One morning in London we were headed for the Tower Bridge. Right across from our hotel we hopped onto one of the famous red double-decker busses and enjoyed the ride and view from upstairs. Once we got off near our destination, we accidentally discovered the Borough Market. In all my reading and researching before our trip I never once noticed any mention of it anywhere.

This market is unbelievable! We started our market exploration by having a delicious Middle Eastern breakfast. The restaurant served strong, sweet Turkish coffee, fresh hot mint tea, ful medames (fava beans) seasoned to perfection with cumin, garlic and parsley and scrambled eggs on homemade flat bread, sprinkled with heavenly za’atar.

With our bodies fortified, we were ready to check out the rest of the market. First off, it’s huge.
Fresh fruits and vegetables were on display, with one vendor selling wild mushrooms of just about every shape and color imaginable. Numerous stands were selling baked goods, ranging from cute little cookies to fancy cakes to whole grain bread to yes, even “Bretzel”!! Yum!!
My favorite shop was Spice Mountain. I’m familiar with lots of spices and seasonings, but this place left me speechless! The sheer number of curry powders and chile peppers alone was almost overwhelming.
Other stalls sold meats, sausages, flowers, Turkish Delight, baklava, ready-to-eat fruit bowls, ice cream…
A number of cozy wine bars were serving, well, wine, and of course tapas …

Imagine the scents filling the air, the sounds of sizzling cooking vessels and trying to decide which eatery and/or dish to try!

Parts of the Borough Market is covered by an overpass/ roof combination. There are trains tracks running right above the market. Every so often, we’d hear a train rumbling past. The place was busy with locals shopping, and visitors standing in line at many of the food stalls. Just about every imaginable cuisine was represented. My only complaint is that we didn’t make it back to eat there again.

This market is a must for anyone who loves to cook and eat good food! Someone warned us of pickpockets, but we used common sense and encountered zero problems. My sister bought me a beautiful shopping bag with the market’s logo on it, which I now take to our farmers market here at home!

This scene reminded me a lot of La Boqueria, another outstanding market, which we visited in Barcelona a few years ago.

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