Discover Borough Market

London has a fantastic market scene, with many different dishes to get your teeth stuck into. UCL student Gioia Santoro give her top tips and recommendations for one of London’s most famous markets, Borough Market.

I love markets for different reasons; they host various cuisines, gift and handcraft shops, and are a good place to visit on a rainy day (which is typical in London).

Borough Market is a historic market located in central London, where you will find high quality food, sustainable production and social connection.

It’s open six days a week from Monday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm, and you can get there by the Northern Line, Jubilee Line, and the London Bridge rail terminal.

Borough market is perfect both for a city break or simply just lunch with friends. It’s a great place to buy excellent quality food for special events or taste foreign cuisine. 

You will find the largest producers and merchants, as wells as small specialist produce and street food traders. 

If you’re planning on going, arrive before 10am to visit the street art around the market. 

It’s usually quite crowded so I recommend having breakfast there in the late morning, and having lunch after usual lunch hours to avoid long queues.

Inside the market, there is a large variety of products. You may discover new information about their processes and features, as well as hearing different languages and smelling different foods.

Moreover, some stands offer the possibility to try food and you can take some beautiful pictures for memories of London days. 

Below are some of my favourites: 

Italian cheeses, such as Pecorino and Parmesan. Fruit and vegetables. I really enjoyed the figs and dates.

 

Seafood such as Sea Urchins and Lobster Tails. Oils, sauces and spices. 

I suggest wandering the market with a cup of tropical fresh juice and a doughnut from “Bread Ahead” bakery. I usually choose a caramelised hazelnut and almond praline doughnut but there are different flavours such as vanilla cream, chocolate or jam. It was really good and reminded me of the Italian “Bombolone” (a type of Italian doughnut).

Due to my passion for Asian food, I tried the Pad Thai from “Khanom Krok” in the street food area for lunch and I really recommend it. 

I have a big sweet tooth, so before leaving the market I wanted to taste the fudge. It looked so nice and I’d never tried it before!

I really enjoyed the Café latte flavour - it was like drinking a Cappuccino. 

We finished our day walking along the river path, enjoying the sun and the music (as Borough is close to the Thames).

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Cover image by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash
Other images by author.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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