Since our last trip to London at the beginning of the new millennium the city has changed a lot. You already see it when you look at the skyline that presents itself in a stunning combination of Medieval buildings and modern glass. The Shard is only one of the new views, it stretches its head high over the Tower and from a close it is almost even more impressive.

But it’s not the only great place near London Bridge. Only a few steps further and you will be in one of the most beautiful foodie Heavens this metropole has to offer: Borough Market. 

Built entirely under a train’s bridge construction, the mere sight is awe-inspiring; an open, yet weatherproof, hall with lots of daylight and a richness of impressions, that invites you to follow your nose wherever it leads you to.

You can roughly divide the market into two parts: The actual market with offers that will serve every palate from spices to greens and fruits, all the way to drinks, sweets, meat, fish, and bread, and the street food area with its constantly steaming pots and happily noshing people. Soul food until your tummy will hurt.

I can’t even say what impressed us most. The mere sight of all these wonderful ingredients? The seafood booths with mussels and shellfish and varieties of tuna in real sushi quality? The locals farmers, presenting their gorgeous products with a proud smile? The mass of vegetables and fruits that even tempt a carnivore like me to leave the beautiful sight of whole shelves packed with salami behind? The omnipresent offer to try, if possible? The cheeses? The colours? The atmosphere? The scents?

Maybe the people. People that are passionate for food. Good food. Real food that was allowed to see sunlight and grow up on a meadow. People that have a contagious sparkle in their eyes when they ask you if they can help you. People that love to cook and eat and enjoy.

Yes, we did come back here for more after our first visit. We tried as much as we could without exploding. We tasted the Comte from Borough Cheese & Co. We tried the gin from the East London Liquor Company. Lots of olive oil. Bought cured sausages at The French Comte. And munched ourselves through the street food from cold brew coffee over juices and smoothies, all the way to freaking amazing coconut pancakes, sausage rolls and burgers.

The only drop of bitterness was that we couldn’t take some vegetables with us. Or one of the mushroom baskets, some soft cheeses or fish. And that our bellies were stuffed too soon.

Thank you Borough Market for two wonderful and inspiring days in foodie paradise. We already miss you and your wonderful flavours.

And we’ll be back!

There is a certain flair to street food markets that will ultimately pull you in. In Germany the trend is relatively new as far as I’m observing, and some attempts end in, sadly, rather bad and cheep food that comes at high prices and with an almost disappointed shrug of one’s shoulders in the end.

This isn’t a German problem only, naturally. It’s not that we don’t have great food either. On the contrary! But street food here still can’t shrug off this awkward image about being „not good“, fatty and unhealthy. Oh boy, how much do we have got to learn on that account!

Of course a city like London is a bad comparison to a relatively small town somewhere between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alp. But let’s just take a look at London’s Brick Lane in the Shoreditch region. It has such a wonderful market that opens its doors on Sunday from 10am till 5pm to a colourful offer of food, fashion, music, art, and more.

It’s especially the cultural mix that fascinated us most about the London Artisan, the multiplicity of spices, flavours and scents. You can have Italian pasta, Japanese Ramen, or Spanish pealla. Chinese dumlings or Turkish sweets as well as Swedish buns, Mexican wraps or Greek antipasto.

You can indulge in cannoli (some Godfather fans present?) or solely in some fresh coconut water, some fruit or something like duck confit burgers or vegan pancakes.

The hall is vibrant with people chatting, meeting, eating, cooking, offering tasters. Wherever you go there is a good chance you will end up with your nose inhaling deeply over one of the many pans that bubble with food and breathe their delicious steam. Spice-pallets from Thai to Cuban to British to Vietnamese and to tropical islands await you everywhere. All you have to do is to just try.

And when you are done with the hall, you can go out, right back on Brick Lane itself, and experience even more. Worth a visit for example is one of the Dark Sugars stores: chocoholic paradise. You can buy whole bricks of chocolate here and the offer of chocolate truffles is amazing. Also it is one of these great places that makes hot chocolate with freshly chopped chocolate and in a way that will taste deliciously sinful.

Afterwards you can take the Circle line via Baker Street and visit the address with the 221 B on the door and, on your way back, you could also make a stop at King’s Cross to visit Platform 9 3/4. There is a photo service for fans and a store…a nice place for Potterheads like me.

And not far from King’s Cross—just two stops away with the Northern line—there also is Camden Market.

Camden High Street is a region that seethes with modern life. The moment you step out of the Tube station it will capture you and lure you in. Head north, just along with the masses: They know where the good stuff will be. The walk up to the Camden Lock Village, where we are heading to, is an experience for itself. A little bit touristy, but also the home for subcultures.

You’ll see lots of tattoo parlours, piercing studious, beautiful Goth fashion and more, all lined up on both sides of the road. A feast for the senses! After a while you’ll cross a bridge and this, here, is where we wanted to go to all along. The street food market and all these wonderful stores that will charm you right away.

Grab a drink somewhere, there’s enough juice, smoothies, lemonade or coffee, and stroll around. Take your time, because this wonderful place on earth is made of narrow, crooked alleys, with more and more to discover, just around the corner.

Here you can have freshly roasted espresso from an adjacent booth, while you wait in line for some sushi with shrimp tempura that will make you smile in delight. Here you can look at handmade jewelry, while the scent of incense sticks from nearby lulls you in—in all the best ways.

A little further the food hall begins and simply the scents whilst walking through are pure joy. Asian, African, European, American…you will find what you are peckish for. Accept the tasters that are offered. Do it! And eat more than you thought you could, because it all tastes so delicious. The crispy fried chicken from the guys at the Thai booth for example. Heavenly!

And then there are the stables. Originally real stables, they have been made into a wonderland of tiny, little stores that sell all kinds of bric-a-brac and fashion.

Books, bags, accessories, psychic readings, dishware, shoes,…take a pick. My favourite were the Metal Rooster with its comfy unisex clothes and the Shoe Embassy (thanks again to Julia for the tip!). And always there’s the food nearby. Seriously: Take some quality time with you and a hungry stomach.

I wish we could have spent more hours there, tasting ourselves through even more. But the last thing, the most wonderfullest (!) place in London? It’s still ahead of us.

Next and final stop: Borough Market.