London's best food markets: discover Borough Market and Old Spitalfields Market
London is a great vibrant city that keeps surprising. Since we have been there several times, we are looking for a different experience. Luckily, we have a local guide: our daughter Gaïa! She takes us to the best food markets in East London. Ready for the tour?
London's East End: from bleak neighborhood to hip suburb
This time we explore East London, leaving aside the beautiful monuments, stunning shopping streets and fascinating museums. The East End has a rich history and originally consisted of small immigrant villages. Until the 19e century, people lived there huddled together, in dire conditions. With poverty and unemployment, came crime. The dark streets of the East End were terrorized by Jack the Ripper, who brutally murdered his victims.
After the air raids of World War II, the tide turned. The East End was completely rebuilt, the overcrowding and poverty of its past gone forever. The East End of London has since become a full-fledged part of the metropolis, but was still able to retain that feeling of a village within the city. The area is now known for its hip and multicultural neighborhoods with busy restaurants, stores, markets, bars and museums.
Old Spitalfields Market
Our first stop: Old Spitalfields Market. During the market's early beginnings some 400 years ago, you'd mostly find fresh fruits and vegetables. Now Spitalfields Market is known for its beautifully restored buildings and great art collections. You will also find stylish furniture and vintage clothing. We visit Spitalfields for its street food.
The Kitchens
The food trucks are outside, but the inner square of the old market has larger food stalls. The locals call that section The Kitchens. You'll find naan wraps and bagels, fresh fruit juices and chai, ice creams and poke bowls, and, of course, pizza and beer.
Jian bing from Pleasant Lady
In Spitalfields Market you will also come across Pleasant Lady, where you buy jian bing. Jian bing is popular street food from China and Pleasant Lady is famous for it. Two ladies in a small stall make a kind of salty pancake. On top comes a layer of egg, sweet and sour sauce, spicy meat, vegetables and fresh herbs. They roll the pancake together into a wrap. Pleasant Lady prepares each jian bing to order in a nick of time, and the line of patient customers is a sign of its success.
Sake Collective via Commercial Street
Love sake? Then be sure to stroll down Commercial Street to Spitalfields. There you'll find Sake Collective, a shop and bar with an extensive selection of sake. You can taste according to your taste profile: aromatic and ricey, bright and elegant, sharp and pungent, umami and bold. In all, there are a dozen varieties. The vendors will be happy to tell you all about it.
Borough Market
This covered market at the foot of London Bridge is a true paradise. Borough Market has a section that dates back to the 12e century, making it one of the oldest, largest but also busiest markets in London. The fresh, often organic produce and artisan dishes lure local customers and tourists alike.
You will find flavors from all corners of the world. So choosing from the abundant offerings is a challenge. These stalls made my heart beat faster:
Taste of Joy
Jonathan, former head pastry chef at Gordon Ramsay, stays true to his French roots. He now makes beautifully decorated éclairs with Taste of Joy. The flavors change weekly. We enjoyed delicious éclairs with caramel and beurre salé.
Spice Mountain
When I step into a world of spices, I feel like coming home. The stall is well organized, the spices arranged by country or type of preparation. I buy what’s missing in my spice cabinet: Kashmiri chili, Aleppo chili, powdered red beet and powdered white and red miso.
Turnips
During the day, Turnips is a stall with beautifully displayed fruits and vegetables. At night, it is transformed into a restaurant. Turnips is known for its huge selection of fresh, wild mushrooms used in spelt risotto for lunch. Hungry fans happily line up for it!
Date Sultan
Do you fancy top quality dates from the Middle East? Then you've come to the right place at Date Sultan. Date Sultan sells 6 different varieties, including the meaty and coveted medjool. You'll also find the fruity low-sugar anbara. I buy a bag of jumbo king ajwa, the king among dates. This variety grows only in Medina and tastes like caramel. The premium medjools are the best I've ever tasted. Finally, Date Sultan sells another assortment of medjool dates stuffed with candied orange, ginger, pistachios or even dried figs.
Oak & Smoke
At this small stand you can buy artisan smoked fish from Scotland. There is salmon as well as trout and mackerel. Oak & Smoke is best known for its arbroath smokies: fish smoked according to a 500-year-old smoking method that uses inverted whiskey barrels. The whiskey barrels are filled with Scottish beech and oak.
Kappacasein
Raclette the English way! And what a success, the plates of raclette and sourdough rolls with grilled cheese are legendary. Kappacasein uses artisanal London raclette or ogleshield cheese, which you can also find at Neal's Yard Dairy.
Taste Croatia
Chris and Ana-Maria of Taste Croatia sell products from their homeland, such as the well-known paski sir cheese, honey from Split and the wonderful olive oil Oleum Viride Belic from Istria. A few years ago, I discovered the olive oil during a trip through Istria and stocked up on it. I have unfortunately run out of my reserve. So, Taste Croatia comes at the perfect time and I am happy to take home a bottle of this liquid gold.
Raya
Raya's colorful fruits and exotic vegetables bring back fond memories of Southeast Asia. Here, you find top quality fresh produce and everything else you need to cook your own Asian food. Raya is operated by a friendly Thai family, who also sells home-made curry pastes.
I buy a large bunch of red mini shallots and Thai garlic. I also bring home a traditional mortar from Laos. The family eagerly explains how to use the mortar and prepare som tam, the quintessential Thai green papaya salad.
Furness Fish Market
Putting your products on display is a real art, and the fishmongers at Furness are masters at it. Fish, shellfish or mollusks ... they have it all fresh here. At times like these, I find it such a shame that I can't buy the products and prepare them at home. But ... fortunately, I can taste them!
In the oyster bar, sea urchins and oysters are waiting for me. There are pale, purple and black sea urchins from the Breton coast and Welsh, French and Irish oysters. I enjoy a deliciously lightly sweet sea urchin and then choose two more oysters. One is a delicate, soft Josephine from Gillardeau, the other a sweeter Irish coccolo rock oyster.
The experience at Furness Fish Market does not end there. Their biggest draw is the two immense paella pans simmering quietly. Again, a long line is waiting and I eagerly join the queue. The rice is perfectly cooked and not too dry, evenly seasoned with succulent shrimp and salty mussels.
