Mr Gochugaru and I have lived in London for 40 years and are still finding new places to visit. Last Saturday we went on a food trail starting from Bermondsey tube station and ending at London Bridge tube station (Borough Market).
As a starting point I used two small guidebooks:
1. An Opinionated Guide to London Markets (chapter 21 on Maltby Street Market and chapter 22 on Spa Terminal)
2. An Opinionated Guide to London Walks (chapter 12 – Foodies’ Bermondsey to Borough).
This is a walk to do with friends and family, as there are many opportunities to eat along the way. Don’t forget to carry a tote/ shopping bag. My mother always brought a large woven cane basket to the Sunday wet market and I was tasked with helping her carry it, as various stall holders filled it to the brim. I still carry a grocery bag with me at all times.
Starting at Bermondsey tube station, head first to Spa Terminus. This is a series of old railway arches now turned into small units for food production and distribution. Not all the shops are open daily so please check individual opening days/ times if you want to visit a particular producer. Photos below of some of the shops located in the arches, to give you a flavour of the area.
Husk and Honey
Dynamic Vines
Maltby and Greek
Poon’s
Little Bread Pedlar
Oliveology
Food and Forest
The Spice Merchant
Sourdough Sophia
From Spa Terminus, head next to Maltby Street Market where there is a lively atmosphere and many stalls to sample food from around the world. I only managed one empanada, shared between the two of us. There are wine bars along the street where you can bring along the food you have bought and order drinks. In the arches (fixed sites along this narrow street) there are bakeries, cafes and homeware shops.
The third leg of the walk takes you to Bermondsey Street, home to White Cube Gallery (see below) and many cafes, restaurants and food shops. If you are interested in architecture and history, consider a walk following one of these guides.
Comptoir Bakery
The Giddy Grocer has fruit and vegetables (of course) and they also bring in bread from different bakeries. For someone who likes sourdough especially the crust, imagine my happiness at finding a sourdough pain d’epi (essentially a sourdough baguette shaped like a wheat stalk, thus giving even more crusty ends). I would cross town for this.
The pain d’epi and two St John Brioche rolls which I brought home
There is a decision to make upon leaving Bermondsey Street. As you head towards London Bride station, taking in a fine view of The Shard along St Thomas Street, you can continue to Borough Market or return another day. It depends on how energetic and laden down with groceries you are from visiting the Bermondsey food shops. As we live in London and a 20-minute tube ride from our house to London Bridge, we decided to skip visiting the market this time.
For Something Completely Different
We also visited White Cube Gallery which is currently showing artwork by Gabriel Orozco. There were some interesting exhibits (a car cut in half and re-assembled to make what I think is the ideal car for our narrow London roads) and some unfathomable ones (rolls of fluttering toilet paper perched on top of revolving ceiling fan blades – do not try this at home).
The gallery space is generous and it was not crowded
From modern art to more traditional art i.e. The National Gallery: I am reminded that I need to finish the Monopoly: Trafalgar Square post that is in my Draft box. I hope to post it sometime this week.