You may be reading this and wondering, “What is street food?” Street food is something ready-to-eat and usually sold by someone from a cart or a stall. It’s different from a food truck in that it’s not necessarily made-to-order and doesn’t rely on or a van (even if the “kitchen” can be broken down and moved to another location). London has its share of street food vendors spread throughout the street markets, shopping centers, and pop-up events that can be found all throughout the city. While there are plenty of great places to choose from for street food, we’ve identified five where you can find some of the best offerings in all London. Let us know your favorite places for street food in the comments.
Maltby Street Market
Maltby Street market is one of the newest places on this list and also one of the smallest as it sits between railway arches in Bermondsey’s Ropewalk. It opened in 2010, and its size means only the very best get a chance to peddle their wares here. The stall offerings here include British beef, Venezuelan aerpa, gyoza, Ethiopian, and more. You can also find booze and a number of produce vendors so you can take foods home as well.
Brockley Market
Brockley Market is a great place to start your Saturday morning, especially if you’re looking to start it with food. It’s further away from the touristy spots in the Lewisham College carpark, something that makes it a favorite for locals. You can really find the best in London street food here, such as great burger place Mother Flipper, Korean chicken stall Spit & Roast, delicious flatbread wraps from Mike & Ollie, and Crosstown Doughnuts, amongst many others. People might think it’s out of the way, but no place is out of the way when it’s exactly where you want to go.
Broadway Market
Broadway Market certainly attracts a younger crowd, which seems a far cry from a place that started out selling jellied eels in 1900. Broadway is one of those markets that started as something else, having a bit of everything before focusing more and more on food starting in the 1990s. There are twenty-eight street food vendors that are lined up and include stalls such as Jewish Deli, Lord of the Wings, Street Pig BBQ, Waffle On, and many more to fit all manner of tastes.
Borough Market
Borough Market is the oldest street market in London, having started in 1014 AD, although the first mention of it comes from the 13th Century. It’s first and foremost a food market, which means not only will you find some pretty awesome street food, but also ingredients to make your own meals at home. Not only that, but many of the stalls offer free samples to entice foodies to choose them, so you can either try something to figure out what you want or be that person who fills up on the samples alone. From traditional English breakfasts to Iraqi “kubba” fried dumplings, the tastes offered here are varied and truly international.
Berwick Street Market
Berwick is another great old market, having been seen traders selling their wares since 1778 and avoided the knife of greedy redevelopers through a massive public support campaign. Such a groundswell from the public can partly be owed to the market’s free spirit and wonderfully diverse street food options. Like Borough Market, Berwick Street started out as a food market, but unlike Borough, Berwick has mostly been taken over by street food vendors. From Egyptian pittas to Caribbean jerk, you’re going to find street food from all four corners of the globe.
Author: John Rabon
John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.
I believe there’s a typo in the Maltby Street graf – Venezuelan arepas? Thanks for this, always helpful on the next trip!