There are many famous things to do in London, but if you’re a food lover like I am, one of the best choices you can make it to take a trip to the historical Borough Market. The market is one of the most well-known in all of London. The history goes way back, and it was formerly a place where people came and gathered to trade and sell their fresh produce. For many years it was very informal and without structure. But the official Borough Market was established in 1885, the place that we can visit today.
We were only in London for a couple of days, attending the Chowzter.com food awards (http://chowzter.com/), and one thing I knew we needed to do, was visit Borough Market with an empty stomach. It was Friday morning at about 10 AM when we decided to go – and I think it was just about a perfect time – because many of the vendors were just opening up, and the market wasn’t as packed as it could be. The best things to do as soon as you arrive to Borough Market is to take a leisurely stroll around and see what is available for you to eat – there are too many things to eat in one visit, so it’s important that you choose wisely, and decide what you want to eat.
Some of the most famous things include the salt beef sandwich, the grilled cheese sandwich, the duck confit sandwich, chorizo, and many other delicious things. But along with cooked food, there’s also a range of cured meats, and wonderful cheeses. I also really enjoyed the fresh produce, which included a nice variety of mushrooms and beautiful heirloom tomatoes.
But anyway let’s get back to the food, and I’m talking about the food ready to be eaten. As soon as I arrived I saw a stack of cheese and olive bread-sticks which were piled high like a pyramid. That was my first treat. The long bread-stick was crusty and embedded with salty cheese and delicious olives. While walking around, in the back part Borough Market, we decided to try a Portuguese egg tart. It was good but I thought it could’ve been better if it was a little warmer. Next up we tried a sausage on a stick from a place called Boston Sausage. I added a bunch of English mustard to it, and I think that’s what made it so good.
If you want to drink coffee, when you visit London’s Borough Market you cannot miss the famous Monmouth coffee shop. It can be quite busy and hard to find a seat, so we decided just to get takeaway coffee, as I really needed something to wake me up and keep me energized to eat more. My little shot of macchiato was fantastic.
Back to the food, we went to a place called Brindisa and ordered up one of their famous chorizo sandwiches. The chorizo was very tasty, and had a nice spicy flavor to it, but I thought the bread was way too big for the amount of meat. If I ordered it again, I would for sure get the double chorizo. Finally for my last sandwich at Borough Market, I went with the famous duck confit sandwich. You’ll see the incredible pan of duck confit when you visit the market, and if you’re like me, it should entice you to eat it immediately. When you order, the vendor fills up a bunch of duck into a ciabatta roll. The duck was incredibly tender, juicy, and oily, and it was amazingly tasty. That just about wrapped up everything I ate at Borough Market in London. There were still many more things I wanted to try, but like I said, it would be a near impossible feat to eat everything in one visit to the market. If you want to eat and you’re in London, this is one of the best places to visit.
Visit Borough Market information:
Open for lunch on Monday — Tuesday from 11 am — 5 pm
Full market is open on Wednesday — Thursday from 11 am — 5 pm, Friday from 10 am — 6 pm, and Saturday from 8 am — 5 pm (closed on Sunday)
Prices: It would not be hard to spend 20 GBP per person eating here
Website: http://boroughmarket.org.uk/
How to get to there: I think the easiest way is to take the London underground tube to London Bridge Station and then just follow the exit signs that will lead directly to Borough Market.
Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network
Mark Wiens
Eater at: http://migrationology.com/blog & http://www.eatingthaifood.com/blog/
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