While I’ve been lucky enough to visit the Nintendo New York store on more than one occasion (my bank balance is not too happy with that, I might add), I couldn’t pass up on dropping by the Nintendo Pop-Up Store in London, curious to see how it compared and what surprises may await. My son, who’s also a big fan of the likes of Pikmin and Super Mario, was also keen to come along too.
First things first, I just wanted to comment on where the store has… well… popped up. Located in the Westfield shopping mall in London, the pop-up store sits opposite a LEGO store and a few spots down from The Entertainer, making it, in my eyes, a perfect trilogy of distractions for any kids and… well, a potential threat to a parent’s wallet or purse. Some might say it’s cruel to parents.
Anyways, back to the store…
Even though we had booked a slot at midday, that didn’t mean we walked straight on in; a queue formed a little farther down from the store, and employees were on hand to keep the store from piling up. While my son was distracted by an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants on my phone, I was happily distracted by a nearby waving Mario and Luigi, eager fans keen to get a photo with the moustachioed brothers.
25 minutes later, and it was our turn to check out the store!
At first, we were greeted with a table of tubes, these containing one of two t-shirts displaying the Nintendo logo and either Tokyo or Osaka (referencing their stores in Japan). It’s a shame that there isn’t a London-specific one to mark the occasion, but for those not able to go to Japan any time soon, grabbing one of these will be exciting enough for fans.
Nearly all of Nintendo’s bigger franchises were present and accounted for, with Mario understandably taking the lion’s share. Aside from Nintendo’s mascot, the store also featured sections for The Legend of Zelda, Kirby, Animal Crossing, Splatoon and Pikmin. Sorry, Fire Emblem fans, you won’t find any sword-swinging merchandise here.
Throughout the store, you could take your pick from a range of different item types, including t-shirts and hoodies, plushies, stationery, kitchenware, collectables and more. To put it simply, chances are any fan of Nintendo will find a couple of items that catch their eye in here.
A few highlights I noted included a Pikmin hoodie (complete with cute critter poking its head out of the pocket and a hood with bud on top, a whole lineup of Mario plushies sporting a number of his famous powerups including the Tanooki suit, Penguin suit and Goomba Shoe, a set of gorgeous pillows depicting Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach, and a The Legend of Zelda mug with three black hearts that change to red when filled with hot water. To be fair, there were far too many things to name that caught my eye, and if it weren’t for the fact that I could only carry one basket, I’m sure I’d have grabbed much more.
One side note is that I did notice that a lot of the stuff being sold in-store could actually be picked up on the official My Nintendo Store website, too, which is great for those who can’t make it into London. However, it does take the special factor of these items away for those who have made the trip to the store.
All in all, both my son and I enjoyed the trip to Nintendo’s first UK store. Well organised, slickly laid out and packed with more must-have items than your bank account will know how to handle, here’s hoping this is the first step to London getting its own permanent setup in the future.
The Nintendo UK Pop-Up Store is now open for general admission until Sunday 16 November 2025, located on the ground floor of Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush (Ariel Way, Shepherd’s Bush, W12 7GF).
