Maltby Street Market in London: Doughnuts, grilled cheese and beer

I had declared to a friend that I wasn’t a food tourist. That was before going to Maltby Street Market. I don’t make it a point to visit the buzziest restaurants when I’m planning a trip. I would happily grab a sandwich at Pret A Manger and sit in the park. I eat in run-of-the-mill pubs and restaurants merely to fuel up on my walks through the city.

On my last day in London, I went on a inadvertent food tour with my friend Kate McAuley, a food and travel writer. Our plans were to go to the Maltby Street Market, a small market that grew up as a result of the increased costs of the bigger Boroughs market. Their space is a wide alleyway under a train line, which seems appropriate. But thanks to us getting off the bus two stops early, we discovered a small farmer’s market in Bermondsey. When your day starts with a bacon sandwich, it really can’t get any better than this.

The salty-sweetness of the bacon paired with the soft white roll was breakfast. We strolled to Maltby and immediately had a stunning grilled cheese – stilton and pear, paired with a Spanish beer.

And that was the beginning. We also ate doughnuts:

Then we had another beer before we started what would be our market tour. I tried a glass of Greek red wine, which is not something that had crossed my mind before. As Vassily explained to me, the grapes are grown in the northern, cooler parts of Greece (islands not specified), allowing them to ‘rest’ at night. The wine was dry and had plum and berry flavours. Next stop, Boroughs. You can see more pictures on my Instagram.

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