, and in cities across the United States and the United Kingdom, a number of luxury hotels now put travelers within an easy walk of one.
The food hall used to be a stop on the way to dinner. Now it is dinner. A seat at a chef’s counter, a glass of something poured by the person who imported it, a plate carrying a Michelin star a few minutes from where guests are sleeping: these used to mean a special trip across town. Now they’re a short walk from the room. That pairing is showing up in cities from San Antonio to Newcastle, each one a luxury hotel within walking distance of a food hall.
A market that grew nearly 25% in 2 years
There’s a number behind the trend: the U.S. now counts 458 operating food halls, up 24.89% since 2023. That’s exactly why hotel groups on two continents are chasing a five-minute walk instead of a rooftop bar or a spa menu. The food hall isn’t a niche amenity anymore; it’s infrastructure.
San Antonio: A former glass factory holding 2 Michelin-starred restaurants
Pullman Market sits inside a former glass factory in San Antonio’s Pearl District, and two separate Michelin-starred restaurants share the building: Isidore, which also holds a Michelin Green Star, and Nicosi. There’s also a specialty market, a wine shop, a bread baker and a chef’s corner.
The property’s own description: “Michelin-star restaurants and nose-to-tail butchers share the same space.” Fair enough. Hotel Emma, a 19th-century brewery turned hotel, is two minutes away. San Antonio is one of two American cities with a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation.
London: An Italian marketplace with 2 ways to stay
More than 6,000 products fill Eataly London’s 40,000 square feet at 135 Bishopsgate: cured meats and cheeses, handmade bread and focaccia, air-dried pasta and rice. The property also offers what it calls the U.K.’s largest selection of boutique, single-estate extra-virgin olive oil, plus an on-site cooking school, La Scuola, that runs public classes.
Andaz London Liverpool Street is one minute away. Pan Pacific London, a five-star, 237-room hotel, is three minutes the other direction. Either address puts guests inside the same marketplace.
San Francisco: Oysters, caviar and a century-old bread company
Inside a restored terminal on the Embarcadero, nearly 50 artisan food merchants make up the Ferry Building Marketplace, among them the oyster bar at Hog Island Oyster Company, the charcuterie counter at Fatted Calf, organic loaves from Acme Bread Company and hand-crafted American caviar from Tsar Nicoulai, which has been at it since 1984. The walk from the Palace Hotel runs about 15 minutes.
London, again: Selfridges Food Hall on Oxford Street
Selfridges Food Hall, on Oxford Street, is the store’s answer to the Harrods food halls a few miles away in Knightsbridge: Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon and Moët & Chandon on the shelves, Charbonnel et Walker and Venchi at the chocolate counter, a full sit-down meal at Brasserie of Light inside the hall itself.
Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill is five minutes away on Portman Square. It’s close enough that the hotel calls itself one of the closest luxury stays to a food hall in London, with the added draw of the square’s private garden.
Edinburgh: A National Chef of Scotland runs the kitchen lineup
Scotland’s National Chef, Gary Maclean, was part of the opening kitchen lineup at Bonnie & Wild Scottish Marketplace, a room of kitchens and street food stalls with Scottish cheese counters, artisan bakers and seafood stalls stacked with West Coast oysters and langoustines. So were El Perro Negro, a two-time winner of the UK Burger Awards, and Kochchi, a Scottish street food award winner. The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection, a five-star hotel built into a 19th-century church with views over Calton Hill, is five to 10 minutes away.
Newcastle: A department store food hall stocking the same labels as London’s
On Northumberland Street, Fenwick Food Hall carries the same names found in London’s grandest halls: Dom Pérignon, Charbonnel et Walker, Moët & Chandon, Lanson, Dalmore whisky. There are artisan cheese counters too, fresh pastries, premium seafood, a proper delicatessen. Hotel Gotham, an Art Deco building, is a five-minute walk down Pilgrim Street.
More food halls are coming, not fewer
At least 114 more food halls are in the U.S. pipeline: 18 opening within six months, 96 more slated for 2026, led by Florida, California, New York, Texas and Georgia. The report counts them as pipeline projects, not operating food halls. San Antonio, London, San Francisco, Edinburgh and Newcastle already have theirs.
What’s changing is not yet how hotels book but what counts as a destination. A Michelin-starred kitchen inside a former glass factory, a National Chef of Scotland running a street-food lineup, a department store’s champagne counter: these used to be a side note in a hotel’s marketing copy. As more food halls open, that side note is getting harder to leave out.
Jennifer Allen is a retired chef turned traveler, cookbook author and nationally syndicated journalist; she’s also a co-founder of Food Drink Life, where she shares expert travel tips, cruise insights and luxury destination guides. A recognized cruise expert with a deep passion for high-end experiences and off-the-beaten-path destinations, Jennifer explores the world with curiosity, depth and a storyteller’s perspective. Her articles are regularly featured on the Associated Press Wire, The Washington Post, Seattle Times, MSN and more.
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