What's Kingston like for shopping?

[Titsywoo]

We normally go to Bluewater but fancy a change and maybe somewhere a bit more exciting to eat than the standard chain stuff. Never been to Kingston but live within 40 mins drive. Any locals about?

Yes, I’m local. It’s a small town in Herefordshire so don’t get carried away.

Do you mean Kingston upon Thames? Not in Herefordshire.

Kingston upon Thames is great for shopping imo. I’m local and am there a lot. You’ve got the Bentalls Centre plus lots of shops on the high street and in the Marketplace. It’s just got a really nice feel to it. There are lots of restaurants and pubs all along the river too, literally a 2 minute walk from the Marketplace. Definitely worth a 40minute drive imo.

Ha sorry yes Kingston upon Thames!

Kingston doesn’t do a lot of places that are exciting to eat - a lot of chains! A few nice places along the river.

Shopping is pretty standard - you won’t get many surprises. Bentalls is owned by Fenwick so a change from the usual JL/M&S etc (which are also there). All the main chains, not much in the way of exciting/different.

Kingston is good for shopping. The John Lewis is huge, and most high street shops are in the Bentall Centre (which isn’t massively inspiring but has epic baby change facilities). The ‘posher’ streets are lovely, and it has a food market normally.

I’m local and it’s really good for shopping. I am off there in a minute. Loads of places to eat and drink too.

I sound really down on it! Sorry - I do like shopping there, I’m there a lot!

Love shopping in Kingston and on a sunny day it’s lovely to have lunch on the river lots of restaurants to choose from.

There's a big COS plus an and other stories in the Bentall Centre which I go to Kingston for rather than fight with central London!

Pretty boring. Most shops you can get elsewhere and lack of shopping type selection. There are many clothes shops for a narrow range of demographics, but not much outside that. They also have duplicate phone shops.

Much prefer it to our other choice which is Guildford (ok there are other towns inbetween but these are the main 2 we go to).
Pretty outside, lovely to wander along the river.
There are independent restaurants aswell as the chains, good range of shops that guildford doesn’t have.
We like it!
Plus the drive is a doddle, literally cross the river and park in the bentalls centre, reasonably priced parking too.

I’m Kingston by upbringing and return regularly but don’t find it that exciting. Very convenient but nothing unusual.

I prefer Richmond.

There’s the Riverside Vegetaria restaurant on the river as well as a branch of Comptoir Libanais (Middle Eastern).

Both do lovely food.

Good charity shops 😁

The local markets are great, Coronation Market in particular. Also, great for rum.

Be aware there's loads of building work going on there at the moment, traffic is bad and (in my opinion as a local) it looks pretty grotty right now. The riverside is still lovely though with a good choice of eateries (although mostly chain)!

Hi Titsywoo, sorry for the late reply. Kingston is lovely. We have the Bentall Centre Shopping Centre. Plenty of parking. The River is a must and usually there are street entertainers and activities for young ones. Local parks are nearby and of course not too far is Richmond Park and Hampton Court. Lots of places to eat from Mcdonald's to various eateries for different taste buds. The old Kingston Market have food stalls with foods from various ethnic places. Great to visit on a sunny day. Plenty of shops and a few boutiques. Mondays from 8am - 2pm is Kingston Market, (not the same place as the old market. Beware there are lots of road works at present. Try this link www.inkingston.co.uk/events. I hope I have been of help. Kind regards, Nina.