One of my favourite days at home this trip began with a wander through Brick Lane market. From the dodgy stolen goods section, all the way through to Spitalfields Market, we passed amazing food stalls, great clothes, books, crafts, and more cool kids than you could shake a stick at. It was awesome.
Brick Lane is better known for its nightlife when a million Indian restaurants open their doors and try to lure you in (namely by yelling at you about how cheap their food is, which I’ve never quite understood) to dine. I’d never experienced it by day, but apparently this happens every Sunday.
It was only around 12.00pm as we wandered but the bright sun was so low in the sky that we were walking blindly half of the time.
The sun stays like that in the U.K. during the winter months and there was something so beautiful about it as we meandered through the steam and smoke of food vendors, in and out of shops, the sun in our eyes. I can’t wait to go back.
You might not expect to find a working farm smack bang in the middle of London but that’s exactly where Surrey Docks City Farm is, right on the banks of the river Thames.
We walked for about two miles from my sister’s flat, along the Thames path til we found this gem. A farm! With animals! In London! Consider us charmed.
I loved learning that the herds and flocks are farmed with specific attention to animal welfare – they look happy as larry, running amok in spacious enclosures.
Our primary reason for being there, however, was not to ooh and ahh at goats and donkeys and cute Shetland ponies. Rather it was to eat lunch.
Cafe Frizzante is a modest, completely lovely little cafe on the farm that serves the most spot-on full English breakfast (free range, farm fried eggs, char-grilled English back bacon, char-grilled English sausages, sautéed champignon mushrooms, roasted vine tomatoes with oregano, and buttered granary toast). Bloody hell it was good.
They also have a ‘blackboard menu’ of specials, that change weekly, which on our visit included this spectacular sweet potato, goat’s cheese, and fennel tart, and the heartiest vegetable soup. Rumour has it their roasts are epic too.
We hugely recommend a visit if you live in London or are planning a trip – it would be a wonderful place to take kidlets too!
p.s. the farm relies on donations to keep running. If you want to donate to them, you can do so here.
Borough Market is one of my favourite places to go in London. It can be pretty intensely busy but if you get there early enough you have the run of the land to wander stall to stall trying samples of everything imaginable.
From olive oils, hummus, jams, mustard, olives, and cheeses (we fell head over heels for a Caerphilly [Wales represent!] and so bought it for our awesome hosts since we couldn’t bring it home), to Turkish Delight, bread, quiches, and chocolates. It’s basically a food lovers heaven.
As well as green grocers, fish mongers, butchers, and artisan traders, there’s also an incredible selection of food vendors selling things like curries, hot sandwiches, and pies.
We bought an amazing hot dog from Boston Sausage and a haloumi veggie burger from The Veggie Table which we raved about for days afterwards. I’d also highly recommend Pie Minister (best name ever?) whose selection is epic (they have locations in other parts of the country too!).
I’m just still kind of sad I didn’t get my face around one of those pork pies. I mean look at them!
