Arcadia England

Essential landmarks for fine feasting, fun, and festivities

By Ben Adams

Why go to a restaurant when you can enjoy exotic eating in some of London’s finest street markets? With over a dozen markets to choose from, this list will direct you towards six of the best locations for casual street food in the city that offer a little taste of London.

Borough

Fish from the boat straight to the borough, this market pledges “Variety and Quality” to its customers. Since 1756, this establishment has served fresh organic produce, dairy products and fresh fish and meats. Reflecting the similarities of a farmer’s market in the United States, each business clearly promotes the farm that produces all its goods.

But that’s not all. There is a small vegetarian-friendly section that serves take away food from stands. Flowerpots with pink blood-red roses, sunflowers as tall as the Eifel tower and Kudzu vine throughout the inside of the building as if it were a green house. Borough market gives the peaceful aroma of a garden as you walk past the fresh produce.

Borough Market (http://boroughmarket.org.uk, 020 7407 1002). Fresh Produce. Open 10:00am-5:00pm Monday-Thursday. 8:00am-6:00pm Friday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Camden Town

The Ozzy Osborne of all the markets in London. The main street presents gothic style of shops, tattoo parlors, and music stores. Sitting in the heart of the Borough, Camden Town began its life in 1791 as just a two-sided street of shops and restaurants. Beyond all the shopping that runs perpendicular to the beautiful, calm, and wide canal is the west yard that consists of diversely aromatic food trucks as if you were walking past different countries. Most have a menu consisting of only three or four appetizer sized items, but they are all one of a kind. You can get anything from a sushi roll to sunny side eggs on a sourdough bun.

Camden Lock (http://www.camdenmarket.com, 020 3763 9900). Alternative clothing, antiques, street food. Cheap prices ranging from as low as three pounds up to 7. Open Monday-Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm.

Street Feast

There isn’t any party like a street feast party! With over three Street Feast venues throughout London, there is no excuse for missing out on the best street food in London. Dalston’s Yard by the Dalston Junction Overground station is the most popular venue.

Feast is unique because the groovy atmosphere within this closed outdoor venue is like one massive block party. Making the environment as enjoyable as the feast itself. Your taste buds will immediately latch on to the tangy barbeque grills that are scattered throughout the area and other loads of interesting food vendors with eats such as pulled pork, baby back ribs, and lamb chops.

Like most markets in London the restaurants only accept cash, but those British pounds can guide your appetite towards anything as small as a Belgian beer to an Italian stay-in diner with tomato sauce as vibrant as lava. Leaving Street Feast with your wallets empty and a full stomach is inevitable once you see the cooks in action.

Street Feast (http://streetfeast.com).
5 pound cover charge after 9:00pm. Open Friday-Saturday 5:00pm-12:00am. 

Shepherd’s Bush

Since 1914, this local flea market has sat along the train line in a culturally diverse outskirt of London. Seeming like a foreign country within the United Kingdom, Shepherd’s Bush Market has an experience of its own. Whiffs of fish, curry, and chicken alternate once you enter the canopy.

The most unique aspect of this market is the fact that it is not a normal tourist attraction. Although the area is decorated with Middle Eastern linens, dress, and cloth, it is not much to the eye; your full attention will be drawn to your mouth.

Shepard’s Bush Market (http://myshepherdsbushmarket.com)
Open 24 hours/7 days a week

Old Spitafields

By the year 1666, traders had already began setting up shop along the bricks roads of Spitafields, making it one of the oldest markets in London.

Every inch of the concrete walls that seclude the narrow street is dressed in graffiti. Each bit of art tells a story or sends a message to its viewers with block letters, American movie characters, and propaganda. After the distant walk from the station, enjoy the street art as you munch on the affordable appetizers Old Spitafields has to offer, soak in the soothing street music, or load up on electrolytes from a refreshing coconut bigger than an infant’s body.

Old Spitafields Market is a lesser dining area, but can just about satisfy a snack-sized hunger with a French crepe stuffed with rich Nutella that is as golden brown as a roasted marshmallow. Or perhaps a snack wrap colored with sweet coleslaw and mild chicken.

Old Spitafields Market (http://www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com, 020 7247 8556). Open Sunday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm. Saturday 11:00am-5:00pm.

Covent Garden

From the moment you exit the Covent Garden Underground tube station, you will immediately see the anxious crowd gathered on the weathered red brick paths, anticipating the street performer’s next move. Enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea and observe the jaw-dropping theatrical level performances like magic shows, witty comedy, and one-man bands.

Once you continue past the high-end shops, make way into the market district underneath the large canopy, which appears to look like the overhead of an old tube station. Similar to Borough Market, Covent Garden is a former vegetable market before reopening into a shopping center in 1980 Brick lanes, lanterns on the windows, and overlaying arches as if you are in a Harry Potter film give a more calm and classier feel.

Covent Garden (https://www.coventgarden.london, (0)20 7420 5856). Each shop operations hours vary.