Borough Market
Countless visitors cite it as a highlight of their London vacations. This extremely popular sheltered/outdoor complex, an outgrowth of a Victoria-era commercial market, Three Crown Square, is alive with glorious, farm-fresh flavors, much of which is rendered as finished small dishes. About a dozen greenmarket vendors sell their country meats, cheeses, and vegetables beneath its metal-and-glass canopy all week long, so on Tuesday and Wednesday you can technically find some delicious things, but the market is truly at its best Thursday through Saturday, when more than 100 additional vendors unpack in spare spaces surrounding the canopy and the awe-inspiring scene hits its swing. The least crowded time is Thursday between 11am and noon; Saturdays are shoulder-to-shoulder.
Most dishes are around £8 to £15—and you’ll want several, but you’ll usually have to eat standing up. Buy a flute of prosecco from one of the vendors selling it and feel your palate lighten. Some don’t-miss stops (you’ll find more of your own):
* Sample never-exported cheeses like melt-in-your-mouth Bath soft cheese (www.parkfarm.co.uk).
* Shellseekers, the fishmonger by the door to Roast, is known for hand-dived Dorset scallop, served in its own shell and topped with a bacon and sprout stir-fry; a bathtub-big pot of paella bubbles at its neighbor Bomba.
* Roast (www.roast-restaurant.com; mains £20–£40), which runs an expensive restaurant upstairs, has a stall for rich meats such as roast pork belly with crackling, or Bramley applesauce and beef with horseradish cream.
* At Maria’s Market Café, the second-generation proprietor slaves over a stove making fresh bubble (a mushy version of home fries) for vendors and visitors alike.
* The Brindisa Grill booth (www.brindisa.com), facing Stoney Street, feeds a steady line of punters its grilled chorizo sandwich with oil-drizzled pequillo peppers from Spain.
* Humble Crumble, among the Market Kitchen stalls near Winchester Walk, sells crumbles with and fresh hot custard in cups so overflowing they’re served on a tray.
* Outside on Stoney and Park streets, by the well-stocked Market Porter pub and casual sit-down restaurant Elliot’s, are more finds: Kappacasein dairy from Bermondsey (www.kappacasein.com), which melts great wheels of Ogleshield cheese into decadent raclette; Monmouth Coffee Company (www.monmouthcoffee.com), for 40 years one of London’s most revered roasters, which sends tasters around the world to monitor the single-source growers of its beans (it no longer uses disposable paper, so bring your own cup or they’ll rent you one); and Neal’s Yard Dairy (www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk), the gold standard for English cheese, tended by clerks in caps and aprons.
* There’s a shop for souvenirs and cookbooks by vendors near the Southwark Street gate.
It's easy to explore on your own, but tours are also popular. Food writer Celia Brooks leads one that’s officially recommended by the Market (www.celiabrooks.com; 3 hrs.; £110), but other good ones are led by Eating London, London Food Tour (www.londonfoodtour.com; £85), and Chubby Fellow, who does a general tour, one that’s all about cheese, and one for gin (www.chubbyfellow.com; from £100).
There has been a market on this very spot since the 1100s. Welcome to its story.
Countless visitors cite it as a highlight of their London vacations. This extremely popular sheltered/outdoor complex, an outgrowth of a Victoria-era commercial market, Three Crown Square, is alive with glorious, farm-fresh flavors, much of which is rendered as finished small dishes. About a dozen greenmarket vendors sell their country meats, cheeses, and vegetables beneath its metal-and-glass canopy all week long, so on Tuesday and Wednesday you can technically find some delicious things, but the market is truly at its best Thursday through Saturday, when more than 100 additional vendors unpack in spare spaces surrounding the canopy and the awe-inspiring scene hits its swing. The least crowded time is Thursday between 11am and noon; Saturdays are shoulder-to-shoulder.
Most dishes are around £8 to £15—and you’ll want several, but you’ll usually have to eat standing up. Buy a flute of prosecco from one of the vendors selling it and feel your palate lighten. Some don’t-miss stops (you’ll find more of your own):
* Sample never-exported cheeses like melt-in-your-mouth Bath soft cheese (www.parkfarm.co.uk).
* Shellseekers, the fishmonger by the door to Roast, is known for hand-dived Dorset scallop, served in its own shell and topped with a bacon and sprout stir-fry; a bathtub-big pot of paella bubbles at its neighbor Bomba.
* Roast (www.roast-restaurant.com; mains £20–£40), which runs an expensive restaurant upstairs, has a stall for rich meats such as roast pork belly with crackling, or Bramley applesauce and beef with horseradish cream.
* At Maria’s Market Café, the second-generation proprietor slaves over a stove making fresh bubble (a mushy version of home fries) for vendors and visitors alike.
* The Brindisa Grill booth (www.brindisa.com), facing Stoney Street, feeds a steady line of punters its grilled chorizo sandwich with oil-drizzled pequillo peppers from Spain.
* Humble Crumble, among the Market Kitchen stalls near Winchester Walk, sells crumbles with and fresh hot custard in cups so overflowing they’re served on a tray.
* Outside on Stoney and Park streets, by the well-stocked Market Porter pub and casual sit-down restaurant Elliot’s, are more finds: Kappacasein dairy from Bermondsey (www.kappacasein.com), which melts great wheels of Ogleshield cheese into decadent raclette; Monmouth Coffee Company (www.monmouthcoffee.com), for 40 years one of London’s most revered roasters, which sends tasters around the world to monitor the single-source growers of its beans (it no longer uses disposable paper, so bring your own cup or they’ll rent you one); and Neal’s Yard Dairy (www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk), the gold standard for English cheese, tended by clerks in caps and aprons.
* There’s a shop for souvenirs and cookbooks by vendors near the Southwark Street gate.
It's easy to explore on your own, but tours are also popular. Food writer Celia Brooks leads one that’s officially recommended by the Market (www.celiabrooks.com; 3 hrs.; £110), but other good ones are led by Eating London, London Food Tour (www.londonfoodtour.com; £85), and Chubby Fellow, who does a general tour, one that’s all about cheese, and one for gin (www.chubbyfellow.com; from £100).
There has been a market on this very spot since the 1100s. Welcome to its story.
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