8 Best Markets in London. All About Vintage Shopping and the Best Food Markets in London

Spending 3 days in London might not be enough to visit everything the city has to offer, but it certainly is to discover its shopping scene. Eat your way around the best food markets in London, enjoy its international cuisine and dig into its vintage and antique stalls to find the perfect gift to that old friend you never know what to bring from your travels.

Discover The Best Markets In London

What I find as one of the absolute best aspects of London is its multiculturalism, this is why for a quintessential experience able to blend its British and cosmopolitan characters, I suggest heading to some of its markets and trying the different dishes served alongside one of their most popular eats, fish and chips.

Are you looking for a food market in London? We have it. Do you need to know Brick Lane market opening times? We tell you. Are you curious about Spitalfields antique market? We visited that too.

While Portobello Market in the gentrified Notting Hill neighbourhood mainly displays the vintage and outlandish sides of the city, Brick Lane Sunday Up Market devotes a huge space to food stalls. It showcases an intoxicating feast of colours, smells and flavours from all over the world for a more than reasonable price: with 5£ you can order a meal at any of the stalls and be fully satisfied.

READ MORE: Check out our guide to the top things to do in London.

1. Borough Market, one of the best food markets in London

Borough Market in london
Welcome to Borough Market, delicious and pricey. Here you can find just about anything foodie you are looking for.

Offering a diverse range of products from different farmers and producers, Borough Market is one of London’s most famous open series of stalls. Historical, appealing, delicious and quite expensive, here you are sure to find pretty much anything you are looking for food-wise.

A great selection of cheeses, sausages, bread, spices, cakes, honey and more, Borough market is a London must-see even if you are not looking into shopping.

Bread in london borough market
Bread and focaccia in different flavours and shapes in London’s Borough Market

This huge food market in London Southwark has been selling veggies, fruits, meat, eggs, pastries and all sorts of temptations for around 1000 years. Not far from London Bridge, in the Middle Ages it was a favourite place for selling goods to travellers.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the area was a thriving trading port, with farmers from the countryside gathering to sell anything from grains to cattle to eggs. This is also when the authorities started supervising and imposing rules and fees.

Thriving years, more difficult periods, different rules and regulations are all part of the history of the Borough Market. Today, it’s a great place to discover new ingredients to add to our table, new recipes and new flavours from around the world.

Borough Market address: 8 Southwark St, London SE1 1TL.
Borough Market opening times: Daily 10 am-5 pm, Friday until 6 pm. Sunday closed.

Croissants in london borough market
Croissants can never be missing, fortunately

2. Camden Market

Camden Market is pretty long, as it sprawls from Camden Town to Regent’s Canal. In fact, this is more of a group of several markets stretching over a wide area.

It’s a great place for shopping on clothes, furniture, handicraft, tourist souvenirs, as well as tucking into a scrumptious variety of street food, including vegan eats.

Camden Market address: Camden Lock Place, London NW1 8AF.
Camden Market opening times: Daily 10 am to evening.

3. Portobello Market, food and vintage shopping in Notting Hill

While the main day for London’s Portobello Market is Saturday, which can get pretty mental, you will find stalls every day except Sunday. Friday is the day for antique shopping, while on Saturday you will really see a large selection of goodies.

Savoury pies with different fillings, glad to see how huge the vegetarian choice was in London
Savoury pies with different fillings, glad to see how huge the vegetarian choice was in London

Set in the lovely Notting Hill neighbourhood, Portobello Market displays stalls with quirky products, delicious food such as savoury pies, rolls as well as different types of sweets, pastries and cakes.

Savoury and sweet so we don't need to look further
Savoury and sweet so we don’t need to look further
Cakes in London Portobello market
Cakes were all over the place, the passion fruit one was divine, indeed

Obviously not only food is available around the stalls of Portobello Market. Perfect place for vintage and second-hand shopping, here I found colourful teapots and cups, old music albums and all types of memorabilia, bric-a-brac, furniture, as well as clothes. If you are in for grocery shopping, here they sell also fruits and veggies every day.

Portobello Market address: Portobello Road, London W11.
Portobello Market opening times: Mon-Wed 9 am-6 pm, Thursday until 1 pm, Friday and Saturday until 7 pm. Sunday closed.

tea pots portobello market
Colourful tea pots at Portobello Market in London’s Notting Hill

4. Brick Lane Sunday Market

Brick Lane among the best markets in London
Welcome to Brick Lane, picturesque, quaint and multicultural. Every weekend a lovely market sprawls all around this area, from here to Spitalfields.

Probably one of the best Sunday markets in London, if you are in the city for a weekend, is the one laid out all along Brick Lane, famous East End street. When I was in the city last time, this was my favourite street food market in London. I literally went every summer for either eat there for lunch or take away a meal for dinner.

Brick Lane Market has a large display of food stalls, from Chinese to Tibetan, Thai, Caribbean or Moroccan cuisine. My very favourite was the Ethiopian stall because they served amazing vegan plates and I’m crazy about their traditional fermented injera bread. As far as I can gather, this vegan Ethiopian stall has now moved to the old Spitalfields market under the name of Merkamo and is open daily.

Brick Lane Food Hall serves dishes from all over the world such as Italian delights, Japanese specialities, and delicacies from Poland, Korea and more.

vegan food in Brick Lane market
This was heaven, I came two Sundays on a row to Brick Lane Sunday Upmarket only because of this stall. Vegetarian Ethiopian, try their typical Ethiopian spongy bread as a pancake filled with sauces and beans.

Brick Lane vintage market is probably what attracts most visitors. A mishmash of stalls selling just about everything, from vintage clothes to DVDs, pieces of furniture, bric-a-brac, old magazines, even electronics.

Brick Lane Market address: Brick Lane, London E1 5HA.
Brick Lane Market opening times: Open only Sunday 10 am-5 pm.

5. Old Spitalfields Market

One of the best markets in London is the Old Spitalfields Market. Located close to Brick Lane, I found Spitalfields to sell more quality goods, from food to clothes to jewellery.

Also in Spitalfields market you can find antiques, old books and maps, cool prints for home decoration, vintage and modern clothes, greeting cards, shawls and scarves, homeware, even babies’ accessories.

lunch at spitalfields market
Delicious lunch at the Old Spitalfields Market. A vegan food stall, specialised in salads of all kinds and with the most delicious type of hummus with herbs and spices you will ever find.

Thanks to its delicious food stalls serving anything from the Japanese delicacies of Wagamama to Chinese dumplings and street food to speciality coffee, lunch boxes, seafood, to healthy pasta dishes, you can have a great lunch at Spitalfields market.

Old Spitalfields Market address: 16 Horner Square, London E1 6EW.
Old Spitalfields Market opening times: Daily 11.30 am-5 pm.

6. Covent Garden Market

This is one of the places to visit in London especially if it’s your first time. Alongside the market stalls all around Covent Garden, here you will find plenty of food stalls as well as shops, bars and coffee places.

Covent Garden is the place to go for a relaxing afternoon, some gift shopping, a casual meal or watching some street art and performances. Here I often saw singers, dancers and all types of performers.

Among the several stalls of Covent Garden, particularly famous is the Apple Market. Once a fruits and veggies market, today it’s devoted to British handicraft, from jewellery to prints.

On the eastern side of Covent Garden, the East Colonnade Market sells handmade soaps and delicious sweets.

Covent Garden Market address: Covent Garden, London WC2E 8RF.
Covent Garden Market opening times: Shops are open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm, Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm. The Apple Market is open from 10 am to 6 pm and the East Colonnade Market from 10.30 am to 7 pm. Restaurants and cafes are open Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 11.45 pm, Sunday from 12 pm to 10.30 pm.

7. Greenwich Market

A place for handicraft, the Greenwich Market displays stalls selling jewellery, ceramics, vintage clothes, old books and also some food.

Every day you will find different stalls and different products. The Greenwich Market, as well as the neighbourhood, is an attraction by itself, so even if you are not looking into shopping, you can spend here a couple of hours of relax and sightseeing.

Greenwich Market address: Greenwich Town Centre, London SE10 9HZ.
Greenwich Market opening times: Daily 10 am to 5.30 pm.

8. Peckham Farmers’ Market

Peckham is a lively colourful neighbourhood, and its weekly market is a favourite among the residents for both the great offer and the affordable prices.

This is one of the best street markets in London when it comes to affordable eats and a good variety of local produce. You will find anything from meat, fruits, veggies, jams, bread, cakes and sweets, herbs and spices.

It’s located in South East London close to the areas of Peckham, Dulwich and Camberwell. Not far is also the lovely Dulwich Park if you feel like relaxing or strolling in a green area.

Peckham Farmers’ Market address: Peckham Square, Peckham High Street, London SE15 5DT.
Peckham Farmer’s Market opening times: Sunday 9 am to 1 pm.

about me: Angela Corrias
About the author

I'm Angela Corrias, an Italian journalist, photographer, and travel writer located in the heart of Italy's capital. Welcome to my website, your comprehensive source for your travels and expert guidance for crafting your dream travel experience.

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