Start with the Classics
Borough Market has certain iconic foods that have become synonymous with the market itself. If this is your first visit, starting with these gives you a foundation before you branch out and discover your own favourites.
The raclette at Kappacasein, one of the best stalls at Borough Market, is the dish most people associate with the market. A half-wheel of Swiss raclette cheese is heated until the surface bubbles and blisters, then scraped in a thick, molten layer onto a plate of steamed potatoes, cornichons and pickled onions. It is rich, messy and utterly satisfying. The queue is usually worth it.
Bread Ahead's sourdough doughnuts are the market's most celebrated sweet item. These are not the dense, cake-style doughnuts you find in supermarkets. They are light, pillowy and fried to a golden finish, then filled with custard, salted caramel, chocolate or seasonal flavours like rhubarb and blood orange. They are best eaten immediately while still warm.
Savoury Highlights
The Scotch eggs at Ginger Pig are a step above anything you have likely tried before. A soft-boiled egg wrapped in seasoned pork sausagemeat and breadcrumbed, then fried until the coating is crisp while the yolk inside stays runny. They make them fresh each morning and they sell out regularly.
Brindisa's chorizo roll remains one of the market's best lunchtime options. Grilled chorizo sausage in a crusty ciabatta roll with piquillo peppers, rocket and a good squeeze of the cooking juices is simple but brilliant. The smell alone draws people to the stall.
Padron peppers from the Spanish food stalls are worth seeking out. Blistered in a hot pan with olive oil and sea salt, these small green peppers are mild and sweet, except for the occasional one that delivers an unexpected hit of heat. Eating them is a kind of game.
Turkish gozleme, the thin flatbread filled with cheese, spinach or spiced meat and cooked on a hot plate, is another market staple. It is inexpensive, filling and endlessly watchable as the dough is stretched paper-thin by hand before your eyes.
Seafood
Borough Market has excellent seafood options. Richard Haward's Oysters serves Colchester native oysters from beds his family has cultivated for over 200 years. Eating them at the stall with a squeeze of lemon and perhaps a splash of Tabasco is one of the market's finest simple pleasures.
The Shell Seekers offer a broader range of prepared seafood including crab, langoustines and potted shrimp. Their stall is a good option if you want something more substantial than a couple of oysters.
How to Eat Your Way Around
The best approach to Borough Market is to treat it as a grazing experience rather than a sit-down meal. Arrive hungry, ideally in the late morning before the lunchtime rush, and work your way through the market trying small items from different stalls.
Sharing is essential. Most of the prepared food portions are generous enough for two people to split, which lets you try more variety without feeling overwhelmed. A plate of raclette, a chorizo roll, a couple of oysters and a doughnut makes a satisfying circuit that covers the market's greatest hits.
Do not overlook the samples. Cheese stalls, olive oil vendors, charcuterie sellers and chocolate makers all offer tastings that add up to a significant amount of free eating. Be polite, show genuine interest and you will often be offered more.
Finally, save room for Monmouth Coffee. Whether you drink it at the start of your visit to set the pace or at the end as a finishing note, a cup from one of London's best roasters rounds off the Borough Market eating experience perfectly.
