London is absolutely full of markets, you turn your back for a second and someone has set up a stall behind you, flogging cupcakes, artisan quiche and twee greetings cards. This is all well and good, but with so many of them about how could you possibly be expected to find the good ones, without say, a list of five of the best to help? Well here it is, London’s best markets for food, crafts and other unnecessary things that make us feel good about ourselves when we purchase them.
Broadway market
What was once a run-down fruit and veg market evolved into the hippest place to spend your Saturdays. Since radical gentrification hit this strip of street in Hackney the stalls have long since ditched their old cargo of apples and pears. Hog roasts, cheese cakes, art books, meat and vintage clothing stalls give the locals what they want, and if the number of bugaboos is anything to go by the rest of London and its families too. Still, just because it has gone pop that’s not to say the quality of the stalls has slipped. They haven’t and it remains a simple way to brighten up a weekend.
Brixton Market
A true London market, you’ll be just as likely to come away with a bag full of organic veg as an ugly old Tupperware set. Quality control doesn’t really come into it but if you’re unafraid of the mixture of stalls selling anything from fine quality dashikis to kitchen appliances then you’ll be happy. Community buzz and low prices make it a place that the locals love and a place the not so locals don’t mind travelling to.
Of Cabbages and Kings Market
Eponymously named after the Stoke Newington shop, the monthly designer-maker market showcases the work of independent artists, craft-ists and all round creative makers and doers. Set up in Abney Hall on Church Street, hitting Of Cabbages and Kings Market gives you the first chance to grab at fanzines, art prints, cakes and jewellery. Don’t bother with Etsy, come here to get your homemade fix. Did I hear someone say limited edition? Hell yes! Buy here and you’ll be the one and only!
Alfies Antique Market
Alfies Antique Market has been serving fans of its eclectically curated space since 1976. With dealers stocking wares that come a little more expensive than the junk you’ll see in some antique markets, the Marylebone emporium attracts window shoppers and serious buyers alike. Clarice Cliff ceramics, decorative Victorian watches and enough shiny brass trinkets to create a little Hugo Cabret action of your own. Visit for a look and if you’ve got the money you’ll leave with something, no doubt.
Borough Market
Unfortunately it’s pretty much impossible to compile a list of London’s best markets and leave Borough off it. So here it is. One of the largest, most eclectic food markets in London, it’s worth a visit for the samples alone. Belgian beer stalls, cheese, meat, fish and veg – if you can’t find your dinner here, then you must be some kind of dummy. And it’s not just the market itself that spreads the joy but the atmosphere of lazy afternoon living that grows around it on weekends. Simply the best.
