Portobello Road Market

Portobello Road Market is actually a series of markets stretching over half a mile from Notting Hill Gate tube station to just past Ladbroke Grove; I usually take several leisurely hours to cover this allowing for dodging the crowds, browsing and the odd purchase, plus a pit stop or two for refuelling.

You can start at either end but as it's on a hill most people seem to start from Notting Hill and walk down, and on manically busy Saturdays when the antique market is in town it can be easier to just go with the flow.
Assuming you have picked a Saturday to visit, follow the crowds out of the station past the chocolate-box mews houses (look out for George Orwell's blue plaque) and you're straight into the antiques section of the market, which goes from Chepstow Villas to Elgin Crescent - you can download a useful map here: http://www.portobelloroad.co.uk/getting_there.asp

Serious antique hunters should arrive by 9am latest (NOT 5.30am as some guide books say - none of the traders will be there!) but for those of us who are just there to soak up the atmosphere and idly browse, the market doesn't start closing up until around 4pm so it's a perfect lunchtime destination. Also, don't neglect the arcades off to the left; there are plenty of goodies to be had in there as well as from the stalls.

You can pick up some incredible bargains here. I don't necessarily mean investment pieces (although I'm sure that's possible), more just beautiful, characterful touches for your home that would cost a fortune in a designer shop. I love hunting around for mismatched silver cutlery and I have a friend who has gradually collected a set of gorgeous old fine china cups, saucers and tea plates, all in different patterns and styles, which look truly fabulous together and give simple tea and cake a real frisson of glamour. Amongst the silverware, glass and china there are lots of other wonderfully quirky collectables: antique printers' trays and blocks, metal advertising signs, worn leather footballs and wonderful old tins in all shapes and sizes - the old-fashioned food ones like Homepride, Oxo and Tetley make great kitchen storage!

After Elgin Crescent this segues into a food market which on Saturdays covers not only standard fruit and veg but also artisanal breads, cakes and baked goods, olives, flavoured oils, chutneys and relishes etc. If you happen to be here around packing-up time (just after 4pm) the traders are often keen to offload the fresh produce, so you can grab yourself some cut-price treats to take home. This area also offers a wide range of freshly-cooked street food, perfect for a quick energising pick-me-up before heading off down the hill.

The next section of the market, from Talbot Road to the Westway, is more like a standard weekend market with a range of new goods. Quality can vary enormously from stall to stall and you will find everything from 'original' art, jewellery, scarves and rugs to clothes pegs, batteries and watches. Keep an eye out for the regular shops as well though, as Portobello Road is home to some fabulous independent retailers; the rather wonderful Street Sensation website offers you a virtual shop-by-shop walkthrough map here:
http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/ptbello/pb_intro.htm

Look out particularly for the Oxfam Bookshop (172 Portobello Road) - if you are a bibliophile like me, declutter your shelves and drop your preloved  books here, then browse their shop and take home a whole new selection, all for charity. If I lived nearer, this would pretty much be my library. Also well worth a visit is Books for Cooks (4 Blenheim Crescent), which is an unbeatable combo of eclectic cookery book shop and working test kitchen/cafe. As soon as you open the door a waft of baking lures you inside and soon you're sampling the very recipe you're looking at on the page. Genius. They also run workshops on making everything from pasta to sushi upstairs in their demo kitchen - check their website for details:
http://www.booksforcooks.com/

Another fabulous coffee stop is newcomer Casa Nova (140 Portobello Road), which promises 'chocolate and something more'. It delivers on both counts; my coffee was really good, gutsy with a nutty depth that really hit the spot, and arrived with some freshly-baked biscuits drizzled with chocolate. There was an extensive choice of cakes and pastries to go with, as well as a range of delicious hand-made chocolate. For those with a real sweet tooth or in need of comfort, you must try the hot chocolate. It is literally that - like drinking warm melted chocolate, an oddly Willy Wonka-esque experience but highly recommended.

As you near the Westway you start to get into the fashion market. This is a great place to pick up vintage clothing, bags and accessories as well as hand-made pieces from young designers, usually fashion and textile design students; worth it to know you're unlikely to turn up at a party in the same outfit as someone else, and fabulous bragging rights if they were to make it big! Some stalls have a theme, maybe military or evening wear, whereas others are just a treasure chest jumble.

At this time of year it is worth checking out this season's fashion for coats and then rummaging through the racks; basic shapes like the peacoat or riding jacket don't change and you can find a bang on-trend winter coat or two for a fraction of the high street price. The best stuff is under the Westway; the market does continue on and into Golbourne Road but it degenerates into car boot type second hand goods past Cambridge Gardens.

Obviously the market is a tourist attraction but Portobello Road is fundamentally a working market for Londoners and a great Saturday afternoon out; I haven't managed a trip there yet without leaving laden down with fabulous finds. Go, enjoy.

Yours, vintage clad,

Girl About Town xx

The Real Food Market

The South Bank is not a part of London which is short on places to eat; wander along the river in front of the Royal Festival Hall and you'll find plenty of decent enough options. However it's the Belvedere Road/Waterloo station side of the Hall where the serious foodies head for lunch or take-away treasures; the wonderful Real Food Market at the Southbank Centre has increased its usual Friday-Sunday slot this week and is now running every day until 9th September to coincide with the Paralympics and the Unlimited festival.
http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/markets/real-food-market-at-southbank-centre

The concept behind the market is simple; most of us would prefer to eat fresh, ethically-sourced, high-quality food but end up trudging round a supermarket because we don't have the time to find or visit specialist shops - or the spare cash to pay inflated prices. Real Food Markets bring a wide range of carefully-chosen traders together on a site that huge numbers of Londoners and visitors walk past already on a regular basis.

It's a great idea; good for the suppliers as they have a steady stream of potential customers and good for us consumers as we have convenient access to a variety of affordable, top-quality produce.
There's also nothing like the experience of shopping in a market, especially if you love food. Ambling between the stalls, tantalising wafts of dishes being freshly-cooked, tempting displays of exotic pastries, delicate pastel macaroons or glossy seasonal fruit, and the opportunity to talk to the producers themselves. It's fascinating to chat to the stall-holders; knowledgeable and passionate about what they do, they are usually more than happy to explain the difference between their food and its supermarket poor relation and offer samples and tastes so you can experience it for yourself.

The market sells superior versions of the staples of your weekly shop such as artisan breads, cheese, cured meats, vegetables etc. alongside prepared dishes from diverse cultures; paella, curries, hog roast, burgers, pierogi, arancini. . . you're bound to find something that hits the spot.

Those with a sweet tooth will also be spoiled for choice. Brownies or biscuits? Crepes or churros? Artisan chocolate or freshly-made ice cream? Try a bit of everything and wash it down with a hand-pulled espresso or a hot chocolate.

Or how about this for taking pop-up restaurants to another level? Consultant, presenter, writer, chef, restaurateur, music fan and all-round foodie genius John Quilter has a Food Busking pitch at the market; much like the musical version there is no set price, you pay what you think the dish was worth. Usually found coaxing musicians into surprisingly natural and open conversations at festivals via the medium of food, on my visit he was shucking oysters and knocking up a seafood pasta for an appreciative crowd.
http://johnquilter.com/

Come along, support the concept and producers of Real Food, and grab yourself something seriously good to eat.




Yours, newly addicted to Food Busking,
Girl About Town xx