Finding some food in central London doesn’t always have to involve expensive restaurants or a trip to the nearest supermarket.
In fact, those wanting to save a few pounds on their fruit and veg often head to the many markets in communities around the city. While Borough Market is the most well-known choice, there are smaller, cheaper and lesser known options whether you’re in north, east, south or west London.
Great for permanent residents wanting to stock up the fridge, or visitors staying in London hotels looking for a bite to eat, here are four of the city’s local markets worth checking out:
Broadway Market by Bex Walton via Flickr
Chapel Market / Islington Farmers’ Market, N1
Just four minutes walk from Angel station, Chapel Market is on hand six days a week for fruit, vegetables and fish, as well as household bits and bargain clothing. Further up the same road every Sunday between 10am and 2pm, the streets between Baron Street and Penton Street are home to Islington Farmers’ Market, which sells a more specialist selection of food. All the grub on offer, from meat and cheese to fruit juices and jam, is sourced from places located within 100 miles of London’s orbital motorway, the M25.
Broadway Market, E8
Over to Hackney, where more than 100 stalls populate busy Broadway Market; a road that runs between London Fields and Regent’s Canal in east London. Like a scene from the soap Eastenders, there’s a real community feel to this market. It sells anything from organic fresh food and vintage clothing to that east London staple, jellied eels, and has been running since the 1890s. After a lull in trade over the last century, the market was reinvigorated in 2004 and now forms a buzzing part of east end life from 9am to 5pm every Saturday.
Brixton Market, SW9
Home to several covered and street markets, Brixton is another area going through regeneration at the moment. For a cultural selection of African, Caribbean or Portuguese food, take some advice from Eddy Grant and “rock down to Electric Avenue”. Those staying in cheap hotels or travelling on a budget can also grab a reasonably priced meal at the Brixton Village; a once neglected arcade on Atlantic Road which is now filled with independent shops and small, pop-up restaurants serving food from every corner of the world.
Shepherds Bush Market, W12
For a mix of food, fabrics and household wares, Shepherds Bush Market off Goldhawk Road is open Monday to Saturday until 6pm. The diverse cultural and ethnic mix of this area of London is well represented in the market, where there’s an emphasis on exotic and West Indian vegetables and fruit such as yams and cassava, as well as imported spices and sauces, stalls selling falafel and halal meat. There are also good deals to be had on lengths of fabric, which is sold off the roll throughout the market.
British Pound Exchange Rate