London has lots of great markets. There’s rare vinyl at Brick Lane, more trinkets than you could shake a stick at along Portobello Road, and anything you could think of from white goods to oil paintings at Old Spitalfields Market. But while there’s great food to be found at these and many of London’s other markets, none of them compare to the culinary delights on offer at Borough Market. A huge collection of wholesale and retail stalls beneath the Victorian railway arches, this is an atmospheric market with a very long history; trading is thought to have been taking place on the site since at least the year 2014 – over 1000 years.
Borough Market is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 5pm, Fridays from 10am to 6pm, and Saturdays from 8am to 5pm, with the wholesale market operating on weekday mornings from 2am to 8am. There’s truly something for everyone here, as you might expect from a market on this scale – whether you’re looking for spicy and exotic, hearty baked goods or treating yourself with something sweet. Borough Market also caters to a wide price range, from the cheap to the steep, and is easily accessible from London Premier Notting Hill , one of the best properties in Notting Hill.
Cheese lovers will be in heaven at Borough Market. Neal’s Yard Dairy is the flagship purveyor of all things cheesy here, but there are countless stalls selling the finest produce from all over the United Kingdom and Europe, courtesy of expert cheesemakers using traditional techniques. From the melt in the mouth offerings at Bath Soft Cheese Co. to rare Italian ingredients at Bianca e Mora, lovers of dairy will never want to leave. Those with a sweet tooth are in for a treat, too, with a huge variety of bakery and confectionary on offer. At Artisan du Chocolat, you can find exquisite chocolates and chocolate gifts, not to mention hot chocolate to warm you up on those cold winter days, courtesy of Irish-born master chocolatier Gerard Coleman.
Comptoir Gormand is the place to go for cakes and pastries, and chef-patissier Sebastien Wind uses traditional French techniques to make treats like fruit tartes, éclairs, and macarons. For delicious and nutritious, high quality bread, head to Bread Ahead Bakery, where there’s also a bakery school.
There’s also the highest quality fish and seafood and meat, poultry and game on offer, although tourists who are in London for a limited time only – and who aren’t self-catering – will probably be more interested in the wide array of hot food on offer at Borough Market. All corners of the globe are represented, from Mediterranean salads and pitas made with slow-roasted goat kid meat at Gourmet Goat to a hearty selection of wurst at the German Deli Ltd. Gujarati Rasoi celebrates the long-standing love affair between British and Indian cuisine, with modern takes on recipes that have been passed down in rural India over many centuries. One new addition is the delicious Thai street food at Khanom Krok.