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London food writer and critic Sejal Sukhadwala writes for Time Out and national titles including The Guardian, The Times and the BBC food website. No one knows the London food scene better. For foodies in a hurry, these are her top spots Click to view Top 5 London Food Destinations.
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Best Food Market (Borough Market) |
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 Where can you buy pungent Italian white truffles in season, award-winning English sparkling wines, thick slabs of homemade chocolates sold by the weight, and diver-caught scallops tender as butter – all in the same place? At the Borough Market in Southwark, widely regarded as one of the world’s best food markets. |
London's Larder
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 A market in some form has existed in Southwark since 43AD but the first recorded mention of Borough Market was in 1276. Although it has moved a few hundred yards either side, the main location has remained the same. Borough has always attracted traders from all over the world. During the Victorian era, most imported foodstuffs arrived at London Bridge and Tooley Street, so the area is aptly known as London’s Larder.
The current market was established by Act of Parliament in 1754 and is sprawled over 4.5 acres. In 1998, it started as a monthly fine food market, and became a registered charity a year later. The focal point is an excellent wholesale fruit and vegetable market (one of the best in London), around which a gourmet food retail market has grown since 1999. |
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| Assault on the Senses |
 The market is an assault on the senses. The mouth-watering aroma of roast meat permeates the air as you move from one stall to the next; exuberantly coloured displays of everything from candy-striped pink and white beetroot to plump partridges hanging on hooks will make you feel giddy with excitement; and the sheer variety and quantity of tastings generously offered by stallholders will fill you up.
The market starts life at 2am, which is when many of the traders – who travel from all over the UK – begin taking deliveries. Restaurateurs, hoteliers and greengrocers start arriving shortly afterwards to buy fresh produce. There are stalls and shops selling cheeses and other dairy products, tea and coffee, juices, breads, cakes, pastries, confectionery, desserts, fish, poultry, game, meat, fruit and veg, herbs and spices, wines, smoked foods, nuts and dried fruits, savoury pies and pastries, chutneys and preserves, beers and ciders, homewares, flowers, and plenty of international foods and specialist ingredients.
Most of the products are seasonal, and handmade in limited quantities by small-scale producers and family-run businesses. They include such names as Monmouth Coffee Co, Konditor & Cook, Flour Power City, De Gustibus, Maison Bertaux, Neal’s Yard Creamery, Pieminister, Turnips greengrocers, and The Ginger Pig, to name but a few. The suppliers keep changing, so if you’re serious about food shopping, you should visit often. |
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| Tourist Favourite |
 Borough Market is a tourist attraction, and won a Visit London award for "most popular London experience". It was voted "most popular market" by Time Out and "best market" by Observer Food Monthly. It’s also been praised by the Evening Standard and the national newspapers, and has recently twinned with Barcelona’s Boqueria market.
It attracts many celebrity chefs, and cookery writer Celia Brooks Brown runs regular gastrotours. It’s also featured in the films Bridget Jones’s Diary, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
The result of all this popularity is that the market has been criticised for being overcrowded – but it is no busier than any other popular destination or event in London. If you avoid peak hours (12 noon to 2pm) and get there early, it’s quieter.
Many have also complained that it’s overpriced, but I think the quality of food is generally exemplary, so it’s value for money. Once you start buying lovingly crafted comestibles from here, it’s unlikely that you’ll want to purchase sweaty, shrink-wrapped identikit items from supermarkets ever again.
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Borough Market, 8 Southwark Street, London
SE1 1TL. Tel: 020 7407 1002. www.boroughmarket.org.uk.
London Bridge tube/ rail. Open Thursday 11am-8pm (over 30 stalls); Friday 12 noon-6pm (over 70 stalls); Saturday 9am-4pm (over 100 stalls).
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