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The Borough Market is a vibrant and lively place to walk around to find unique food stalls from all over the world. It’s one of the largest and oldest food markets in London and one of the best places to try amazing cuisines.

This world-class market is known for its high-quality food, sustainable production, and social connections. It’s a popular destination that the locals flock to on the weekends.

This place is huge and has an array of food options, so it’s worth walking around and taking a look at what they have to offer. You definitely don’t want to settle on the first thing you see and miss out on something you might have preferred more.

When To Visit

What is the best day to visit the Borough Market?

The best day to visit would be Friday as it’s less crowded and more of the vendors are open. However, Saturday is when everything is open, so you’ll have more options. You just have to be prepared for the crowds.

We didn’t have a choice and visited on a Saturday and it was very busy. Many of the restaurants and pubs were packed and there were long lines at popular vendors.

Crowd of people at the Borough Market — Borough Market on a Saturday

Underground sign at the Borough Market — Underground London Bridge Station

When is the best time to visit?

The earlier you go, the better. On Saturdays, 8am to midday is the best time to go.

We went a couple of hours prior to closing and it wasn’t the best time to go because a lot of the popular menu items were sold out. It was still bustling, but most of the vendors were out of chicken, which is apparently a popular dish.

Candy was looking for something with chicken and the first three vendors she went to were sold out of their chicken dishes. One of the food stalls even had to close early because they were all out of their main dishes.

Of course, there were still plenty of other vendors to choose from, but if there is a particular vendor you want to try, it might be best to go earlier in the day.

People sitting and eating at Borough Market — Staircase style seating area

The Market

The market consists of three main areas: Three Crown Square, Green Market, and Borough Market Kitchen. We spent most of our time in the Borough Market Kitchen since this was where all the street food traders were located.

Raya Produce Market London — Raya Fresh Produce

Kappacasein Dairy

Crystal read so many rave reviews about the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich from the legendary Kappacasein Dairy and made it a mission to find this particular food vendor. Luckily, as soon as we arrived at the market, it was the first stall we saw.

The line was a tad long, but it moved pretty fast since they had a pretty good system going with two separate lines. Crystal ordered the Toastie (grilled cheese sandwich) where they slice the cheese fresh from the truckle (cheese wheel).

Eating a toastie from Kappacaesin Dairy — Crystal excited to try her toastie

The toastie is made with a combination of Montgomery cheddar, Ogleshield, London racelette, and comte cheese. The blend of cheese is amazing, but what makes it really unique is its filling of different types of chopped onions (white, red, spring onions, and leaks). It gives the toastie more depth of flavor and the toasted sourdough is thick and crunchy.

Mei Mei

After running into several vendors that were out of chicken dishes, we finally settled for Mei Mei. Their street food dishes are inspired by Singapore and the dish I ordered brought back so many memories of my time living in Singapore. I ordered the Hainanese chicken rice and Crystal ordered the Fried Chicken.

We were able to snag a seat at their counter seating and our food came out pretty fast. If you’ve never tried Hainanese Chicken Rice, it’s a dish of poached chicken with seasoned rice and comes with a side of grated ginger, chili sauce, and cucumber garnish.

Sitting at Mei Mei's booth — Sitting and eating at Mei Mei’s booth

The simplicity of the dish may fool you into thinking there isn’t much flavor to it, but it’s quite the opposite. The chicken is super moist and flavorful, and in my opinion, it doesn’t even need the extra side dippings.

Mei Mei Fried Chicken — Fried Chicken from Mei Mei

The rice also isn’t your ordinary rice. It’s rich in flavor as it’s been pre-fried in chicken fat and then cooked in chicken broth. A big plus about this dish is that it’s a well-balanced nutritious meal, which makes it very healthy.

Humble Crumble

We obviously couldn’t try everything our appetite desired, but if we had more room in our tummies, the Humble Crumble looked like a great place for dessert. The line was especially long here and the sweet smell coming from this bakery was intoxicating.

I absolutely love crumbles and each crumble bundle comes with your choice of a fruit-based, twice-baked shortbread crumble (they even have a vegan option), pure vanilla custard, vanilla ice cream, and extra thick double cream. Doesn’t that sound so dreamy?

Truly Worlwide Cuisines
The market has so much to offer that it might be a good idea to take a look at Borough Market’s website and see which vendors you want to try before heading out there.

Joli Malaysian Clay Pot Cooking — Joli Traditional Malaysian Clay Pot Cooking

Shuk Tel Aviv Pitas — Shuk Tel Aviv-Style Stuffed Pitas

While we walked around, we noticed these food stalls that looked interesting and hope we get a chance to return and try someday.

Kubba - Iraqi-Inspired Street Food
Shuk - Tel Aviv-Style Stuffed Pitas
Joli - Traditional Malaysian Clay Pot Cooking
Porteña - Argentine Treats & Street Food
Pochi BMK - Japanese Street Food

The Market Porter Storefront — The Market Porter

Final Thoughts

We had a fantastic time at the Borough Market and wish we had something similar at home. It’s even a great place to hang out after your meal if you wanted to grab a drink at one of the many pubs.

If you’re a local or staying in London for awhile, there is a ton of fresh produce and international vendors with unique products so that you can make some fun dishes at home.