‘Tis the season to eat jolly well, with street food night markets popping up across town — and most of them bedding in for the long haul. Here’s our pick of the best places to fill your face al fresco while weather permits. After all, London’s nights may not be particularly balmy but if you can manage to spend the evening out and not shiver so much that you drop your burger, that’s something to be celebrated.
These are London’s best street food night markets, both current and upcoming. We’ll keep this list up-to-date throughout the 2018 season.
Street Feast: Model Market
Where? Lewisham
When? Fridays and Saturdays 5pm - late; until October
Recommended by Londonist's Ben Norum back in 2015, this semi-covered south London street food fest has been cooking up a summer storm ever since. It’s run by Street Feast — also behind a number of other markets on this list — and occupies a disused 1950s market on Lewisham High Street. Food options include sit-down ‘micro diners’ from Mother Clucker, Sodo Pizza, Frankie Goes To Bollywood and Yum Bun along with plenty more stalls, both new and established. Three separate bars are on hand to keep the booze flowing, including ones which specialise in rum cocktails, canned craft beers and wine, as well as a raised rooftop-style ‘highline’. Entry costs £3 after 7pm, free before this.
Model Market, 196 Lewisham High Street, SE13 6LS
Urban Food Fest
Where? Shoreditch
When? Saturdays, midday - midnight
This weekly street food market, held in a car park off Shoreditch High Street, features a changing range of 15 food trucks alongside bars serving craft beers, cocktails, ciders and wines. Recommended by Londonist's Ben Norum back in 2015 are the Greek gyros, Lebanese lamb kofta wraps, chicken waffles, Portuguese custard tarts and an entire array of new traders which even the most prolific of street food fans might not have sampled. The V corner provides veggie and/or vegan street food choices every week. Entry is free.
Urban Food Fest, Euro Car Parks, 162-167 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6HU
POP Brixton
Where? Brixton
When? Every day of the week, 9am-11pm Sunday to Wednesday, 9am-midnight Thursday to Saturday
Offering a space for local businesses to thrive, POP Brixton is built around a multi-level courtyard space and sees stacked up shipping containers transformed into an array of ever-changing street food outlets. Our favourites include Neapolitan pizza from Made of Dough, all things sausage at World of Wurst and modern Cantonese fare courtesy of Duck Duck Goose. Other than an extreme lunchtime bustle, things really come alive in the evening where the entire space becomes adult-only and a cheerful selection of wines, cocktails and beers are added to the line-up. Fairy lights and potted plants make it an ideal summer evening destination.
Pop Brixton, 49 Brixton Station Road, SW9 8PQ
Street Feast: Dinerama
Where? Shoreditch
When? 5pm-late Wednesday-Friday, noon-late Saturday and noon-10pm Sunday
Dinerama is Street Feast’s heartland, and justly so due to its impressive size, tiered viewing platforms and vast line-up of street food stalls. The neon signs and carnival-esque atmosphere make this a picture-perfect hangout but there's plenty to line your stomach with too, including Club Mexicana, Yumplings and Babek Brothers. There are generous spirited drink options from a number of full-size bars, plus more niche options such as an entire bar dedicated to vodka (think shots, cocktails and slushies) or craft beer and whisky shots at the eyebrow-raising German Sex Dungeon. Entry costs £3 after 7pm.
Dinerama, 19 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3EJ
Market Hall Fulham
Where? Fulham
When? 8am-11pm Monday to Saturday, 10am-10.30pm Sunday
Railway history has had a delicious makeover at the recently opened Market Hall Fulham. Located inside Fulham Broadway station, this former Edwardian ticket hall stood empty for over six years but is now the opulent home to a number of street food vendors, fully stocked bars and over 200 communal dining seats. It's not as sprawling as some of the other markets on this list, but what it lacks in size it makes up for with pure, Grade II-listed charm. There are plenty of original features still remaining, including the quaint ticket offices themselves, and you can ogle this ornate piece of railway history with a massaman curry from Thima by Farang or spicy-glazed ribs from HotBox in hand. Watch our video here.
Market Hall Fulham, Fulham Broadway, SW6 1BY
Mercato Metropolitano
Where? Borough
When? 8am-11pm Monday to Friday, 11am-11pm Saturday, 11am-10pm Sunday
While Borough Market closes of an evening, down the road Mercato Metropolitano is just getting started. This all-day and all-evening site has a distinct Italian influence which means as much fresh pasta and gelato as you can manage. It's a welcome task, but save room for all the other cuisines on offer here too, like Argentinian grilled meats, Spanish tapas and Mexican tacos. Sustainability and natural ingredients are high up the agenda here, resulting in a bunch of weekly events ranging from hydroponic food growing to ravioli cooking classes.
Mercato Metropolitano, 42 Newington Causeway, SE1 6DR
Bang Bang Oriental
Where? Colindale
When? 8am-11pm Monday to Friday, 11am-11pm Saturday, 11am-10pm Sunday
Technically a food hall rather than a market, Bang Bang Oriental remains deserving of a spot on this list due to its comprehensive offering of East and South East Asian cuisines. There are over 33 different kiosks here, each serving all sorts of mouthwatering delicacies: bibimbap from Korea, katsu curry from Japan, steamed buns from Taiwan, rendang curry from Indonesia, Chinese dumplings... the list goes on. It also brings the street food fire to north London — an area often overlooked on this front. It's not high-end dining, neither is it big on the booze, but for an evening spent gorging on a number of different cuisines it can't be beaten.
Bang Bang Oriental, 399 Edgware Road, NW9 0FH
Street Feast: Giant Robot
Where? Canary Wharf
When? 11am-late daily
Boasting incredible city views, Giant Robot sits pretty atop Canary's Wharf's Crossrail Place. Bypass the five-storey shopping development itself and head straight to the rooftop where you'll find industrial decor, a handful of street food vendors plus panoramic views from the wrap-around terrace. The market may be relatively new and the number of traders limited, but being a Street Feast offshoot means the names here are substantial: Yum Bun, Thunderbird by BBQ Lab and STAKEHaus' superior meat and chips. Make sure to swing by the tropical roof garden while you're there too.
Giant Robot, Garden Level, Crossrail Place, E14 5AR
Street Feast: Hawker House
Where? Canada Water
When? 5pm-late Friday and Saturday
A weekend jobbie, Hawker House used to be winter-only but join us in welcoming it into your summer lives with open arms. It's a bit of a monster with a total capacity of 2,000 people able to squeeze inside this former warehouse. Downstairs, huge communal trestle tables are surrounded by an assortment of global food stalls. Huge queues are worth the wait at ever-popular fried-chicken maestros Mother Clucker and ice cream-scientists Chin Chin Labs, but there are tacos, arepas, crispy squid and salt cured beef here too. Upstairs you'll find booze, while during the sunnier months the warehouse flings open its doors to Land of Bamboo — tiki-style outdoor seating for an extra 1,000 people.
Hawker House, Canada Street, SE16 7PJ
Street Feast: Public
Where? Woolwich
When? 5pm-late Friday, noon-late Saturday, noon-8pm Sunday
In case you haven't already noticed, Street Feast seem to have a bit of a knack for taking disused London spaces and transforming them into street food havens. Their newest venture, Public, is no different. Having opened in early 2018, its inaugural summer season takes place inside the 86 year old former Plumstead Covered Market where you can scoff your goodies underneath the mightily impressive arched roof, now with added rainbow colours. The sprawling ground floor can be overlooked on two mezzanine levels and eight street food vendors are on hand to keep you well sated as you do so.
Public, Plumstead Road, SE18 7BZ
Pergola Paddington
Where? Paddington
When? Noon-3.30pm and 6-11pm Wednesday, noon-11pm Thursday to Saturday and noon-10.30pm Sunday; until October
With only four street food vendors on offer, you can be forgiven for thinking that Pergola Paddington is on the more diminutive side of London's street food offerings. The reality, however, is rather different. Yes there are four outlets, but these come accompanied by two beautifully-decorated floors that seat a whopping 850 diners. It's a rooftop delight, surrounded by potted plants, flowers, picnic benches and even seven day beds to well and truly kick back on with dumplings, duck patty or burger in hand. See for yourself.
Pergola Paddington, 5 Kingdom Street, W2 6PY
Flat Iron Square
Where? Borough
When? Each vendor has different opening hours, but many operate from noon until 9-10pm
Boosting Borough's foodie credentials even further, Flat Iron Square covers 40,000 square feet, seven railway arches and a smattering of green space too. Here a selection of bars, street food trucks and live events come together for long evenings of eating, dancing and then eating some more. In a world where fried chicken and bao buns reign supreme it seems counterproductive to focus on salad at a street food market, but do give Savage Salads a go. Hearty, fresh and wholesome, their salad boxes are a thing of beauty and reason enough to justify that fluffy stack of buttermilk pancakes for dessert.
Flat Iron Square, 68 Union Street, SE1 1TD
