Mercato Metropolitano lies in between Elephant Castle and Borough and offers something a little different to your more standard (and perhaps more touristy) food markets. The idea originated from a mercato in Milan and the owners decided to try the concept out in London, opening in September 2016.
Its ethos and culture revolves around high quality, local produce with a huge community feel based on values of sustainability, engagement and craftsmanship. That is reflected in the relaxed atmosphere of the market which seems to be more consumer focused rather than cramming in as many food stalls as possible and not having the room for the customer to actually sit down and enjoy their food and (hopefully) the company!
It is also more than just a food market – it has a cinema, cookery classes and even a new hostel is being built!
The first part of the market focuses on top quality local Italian produce. We tried the Tortellino – handmade pasta from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, Gnocco Fritto with a selection of cured meats (this dish and a bottle of wine is only £23!) and Salsicciamo – 100% meat, Italian sausages from Sicily, also available to purchase in the food market, which are (finally!) a decent healthy sausage.
Moving on into the larger, international market, there was so much choice ranging from Vietnamese, Fish and Fry and Turkish Kebabs to churros and pulled pork! We tried a piccantino Neapolitan pizza cooked in the specially-built pizza oven on site, which was delicious!
We also had craft beer from The Italian Job and Prosecco from Enoteca – a specialist wine bar serving wines from Italy and Europe. There is a huge space outside too, which is just perfect for the summer evenings.
To finish it off, we just had to try the Gelato from Badiani – a gelateria from Florence, Italy, that makes gelato fresh daily at Mercato Metropolitano. Their La Dolce Vita flavour won the London Gelato Festival in 2015 and was utterly delicious with a Buontalenti base, with chocolate sauce and silvers of hazelnut!
Would highly recommend visiting Mercato Metropolitano and can’t wait to return to taste more!
East London Girl 