The Best Street Food Markets in London: A 2026 Food Guide

London has more amazing street food markets than any visitor can cover in one trip, and they are not interchangeable. So, finding the right fit for your trip is important. Some are weekend-only, some are covered and open daily, and each is known for different food. This guide covers eight street food markets in London that are worth your time in 2026, what each one does well, and what to order at each. Most are busiest from noon to 2pm, so go earlier if you want shorter lines.

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Borough Market: London’s Oldest Food Market

Borough Market is the largest and best-known food market in London, with more than 100 traders working the space under the railway near London Bridge. You will find fresh produce, cheese, baked goods, and a wide spread of cooked street food, from raw oysters to Ethiopian stews to raclette melted over potatoes. It is open Tuesday through Sunday, with the most stalls open on Friday and Saturday.

🏆 My Personal Pick

Borough is my favorite street food market in London. Part of that is the range, but it is also the approach. If you walk in from the London Bridge side, you cross the Thames with a clear view of Tower Bridge before you reach the first stall. Inside, go straight to Kappacasein for the cheese toastie. Bill Oglethorpe has been making it since the early 2000s with Montgomery cheddar, Ogleshield, London raclette, and Comte on Poilane sourdough. It is the best cheese toastie I have had, and the line moves faster than it looks.

• What to Order: The Kappacasein cheese toastie, around £7 (about $9). If the line is long, the same stall serves raclette over new potatoes with gherkins and pickled onions, and it is usually quicker.
• Best If: You want one market that covers fresh produce, prepared food, and a full lunch in a single visit.
• Skip If: You are on a tight budget. Borough is pricier than the weekend markets, and the total adds up fast once you order more than one plate.

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Maltby Street Market: A Weekend Market in Bermondsey

Maltby Street is a ten-minute walk from Borough and far less crowded. It started in 2010 when a group of traders left Borough, and it has stayed smaller and more local. Around 30 stalls line a narrow walk under Victorian railway arches in Bermondsey, with bars in the arches alongside where you can sit with a drink and eat what you bought from the stalls. It is open Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm.

The arches are covered, which makes Maltby Street one of the better options on a rainy day. The trader list rotates fairly often, so the food changes from visit to visit.

• What to Order: The empanadas are a favorite. The cured meats, baked goods, and Scotch eggs are also consistently good. Walk the full length of Ropewalk before you decide.
• Best If: You have already seen Borough and want similar quality with smaller crowds and more places to sit.
• Skip If: You are visiting on a weekday. The market only operates Saturday and Sunday.

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Camden Market: Street Food Along the Canal

Camden has the widest variety of any market on this list, with more than 100 food vendors across the Lock and Stables area along the canal. The food spans most of the world, from Korean fried chicken to Venezuelan arepas, and the market is open daily, roughly 10am to 6pm, with West Yard stalls operating later. The canal gives you somewhere to sit, which helps, because the middle of the day gets very crowded.

• What to Order: The Cheese Wheel pasta, finished inside a hollowed grana padano, is the best-known dish here and worth trying once. Past that, follow the lines of locals rather than the photos out front.
• Best If: You want the most options in one place, or you’re already in Camden for the music venues or vintage shops.
• Skip If: You don’t do well in dense crowds. Camden at peak is shoulder to shoulder.

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Seven Dials Market: A Covered Food Hall in Covent Garden

Seven Dials is an indoor food hall in the West End, run by the KERB street food team inside a converted banana warehouse. It holds around two dozen vendors, and because it is covered and central, it works in any weather and at any time of year. The best-known counter is Pick & Cheese, where British cheese plates move past you on a conveyor belt, each matched to a condiment. It’s located a few minutes from Covent Garden and Soho, so it fits easily into a day of central sightseeing.

• What to Order: Pick & Cheese for the cheese flights off the conveyor belt. The rotating KERB vendors cover everything else, from tacos to dumplings.
• Best If: You want good street food without the weather risk, within walking distance of theatres and central hotels.
• Skip If: You want an open-air market with produce stalls. Seven Dials is a contained food hall, not a traditional street market.

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Old Spitalfields Market: Food and Shopping Under One Roof

Old Spitalfields is a covered market on the edge of the City, open daily, that mixes food stalls with fashion and homeware traders. Check out Humble Crumble and the Taiwanese drinks from Yi Fang. The market has theme days through the week, and the food offering is largest Thursday through Sunday. Brick Lane is a few minutes away on foot, so you can pair the two without taking the tube.

• What to Order: Humble Crumble serves hot fruit crumble with custard or cream, and it’s easy to carry while you keep browsing. The other food stalls rotate, so check what is on before committing.
• Best If: You want to combine eating and shopping in one covered space, especially if you are headed to Shoreditch or Brick Lane.
• Skip If: You want food only. A large share of Spitalfields is clothes, art, and homeware.

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Mercato Metropolitano: A Large Food Hall South of the River

Mercato Metropolitano is a food hall in a former paper factory near Elephant and Castle, with more than 40 vendors, an on-site microbrewery, and a lot of communal seating. Cuisine includes Italian, German, Vietnamese, Japanese, and more, so a group that cannot agree on one cuisine can all eat what they want at the same table. It’s open long hours and is busier in the evening, which makes it a better dinner-and-drinks option than most markets on this list.

• What to Order: The Italian stalls are the strongest part of the lineup. The wood-fired pizza from Fresco is an excellent choice if you cannot decide.
• Best If: You are eating with a group with different tastes, or you want a market that works as an evening out with the brewery attached.
• Skip If: You are looking for fresh produce or a traditional market. This is a food hall and bar, not a place to shop for ingredients.

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Broadway Market: A Saturday Market in Hackney

Broadway Market operates on Saturdays only, along a street by London Fields in East London. More than 100 stalls set up, with artisan bakers and cheesemongers next to hot street food, and the crowd is mostly locals doing their weekend shop. It’s open roughly from 9am to 5pm, and the bread and produce are freshest in the morning. This is more of a neighborhood market than a tourist destination, which is a large part of the appeal.

• What to Order: Buy bread or pastries from the bakery stalls early, then get a hot plate from the street food end. The local move is fresh bread to take home plus something cooked to eat on the spot.
• Best If: You want a genuine neighborhood market and a walk in London Fields on a Saturday.
• Skip If: You cannot make a Saturday. The market only opens one day a week.

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Southbank Centre Food Market: Street Food by the Thames

The Southbank Centre Food Market sets up behind the Royal Festival Hall, right along the river. Stalls sell hot plates from around the world plus cakes and sweets, and it stays open into the evening on Friday and Saturday. The main reason to come is the location: you can eat looking across the Thames at the skyline, then keep walking along the riverside path.

• What to Order: Whatever is hot and easy to carry. The strength here is variety for grazing while you walk, not one signature dish.
• Best If: You are already on the South Bank for the galleries or theatres and want to eat with a river view.
• Skip If: You are visiting in winter, when the market may be closed. Check the dates first.

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London Street Food Markets: What to Know Before You Go

• A few practical points apply across all of these:
• Budget roughly £8 to £15 (about $10 to $19) per person for a market meal, more at Borough if you plan to order multiple plates.
• Weekend markets are busiest from noon to 2pm, so going earlier means shorter lines and more vendors are open.
• Maltby Street, Seven Dials, and Spitalfields are covered, which makes them safer bets in the rain, while Southbank and Broadway are open-air.
• Most vendors take cards now, but a little cash still helps at the smaller stalls.

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Where to Stay in London: My Top Picks

• Generator London is my go-to budget spot in the city. It’s comfortable and stylish in a way most hostels aren’t, and it’s an easy base near King’s Cross.
• Mimi’s Hotel Soho is one of my favorite hotels in London for the vibe, the price, and the location, right next door to the Dog and Duck and a short walk from the rest of my Soho picks. Be aware that some rooms don’t have windows, which the website states clearly, so check before you book if that matters to you.
• Canopy by Hilton London City is another favorite, close to the Tower of London and an easy walk to both Borough Market and Sky Garden, which are in my top recommendations. The hotel also has a great rooftop bar and first floor restaurant.
• The Ned London occupies the old Midland Bank building in the City, and is about ten minutes from Sky Garden. The ground floor holds a whole collection of restaurants under the original banking hall columns and the brunch is outstanding.
• The Savoy London is the classic London splurge on the Strand, with Kaspar’s for seafood and the American Bar for a proper cocktail.

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🍪 Final Bite

• The eight markets here cover the full range of London street food, from Borough’s daily provisions to Broadway’s Saturday-only street market in Hackney.
• If you only have time for one, make it Borough, and walk in from the London Bridge side for the Tower Bridge view.
• If you want a quieter version with similar quality, go the extra ten minutes to Maltby Street.
• For everything else, match the market to your situation: covered halls when it rains, open-air markets when it doesn’t, and weekends for the ones that only operate on Saturday or Sunday.

Been to one of these and found a stall worth adding? Tell me your best London market find in the comments.

More London!