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Out & About? Visit These Great London Food Markets
London food markets are a great place to mix in with both tourists and locals, enjoy great food and ambiance, while shopping for unique gits and souvenirs.
There is a variety of traditional and international food, plus entertainment for all ages.
Here I have compiled a list of my five favourite London food markets.
I included a bonus at the end just for you!
Covent Garden London
I love Covent Garden in London. It is one of the best London food markets because it offers so much.
Covent Garden market has a great and engaging atmosphere.
The is no shortage of restaurants or bars here. You will find a lot of choices in food both day and night-time.
It is also a wonderful place for street entertainment.
This London food market is well-known and popular among both locals and tourists.
In comparison to other London food markets it is somewhat overpriced and overcrowded.
Camden Market
Camden market has always been a favourite of mine.
I have spent many hours at this London food market, not eating but rather shopping.
Not because there isn’t great food here, there are lots of wonderful choices in cuisine, but I find myself visiting this market to get gifts and souvenirs. I even got one of my ears pierced here!
I like going there on Sundays but so do hundreds of others, so prepare for the market to be very busy, and full of life.
If you decide to take the Canal Boat, dress warm. You can also opt for the Camden Market walking tour.
Of all the London food markets, it is the most cosmopolitan, eclectic and diverse.
Brick Lane Market
If you like not only food but street art too, then Brick Lane Market one of the great London food markets to enjoy during the week.
It is not as busy as most other markets and you can really take your time to look around and enjoy good food. Superb value for your money on various cuisine.
Variety of food is greater on Sundays due to the larger influx of people.
Many locals and tourists come here for vintage items, unique, and quirky stuff.
Walk around and enjoy the street art or go into a courtyard to view the “real art”.
It is a charming market, not too large and will leave your tummy satisfied and full.
Columbia Road Flower Market
Visit this market either before or after seeing Brick Lane Market.
These two London food markets are so close in proximity to one another (roughly 10 min walk).
You can go to one late morning, and do the other late evening.
Mind you, this market is open on Sundays only.
Even though it is rightfully called the flower market for obvious reasons, this market boasts about 60 – 70 shops, small art galleries, cupcake shops, vintage clothes stores, as well as antique shops.
Need bedding plans, or even a 10 foot Banana tree? The flower market is the go-to place.
You can eat at the English and Italian delis or the many pubs, cafes and restaurants.
Borough Market
A great London food market that is very international and has fresh bread, pastries, desserts, produce, cheese, deli meats, spices, and more!
Almost everyone who visits this London food market has to stand to eat.
It is hard to find a spot to sit down to eat here, but once you do, you won’t be disappointed.
If you have little children, toddlers or babies, you will need your stroller. I would say, visit this market without kids if you can. They may not enjoy having to stand around while you search for great items.
At Borough Market, you can try traditional desserts from all over the world. Located in the heart of central London, this market is easily accessible by train, tube, bus, bike or on foot.
Open Mondays and Tuesdays, from 10:00 – 17:00. Cook and food writer Celia Brooks, offers a gastro tour of Borough Market.
Come to Think of It – I Will Add An Extra Market In Here…
Greenwich Market
Greenwich Market is a wonderful market full of unique and distinctive arts and crafts.
Well known for giving customers access to items that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
It is also London’s only historic market set within a World Heritage site.
So whether you’re looking for gourmet ingredients to make a delicious meal for your family, home-made treats or a quick bite to eat, as you can see, London food markets are the place to go.
If you want detailed information including open times of the London food markets, you can click each link below for detailed information.
I Also Recommend The Following Markets
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* BONUS BONUS BONUS BONUS BONUS BONUS*
A great way to find these markets while walking around and touring London is to use the GPSmyCity app to take all my travel articles and guides with you. Never get lost in any city again. You can download it for free here – GPSmyCity App
By the way, this app is available both on and offline, so download it for free and enjoy exploring your favourite cities!
To know more about how to use this app, read my GPSmyCity Walking Tour Guide post to learn more about all the great and fun things you can do with this app.
If you are heading to London anytime soon, make sure you don’t miss out on other great sites.
Take a peek at my Quick And Easy Guide To London check out any of these great markets and let me know what you think.
If you have been to any of these markets, or live in London, please let me know what else I can add.
Looking forward to reading your feedback and suggestions in the comment section below.
44 comments
London looks like a great vacation destination
Wow, great tips for exploring London’s famous food markets. I will be traveling there for a conference on the dbase system my company works with. I will certainly check these out. Thanks for the bonus ideas 🙂
ohh, i’ve been wanting to visit London for the longest time! Brick Lane Market sounds great, especially with the street art! And all those tulips at the flower market is just too pretty!
There are some really great benefits to living in a city & your photos remind me how much I liked living in Tokyo but … reality is we mostly stick to the country where we grew up as that’s where friends & family are.
That’s a good one!!!! I have to visit them all:)
What a great post!! Its so informative about food markets… i haven’t heard about them!! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Wow! What a great list of London’s Food Markets! I’d love to visit each one of them whenever I’ll visit London. Bookmarking your post for my reference!
Wowww….what an awesome places and delicious foods. London is on my list to visit. And the foods make me so hungry and mouth watering. The places looks really epic and full of art. Thanks for sharing Sheri.
XOX
I love visiting food markets! They have a unique character in each country and you can find many different and interesting products. I would love to visit London’s’ markets, if I ever manage to visit it – it’s on my bucket list. 🙂
I love Grenwich market! Some good other suggestions too, there are so many to choose from!
We have not been to London yet, but planning is already in the pipeline. I will remember to visit these food markets. I would rather spend on delicious, local cuisine than to splurge on luxury items. Thanks for the virtual tour. Those flowers are so beautiful.
Everything looks so pretty there! I would definitely visit them if I had an opportunity to ◠‿◠
I had been to Camden and Borough Markets but didnt know about the others – saving this for my next trip
Wow! I’ve always just thought that london would have way expensive and ove rthe top restos and food hubs. But whoa, your post definitely changed my mind, i can see price tags that are for very cheap money. I guess, good food doesn’t have to be expensive!
These markets are absolutely a must visit when you visit London. I would prefer exploring these spots than hangout in shopping malls 🙂
All of these sound absolutely amazing, but I have to say I’d personally want to put Brick Lane Market at the top of my list. I am a sucker for street art, and this place is simply gorgeous. Greenwich also sounds intriguing, mostly for the arts and crafts bit.
Your post is the perfect guide for the food markets across London, thanks! 🙂
OMG! Of all places I never imagined London to be a foodie place, let alone have so many awesome areas to explore! You just made me add another to do thing in my ‘when in london’ list 😀
Even though I’m in the UK, I didn’t visit London yet. I like those locals markets like Camden and Brick Lane. Even though there are tourists, from what you describe and shows it gives a nice local feeling. And Brick Lane will definitely interest me if there is vintage items.
I’d love the borough or Camden markets, they look right up my alley, since moving to UK York, I have loved the experience of going to the outdoor markets, we don’t have them at home and just love them. would love to visit the ones in london
This is a very useful guide to London markets. I’m saving the post for my ‘London markets adventure’ . 🙂
The Convent Garden looks the best one in the lost. London is still far out of reach for me.
The UK is my top bucket list destination and I will make sure to go to each of these food markets in London when I finally get there. Those lovely blooms at Columbia Road Flower Market are to-die-for! I will make sure to get a bunch of them, too! ^_^
It has been so long since I’ve visited London and I barely remember any of my experiences from then. (This was back in my high school days where my parents wanted to travel and took the kids with them, but I didn’t appreciate it as much as I would have now!). Maybe I need to plan another trip!
These all look and sound AMAZING. London has been on my travel bucket list forever! When I make it I will def have to keep this post in mind!
Oh Sheri, the foods are fantastic here, and the flower market is so beautiful! Do they sell it affordably? I mean the flowers 🙂
I always love looking around Covent Garden! I love the architecture there, my only issue is that it is always very crowded and the prices there can make it feel like it’s become a little bit of a tourist trap. My Parents keep telling me I need to visit Borough Market, so far I’ve not made it there but I can’t wait to on my next trip! The food there is supposed to be out of this world amazing!
Ellie
Borough Market really does have great food, if you don’t mind standing then I would say go there and try it out. Also, you can do takeaways so if you don’t necessarily want to eat it there you don’t have to. Hope you get to go soon. 🙂
Just recently I was doing a search for London food options, your post has plenty of info related to that. 🙂 London is still a dream destination for me, hopefully I can visit these rated restaurants too.
*London food markets
Awesome list. When I was in London, I visited Greenwich Market and Covent Garden in your list. Weekends in Shoreditch is also good for food.
I heard about Shoreditch and how there is lots of choice there too. When we go next year I will definitely check it out.
Camden market is the best…
Love your post
Thx for composing it…
🙂
Hey,
Thanks so much for sharing info about these food markets! I think that these would all be great to explore! I love buying fresh flowers, so I would definitely check out the Columbia Road Flower Market. I wonder what the coffee prices are near these markets!
Best,
Dennis
I love some good street art and it doesn’t get any better then munching, strolling and enjoying the view. We do not have that many markets by me and the few that we have are not as appealing as the ones you took pictures of.
How amazing! Brick Lane Market looks colorful with its artwork, too! Thanks for the reviews!
London looks beautiful (: I liked the street art market and flower market. They looked beautiful!
xoxo
Isaly Holland
Englsh food is the best!
I wish I was in Londond visiting all the food markets!
camden market and maltby street market sound like a lot of fun.Added them to my list of places to visit when i go to london 🙂 nice one 🙂
OMG – I LOVE food markets…and I LOVE London…so it’s a double whammy! And these photos are GREAT! Love looking at the food and flowers!
Thanks so much Stefani.
Well, I love food so I’d love all these markets. Everything looks so delicious! Plus I love London. I hope to get back there at some point. I want to take my kids. There’s such wonderful history there.
I so want to go to London someday and I could see myself walking through these markets. Be still my heart there are flowers too.
I hope you get to go someday Valerie, it is beautiful. Try to go when it is not too hot or cold., Maybe avoid April due to the rain. 🙂