London’s Borough Market

One of the most important things to me while traveling is finding good food to eat. This doesn’t mean spending a ton of money or sitting down at fancy restaurants, but it does mean doing research ahead of time. It is crucial to me that the money I’m spending on food also satisfies my foodie self. There is nothing worse than spending money on food that is disappointing, so I scour the internet and different blogs for the best affordable food possible before all my trips. It gives me something to look forward to and also helps to create a sense of what we’re going to be spending for budget purposes.

I have now been to London four times and each time I have had amazing food. This always surprises people because England doesn’t have the best food reputation. For some reason, people still expect thick, flavorless stews, sausage, mash, or soggy fish and chips – all coming out of dark pubs. It’s almost comical how stereotypically people I’ve come across view the foggy city. In my experience, London has some of the most modern, delicious food I’ve ever had, traveling or not. Like many cities, younger crowds are opening businesses and creating really beautiful eating spaces with unique spins on classic foods. You just need to know where to look!

I’m an avid Pinterest user and even more so when I’m about to go on a trip. I spend whatever free time I can looking up different blogs writing about free things to do and the best food. If you’re looking for something specific, chances are Pinterest has a blog post about. I always try to search for free activities in a new city and especially the best coffee shops! London is filled to the brim with both these things. Over the years I’ve collected a plethora of information about London, doing new research each time I’m heading over the pond. One of the best things I’ve experienced that’s both cheap and delicious is Borough Market. I learned about the market on a Harry Potter walking tour (Muggle Tours) in 2013 and it’s been a must every time since.

The Muggle Tour met at the London Bridge tube spot, which is right across the street from Borough Market side entrance. We made out first stop outside of Green Market, in the alley. Back then, the side entrance through the alleyway was much less built up. It looked like a literal dark alley when I first saw it. The tunnel (second photo) opens up into the huge, bright and bustling market. Because we didn’t enter through the main entrance and came in through the side, we thought we had just been shown a little, hidden gem of London. Little did we know, it’s one of, if not the most famous market in London. Truthfully each time since I have entered through the same side entrance right across the tube and didn’t see the main entrance until the third visit!

Borough Market has very interesting, thousand-year-old history. Dating back to 1014, there have always been food stalls in some form or another. You can read all about the history on their website here. It’s quite interesting! There are technically two parts of Borough Market these days – Green Market and Borough Market. In the 19th century, the market took over the second part, now known as Green Market. This area is more so ready to eat food and drinks, while the original Borough Market is where you can get fresh foods for yourself or wholesale. Around lunchtime, both sides of the market are swamped with well dressed working people on lunch break. What’s better than grabbing a yummy, affordable meal and enjoying a pint before going to finish the workday? Nothing. And that’s the true British way.

Some of the food stalls offer samples so I usually start my time in the market by going around trying different meats and cheeses. The Borough market side is full of fresh food stalls that you would more take away as ingredients or as if you were grocery shopping. There are numerous cured meat, cheese and bread stands. Make sure you try samples from them all. You could even do a little taste testing game and rate them with your group! I make my way through the whole market, seeing any new stalls or foods that I haven’t seen since my last visit. I typically go in with the goal of trying a new food or stall but I always end up getting a scrumptious scotch egg from Scotchtails (£5) as my appetizer and I end my visit with goat milk ice cream from Greedy Goat (£3). My favorite flavor is honeycomb but this past year they didn’t have it. I ended up getting rhubarb cream and was not disappointed in the slightest. Some other notable favorites are the little meat pies, that come in little brown boxes with a scoop of mash and gravy from Pieminister and the grilled cheese from The Cheesarie.

I love to walk around the market and pretend I’m a professional chef, scoping out this week’s fresh produce. I pick things up, smell them, squeeze them, listen to them and talk to them. One of my favorite things to see are the mushrooms. There are so many varieties and they are gorgeous! Back home in New Jersey I never come across so many different kinds. We typically only have white, portobello and baby bellas readily available at the grocery store. Sometimes a farmer’s market will have something different but I don’t shop them frequently! It is quite a sight to see the variety. Our first time at the market, we ended up buying fresh bread, a few kinds of cheese, and dried meats to bring back to our apartment with us. It was not very expensive and ended up being an awesome snack later at night after adventuring through the city or for a quick breakfast before leaving to explore in the morning. It would also be great to get as a picnic lunch for the lawn outside by Big Ben and Westminster on a nice day.

The market is open pretty much all the time but not Sundays except for December. I’ve added the market map below and the website has a really great catalog of all their stalls. I’ve linked some to my favorite throughout the post, but it’s a great place to check out different ones and read about them since most are tiny businesses. It’s always nice to get to know a small brand when purchasing at markets! Check out their FAQ for any questions. There’s a ton of information! Whether you walkthrough for a quick snack or spend a few hours munching and buying gifts and goodies, the Borough Market is a MUST for your next London trip.

Note: This is a republishing from my original travel blog. Back date October 2018.