What to eat at Borough Market

The street food and market scene around London has exploded in the past few years. New vendors and markets arise every week it seems, setting up shop all around the city. While most people get enamored with the new kids on the block, let’s take a look at the true mothership of the London market scene: Borough Market.

The market is packed Thursday through Saturday, teeming with masses looking for lunch at a London landmark while taking a multitude of photos of the tables of pure food porn. There are dozens of vendors selling ready-to-eat dishes, perfect for standing and snacking, so deciding on what to eat at Borough Market can be daunting. Of course, not all stalls are worth the crowds and the lack of comfortable seating.

So here is my guide on what to eat at Borough Market. You won’t leave hungry or disappointed!

What to eat at Borough Market

What to Eat at Borough Market

Gujarati Rasoi

These purveyors of flavorful vegetarian Indian food dish out samosas, bhajis, and a variety of veggie dishes. They happen to have another stall at our other favorite London market, Broadway Market. The best bet is to go for their vegetarian thali (£6.50), a mixture of basmati rice, yogurt, and tamarind sauce with their featured dishes of the day. The curried cauliflower is my personal favorite.

What to eat at Borough Market

What to eat at Borough Market

Kappacasein

Simply put, the greatest grilled cheese sandwich (or cheese toastie as the Brits’ say) on the planet. The mixture of Montgomery Cheddar and super gooey Ogleshield makes for an ideal cheese blend, sandwiched on local sourdough from Bermondsey, all for £6. Kappacasein also offers racellete, with half-wheels of Ogleshield positioned under gas heaters, creating bubbly, melty cheese that is poured over steamed potatoes with gherkins. Sounds amazing, but it is not what to eat at Borough Market. Take a photo of the racelette, order the cheese toastie. You’re welcome.

What to eat at Borough Market

Comptoir Gourmand

There is an abundance of bakeries, hawking tempting cookies and cakes, all around the market. Stay strong though, and hold off for Comptoir Gourmand. They make a wide range of sweets, from tarts to cakes, though the macaroons and chocolate chip cookies are especially good. They are large and relatively flat, which I mistaken thought would translate to a dry and crunchy cookie, but surprisingly, they are soft and gooey in the middle. Perfect.

Don’t be swayed by the long queues. It’s worth it.

What to eat at Borough Market

Brindisa

While the Brindisa restaurant, located on the corner of the market, is an excellent choice for a drink and some tapas, their retail store is worth a gander, as it is stocked with the highest quality Spanish ingredients, like whole legs of Iberico ham. Even better, they maintain a sandwich stall just outside the retail shop, selling a legendary chorizo roll (about £5) which is worth the hype. A grilled chorizo sausage, on a roll, with arugula and piquillo peppers. Simple, but delicious.

You have the choice of one link of sausage or two, but why choose only one when you can have two delicious pieces of chorizo?

What to eat at Borough Market, London: Horn OK Please Indian food stall

What to eat at Borough Market, London: the wrap at Horn Ok Please

Horn OK Please

Strange name, fabulous food. The best dish is the moong dal dosa (£5), an Indian street food that is similar to a crepe, but made from rice and lentil flour (their entire menu is gluten-free). Horn OK Please wraps the dosa around masala potato, and serve it with a side of chutneys with chickpeas and pomegranate. You will forget that this is actually healthy!

What to eat at Borough Market, London: Roast Hog, on full display

Roast Hog

Now, if you want to indulge, this is the place to do it. Roast Hog spit-roast a whole pig each day and make mouth-watering pork sandwiches (about £7). The uber-tender pork is crammed into a ciabatta roll, with a homemade apple sauce and arugula, topped with a little bit of the crispy pork crackling.

What to eat at Borough Market, London: Bread Ahead bakery

Bread Ahead

Just like the sweets department, Borough Market provides a large number of options for bread. While there are many excellent options, Bread Ahead is the best of the best. The focaccia is to die for, but don’t overlook the doughnuts (one of our picks for 50 best dishes in London). At £2.50 each, and offered in flavors like salted honeycomb and creme caramel, these are a perfect way to end a day at the market, along with some sourdough or baguette to take home. Plus, their full-scale bakery is located just around the corner, and offers fun baking classes for the public, for beginners and seasoned bakers.

What to eat at Borough Market, London: Monmouth Coffee

What to Eat at Borough Market: Food Shops and Restaurants 

There is a lot to eat and drink around the market, from coffee shops to proper restaurants. If you want to brave the queue at Monmouth Coffee, you will be rewarded with some of the best coffee in the city. Just around the corner, on Park Street, Neal’s Yard Dairy, the legendary cheesemonger, has its main retail outlet, jam packed with the finest UK cheeses.

If the weather is nice and the market is a little too crazy, the smart move is to grab a baguette from Bread Ahead and some soft cheese (I love Baron Bigod and Tunworth) from Neal’s Yard, and head to a bench along the River Thames a few blocks away. I would even suggest grabbing a half bottle of bubbly (or a full bottle if you are feeling fiesty) from market fave Borough Wines to sip while digging into the rich cheese.

And don’t worry, you can drink openly in public in the UK.

If you want to snag a bite at a sit-down restaurant, try Wright Brothers for the best oysters and shellfish in the city, along with some wine or classic English ale. For an even more traditional British experience, head upstairs for a bird’s eye view of the market floor from Roast, which serves an indulgent Full English Breakfast that may require a post-breakfast nap.

If you are in the mood for some high quality tacos, you can head to El Pastor, located just around the corner from the entrance to Borough Market. This taco joint from the team behind our favorite tapas restaurant Barrafina, makes tacos and homemade salsas that are just what you need sometimes.

The hottest restaurant in the area is Padella, run by the excellent chefs behind the fancier Italian restaurant Trullo up in North London. Padella is all about fresh, house made pasta, with about eight choices each day, all for around a very reasonable £7, making it one of the best cheap eats in the area. It’s small and very busy, so unless you get there right when they open, expect to queue.

What to eat at Borough Market, London: the covered stalls

For any true food lover, Borough Market is a definite must-see while in London.

The sheer scale of the market and variety of vendors makes perusing a worthy venture. Avoid the craziness of Saturday if you can, and hit the market around 11am to mingle in relative peace, allowing you to take in the whole market before making a dining choice. Whether you want to have a full meal at a restaurant within the market, or just grab a handful of small dishes from the food stalls, you definitely will not leave Borough Market hungry!

Do you love Borough Market? Share your favorite ‘what to eat in Borough Market’ suggestions in the comments below!

PS: Want to book a hotel for a visit to London and looking for a deal? Check out HotelsCombined.com, which searches popular sites like booking.com, hotels.com, and expedia to show you the best deal!

What to Eat at Borough Market

Dear reader, please note that some of these links are affiliates, which means we will make a small profit should you choose to use them. This in no way unfluences our recommendations though. We only share the things we have genuinely used and loved.

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  • February 21, 2016
    Emily

    Great tips–I love how all the little details you included! Drooling over that moong dal dosa in particular, yum.

    • February 22, 2016
      Julie

      Aren’t markets the best for sampling tons of great food? The other night we went a night market in London and literally tried food from six places I think?!? It was amazing!

  • July 29, 2016

    You missed the best thing ever at Borough Market.. the Haloumi sandwich at Hash! I seriously can’t stop thinking about it!

    I thought the Indian food at Borough Market was just OK to be honest, but I lived in India for 9 years and am very particular 🙂

    Also, just for reference, the “Horn Ok Please” comes from the trucks in India. Since no one uses mirrors (or even has them!) the trucks have written on the back “horn ok please” which means, tell me with your horn when you are behind me, coming to pass, etc
    Karilyn Owen recently posted…8 Great Things to Do in London with KidsMy Profile

    • August 1, 2016

      I don’t think Hash is there anymore unfortunately. I’ve never seen it and it’s not listed on the Borough Market traders list. It may have closed down, I’m sorry to say 🙁
      Thanks for the info on the title ‘Horn Ok Please.” That name always confused me, but now I know!

  • November 2, 2016
    Flo

    Hash is still there, but last time i went down there i was told my favorite chef had quit his job, and the food was much worse than before.

    • November 2, 2016
      Julie

      well, that’s a bummer. I will have to check it out again and see if its gone downhill 🙁

  • November 3, 2016

    This post made me realise how long it is since I’ve been to Borough Market! And also how hungry I am… Definitely off to get some lunch right now – though it won’t looks as delicious as any of this!
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  • November 18, 2016
    Jess

    Hi and thanks for these infos. I’m french and with my family we’ll be in London in February . Our first time … for 5 days . I can’t wait cos’ it’s my dream ????????????
    Really thank you for your precious guide ????

    • November 18, 2016
      Julie

      Enjoy! It does get crazy, so heed my advice and go on the early side. Arriving at 1pm on a Saturday will not be fun! 11am on a Thursday is perfect. Still busy, but not swamped with people. Perfect time to do some grazing!

  • February 25, 2017

    Oh my gosh – just tried the traditional Thai coconut pancakes from the little stall at the very end, and it was quite possibly the best thing I have ever tasted. I am not exaggerating. What an awesome day at the market!

    • March 5, 2017
      Julie

      that’s great…I haven’t tried those yet. Looks like I know what I’m getting next time!

  • March 19, 2017
    Bobbie

    The sausage roll at the Ginger Pig Butchers is delicious as are the Scotch Eggs at Scottish Tails

    • March 19, 2017

      Great tips. I never splurged on one of the pies either at Ginger Pig, which look delicious. There is always next time…