Homegirl London’s Food Market Review: Mercato Metropolitano. If you want to meet up with a group of friends in the evening or at the weekend, then check out this massive food market. Situated a short walk from Elephant and Castle station, you can feast on an array of fabulous street food while you relax inside or outside. If you’re looking for London food markets, London food halls or places to eat near Elephant and Castle, head to Mercato Metropolitano.
“Socialise with friends at this amazing food market while you tuck into delicious delights freshly prepared by artisans and independent producers,” Homegirl London
Mercato Metropolitano Food Market
There are so many artisan food stalls here that you can graze all day and not get bored. This makes it a brilliant place to meet up with your mates and satisfy even the pickiest of people (food-wise that is). Get one person to bagsy your table while everyone else goes off to order their grub. Homeboy and I visited just before Christmas when we stumbled upon this place by chance. We returned this time with two more friends who were well impressed.
Food Stalls
On this visit Homeboy and I shared a Venezuelan vegetarian filled arepa from the Guasacaca stand. The ‘Dominoes Arepa’ is stuffed with black beans, white cheese, fried plantains and pico de gallo, which is a salsa (chopped tomato, onion, coriander, hot peppers, etc.). We had this last time, and it got the big thumbs up.
Vegetarian Arepa
We also ate three very cute little veggie tacos from the Mexican Kitchen hatch. These are filled with grilled spinach and mushrooms, white cheese, sour cream and sweet corn. I loved the way they were displayed on a specially designed wooden board.
Vegetarian Tacos
One of our friends ordered herself a pizza which looked yummy, but I decided to give it a miss because there was the promise of churros! Anyway, back to this pizza, it was from La Pizza Napoletana stand. She ordered herself a classic Margherita which was cooked to perfection in a large charcoal firewood oven.
Margherita Pizza
The other food we sampled was a super tasty organic red rice salad with tomatoes, herbs and feta from Il Riso Del Mercato. They specialise in Italian rice dishes cooked in an Italian style. A summer roll made with gluten-free rice paper stuffed with prawns, noodles and fresh herbs plus dipping sauce was also consumed. To polish off, we shared two trays of churros with chocolate sauce from the stand saying Paella, Tapas and Churros.
Churros with Chocolate Sauce
Meat eaters can slurp the beef pho noodle soup from Quintessentially Vietnamese, get sticky with the Kansas City BBQ meats like 16-hour hickory-smoked brisket in a bun or sample some Salsicciamo sausages on skewers. If you like Italian food, you’ll be in heaven with pizza and plenty of pasta options (tortellini, tagliatelle, lasagne, etc.) along with speciality regional offerings. Healthier dishes include the Lebanese wraps and platters.
Cocktail Caravan
Desserts range from tiramisu to Sfingi Sicilian sweet puffs, crepes and gelato. Wine buffs should head to Enoteca, cocktails are on offer, there’s a gin bar, and coffee connoisseurs are catered for, happy days!
Mercato Metropolitano Space and Amenities
The food hall is undercover in an industrial warehouse space which was previously a paper factory. The site is actually owned by Peabody, a London housing association which is run by Mercato Metropolitano who have other markets in Turin and Milan). The core idea of this venture is to create a sense of community while being responsible for the environment. There are plenty of places to sit down so you can enjoy your food inside and outside. Also on site is a cinema and you can get involved in workshops and events hosted on-site.
Mercato Metropolitano Information
To find out more about this food market, go to the Mercato Metropolitano Website. The address is 42 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6DR. It’s a short walk from Elephant and Castle (Bakerloo and Northern Lines) and Borough (Northern Line). Opening times are listed on the website. Make sure you visit. I love it there!
Author: Homegirl London. Photographs: Homegirl London. Thanks: Homeboy and the Mysteries for visiting with me.
