5 London Food Markets to visit this Autumn!

Autumn weekends are the perfect time to wrap up warm before setting off to explore some of London’s most delicious food markets.  Below we have handpicked some of our favourite areas and markets, where you can pick up a tasty (and usually very affordable) meal from a range of eclectic international food traders.  

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Residential.Life@lse.ac.uk or tag us on Instagram @lsereslife.

1. Borough Market, Southwark

London's most famous food market, and possibly its oldest, with over 1,000 delicious years of history selling produce to the local community and beyond. Today Borough Market is bustling with an eclectic array of speciality produce – from ready-to-eat hot food to wholesale fruit and vegetables. Borough Market is arguably at its best in the autumn months, when you can wander around in a hat and scarf with a cup of mulled wine in hand, browsing the fresh seasonal produce before strolling along the Southbank with shopping bags filled with whatever delicious ingredients you have picked up.

Top tips: Fresh, hand rolled pasta-prepared at Padella; Huge mouth-watering sandwiches from Sons+Daughters; Delicious natural wines from small, independent winemakers at Borough Wines; Baskets, bushels, barrels and bunches of fresh fruit and vegetables from Elsey & Bent.

Closest LSE Halls: Bankside House, Sidney Webb House, Butler’s Wharf

2. Canopy Market, King’s Cross

A foodie paradise in the heart of London’s most successful regeneration project – King’s Cross. Canopy Market is to be found in West Handyside Canopy - a historical Victorian steel and glass covered market hall, which originates from the 19th Century when produce would be transported here to be distributed throughout the capital. Today, it’s a loud, brash cacophony of international food, drink and craft stalls. Grab a mulled wine or cider, a plate of tacos, a burger, or a pad Thai, and then browse the craft and designer markets before exploring the rest of King’s Cross.

Top tips: Tacos to die for at Carne; Fresh and delicious oyster burgers at Rocks; Warm yourself on a cold day with Chai from Amala Chai; Grab a delicious box of Cannoli from Casa Cannoli.

Closest LSE Halls: urbanest King’s Cross, Passfield Hall

3. Hatton Garden (Leather Lane), Holborn

A stone’s throw from London’s smarter Exmouth Market, if you want a less gentrified experience – Hatton Garden / Leather Lane Food Market is the place for you! Set along two streets – Hatton Garden and Leather Lane, the market has a long history (over 400 years!), but today it is home to a wide-ranging collection of food stores and more permanent shop fronts selling some of the most delicious food for miles around. Plus it’s only a 25 minute walk from LSE!  

Top tips: The long queue is worth the wait at Daddy Donkey – the best burrito bar in London; Warm yourself with an overflowing salt-beef sandwich; Feast your eyes and tastebuds on a tasty Yum Bowl; Treat yourself to an award-winning coffee at the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs

Closest LSE Halls: High Holborn, Rosebery Hall

4. Mercato Metropolitano, Elephant & Castle

Compared to the other food markets on this list, Mercato Metropolitano is a brand new addition to the London food scene, founded in 2016, not to mention the first fully sustainable food market in the capital! One of five MMs throughout London, the Elephant and Castle site is housed in a formerly abandoned paper factory, but is now a huge, airy market offering a vast array of foods from a host of international culinary traditions. It’s always an exciting experience coming here on a Friday night when everyone is enjoying a cocktail to ease into the weekend and sharing a plate of something hot and tasty.

Top tips: Start the weekend with a traditional English breakfast at Egg+Keg; Burn the roof of your mouth with an irresistible cheese toastie from The Big Melt; If you are looking for authentic charcoal grilled jerk cooking, plus Jamaican beers and rums then look no further than Rudie’s Jerk Shack, It’s always cocktail hour at Ethika Coctails, serving exquisite blends from small batch, fair trade and locally sourced ingredients.

Closest LSE Halls: Sidney Webb House, urbanest Westminster Bridge

5. Broadway Market, Hackney

Although a little further afield than other London food markets, Broadway Market is nevertheless well worth the journey. Open 365 days a year, this Victorian street market is situated in the heart of Hackney, Northeast London, and set along a single street. Grab a coffee and a bite to eat and then take an autumnal stroll through London Fields, or along London’s Regent’s Canal. 

Top tips: If you want a real Cockney experience, try the traditional handmade pies with mash and jellied eels at F.Cooke; Visit the Bad Brownies store where you can get your hands on the “fudgiest, gooiest, tastiest and most decadent brownies” around; Grab some of the incredible traditional Vegetarian and Vegan Gujarati food from Gujarati Rasoi, founded by mother and son Lalita and Urvesh Parvais in 2005.

Closest LSE Halls: Lilian Knowles House; urbanest King’s Cross

Get ready to EAT ALL THE THINGS at our favourite street food markets in London – bon appetit! And to make it easier for you, we created a guide with ALL the Food Markets mentioned in this article you can save.