Wapping Market – Worth Getting up For?

Despite living practically up the road from it (albeit a very long road, that would twist and turn and change names quite a bit), and despite it having been there

for several months now, I have only just got myself to Wapping Market. You see, on weekends, I run on a very night-centric schedule, rarely waking up before noon, and being out of bed, let alone out the door before 1pm is quite an achievement. And Wapping Market (sister to Brockley Market) only runs from 10 am to 2 pm on Sundays.

But I’ve been cutting back on boozing and partying lately, and being up at the crack of dawn (9 am) to fail at buying Glasto tickets meant I was up and at ‘em at a record time of day. I took full advantage by going down to Wapping Market for my breakfast.

I’d heard lovely things about the place. I knew it was fairly small and had a mix of grocery stalls and places from which you would buy food for later consumption, and street food traders for immediate satisfaction. It was a sunny, if slightly brisk day, but warm enough to grab something to eat and sit by the canal to enjoy it.

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The place is indeed on the dinky side compared to other markets (especially as other markets have expanded the more popular they have become, such as Broadway Market and Maltby Street). But it has everything you would expect, or indeed need, from a market – a fresh fruit and veg stall, somewhere to buy bread, somewhere to buy meats – both cured and butchered. And there’s a cheese stall from Mons Cheesemongers. And there’s plenty of booze – both for drinking there and then, from L’Atypique for example, or for taking away, from World of Zing (doing bottled pre-mixed cocktails that sound delicious) Read our World of Zing Interview.

There are a handful of street food traders but they manage to span all tastes covering poultry, burgers, vegetarian and salads. I thought I fancied a chicken sandwich from Spit and Roast but was instead tempted by Bill or Beak’s duck and pork bun. This was, as they say, ‘awesome sauce’. Shredded duck and pork with tempura shallots in a light, sweet oriental sauce squashed into a brioche bun. They add plenty of mint and coriander, which just tastes heavenly fresh in your mouth. Top notch.

It was my first meal of the day though, and I was pretty hungry so I topped this off with a pot of salat oliv’ye (potato salad) from Zakuski. For £3 they absolutely crammed my pot full of potatoes mixed with gherkins, peas and dill, and this was absolutely delicious too. The other salads of aubergine and buckwheat also looked delightful, though the potato one was clearly the most popular, with me getting the last full serving.

Whether or not Wapping Market is worth a visit highly depends on where you’re coming from. If you already live close to one of the more established markets then this one isn’t doing anything new to warrant travelling. But of you live in this neck of the woods it is more than a welcome addition and a worthy destination.
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