Hardys Original Sweetshop

Hardys Original Sweetshop is a traditional confectionery shop on New Row in Covent Garden, one of a family of Hardys stores across London and several English cities. The brand says it never forgot the magic of the great British sweetshop, and the New Row branch delivers exactly that: shelves of jars, old favourites and a wide pick and mix.

Hardys Trading Ltd runs shops in London at Brushfield Street, Charing Cross Road, Garrick Street, Greenwich, Ludgate Hill and New Row, with further branches in Bath, Cambridge, Canterbury, Oxford, Salisbury and Windsor. The company also sells online with worldwide delivery, and packages much of its range in its own retro-styled boxes and cartons, from English chocolate collections to fizzy cola bottles and sour sticks.

The sweet shop Covent Garden visitors remember

The range takes in boiled sweets, chocolate for the connoisseur, fudge, gourmet jellies and gums, gourmet marshmallows, liquorice of every kind and a full pick and mix counter. Licensed Harry Potter confectionery is a particular draw, with Bertie Bott's Beans, Chocolate Frogs and Jelly Slugs among the lines, and there are novelty items such as chilli chocolate bars for anyone after something less conventional. It works as well for a nostalgic treat as for a gift to take home.

What to expect on a visit

The New Row shop opens from 11am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday. It sits on the short pedestrian street between St Martin's Lane and Bedford Street, a couple of minutes from the piazza and the theatres, which makes it a natural stop among the gift shops of Covent Garden. The Astrology Shop on Neal Street is a five-minute walk north for a very different kind of browsing.