Brixton Market

Brixton Market is an indoor shopping hall with various cafes and restaurants. In contrast to the rest of London, expect to find many Latin American and Caribbean joints here. Nothing remarkable, but an interesting thing to check out in Brixton.

I visited Brixton Farmer's Market on a Saturday during a leisure trip to London. I live in Harlem, New York and was wondering about what seemed to be the London equivalent. The market was a very eclectic place to visit with loads of African and Caribbean vendors selling an assortment of jewelry, art and home goods. The multitude of restaurants were also a very welcome find, and having brunch rounded out the visit.

It is obvious that this market is for the locals, as there were many grocery stalls; however, the meat and fish did not look fresh and smelled even worse. The graffiti made this area look run-down. Not very lively compared to other London markets.

We are looking forward to coming to this market. I'd read that it had a lot of different types of food and food vendors. What we found was a lot of the same. A lot of the same type of meat markets, same type of fruit and veg shops. There were a ton of venders selling stuff you'd find at a flea market, designer knock off sunglasses, luggage. We walked the streets of Brixton Market for about 30 minutes and then decided to leave. It was a little bit of a bust because it took about 30 minutes via tube each way from our airbnb. If you're looking for markets with a lot of different booths, check out portobello road market or Maltby Street market.

I'm a big fan of Brixton Market - particularly the covered area known as the Granville Arcade and its indoor maze of fruit and vegetable stalls, butchers, candy shops, vintage clothing stores, hat emporiums, coffee & cake cafes, and more.

In my two visits to Brixton Market so far, I drank incredible spicy ginger juice, ate a fried potato-covered chicken drumstick from the Islander Kitchen, purchased a bottle of Brixton Pound sauce with local Brixton currency, watched a bumblebee paint a little girl's face, helped a friend make a finger puppet, observed a bear pushing a blindfolded man on a wheeled wooden contraption, explored a cool store of cardboard, drooled over pizza fresh from the oven, contemplated the purchase of decadent looking cupcakes and homemade Italian dishes, inhaled the enticing smoky scents from a massive blackened oil drum grill lined with jerk chicken, and vowed to return with an empty stomach.

I'd highly recommend you do the same.

For years I had heard about Brixton being a cool place, but I also used to hear negative things too. Obviously I did not let it stop me from seeing it for myself.

A part of London with a strong Afro-Caribbean presence, I enjoyed myself strolling around the market and streets of Brixton.

Personally I was expecting to see a hive of Black businesses, but there are not much in comparison to Asian and White owned businesses. I got talking to a man who set up a stall selling organic food and he told me that due to soaring prices, many Black owned businesses that were once there before had been priced out and it's led to a subtle form of gentrification now. Sad really, anyway I bought a bottle of ginger and cucumber juice from him which was amazing.

On the way back to the underground station I had two young men calling out to me, but as you brits would say, they were not my cup of tea lol! I also came across some lady preaching in Spanish outside of the underground station and a couple of guys playing steel pans.

Brixton is a very lively place with all sorts of characters and I will go back there again upon my next trip to the UK.

Brixton Market is incredibly vibrant and gives you a nice feeling when you walk through it. The place is buzzing, probably due to the reggae music that is pumping out of the stereos from various stalls.

Basically, if you want meat or fish, then you should definitely go to Brixton Market. There is such a huge selection provided by an abundance of shops and stalls. The market also offers a good range of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The most attractive thing about has to be the selection of African and Caribbean food. For a very reasonably price, you can try some exotic food that you don't see everyday.

This is definitely a market that has a lot of urban grit and lacks pretension, something I find really refreshing.

I first started shopping at Brixton Market in the mid 1990's when I lived here for a couple of years. I went through a period in the mid Noughties when I was a very infrequent visitor. However, I found that towards the middle of last year, as I realised a significant and what appears to be a sympathetic regeneration was underway, I was being drawn back here whenever I had a free weekend in town.


As with all things in Brixton, the scope, location and name of the market is open to all manner of debate, argument and conjecture. In this simple fella's mind, and for the purpose of this short review, I'm talking about the indoor market which is also referred to as the Granville Arcade or more recently Brixton Village.


Many of the stalls that I used to frequent over 10 years ago, particularly those selling quality meat and fish, are still here and are as busy as ever. Fresh fruit and vegetables from around the world are still stacked high on many a stall at prices which put the likes of Borough Market to shame. Wild looking folk, and other more sad heart rending people, still wander through the many walkways; muttering dark thoughts and strange prophesies so in many ways it's just like old times and all the better for it. Good food from the yard can still be had from a number of small outlets and my favourite vendor of salt fish patties looks to be doing good business.


What has changed in the last couple of years is that a number of new independent ventures have started up. These guys are bringing a more modern; some might say a Shoreditch, artisan vibe to the market. Whatever, I'm loving this attempt to incorporate some new life into this wonderful market and to my old jaded eyes it seems to be bearing fruit. For the urban foodie this is fast becoming the place to go to, with a great selection of small sit down places selling top quality food from around the world.


I wandered up the 3 or so miles from Nunhead the other Sunday to catch a movie at the Ritzy to find that not only were a number of stalls on the market open but they were busy, in fact the Federation coffee shop was rammed. To the best of my knowledge the market only ever opened before Monday to Friday and in the day. Sunday opening and in the evening .change soon come?


So apart from all the good old school stuff what's new and getting my Brixton Pound: well the amazing Franco Manca pizza joint needs no more publicity, Rosie and her wonderful deli café is already a local legend, and the Federation coffee shop has already had a four star review from me. If truth be told I would just make a visit and see where your mood and senses lead you; plenty of good places for your lunch or dinner which are still to be splashed across the internet!! My ideal thing is to start with a browse around the collectable stalls, check out the tailoring, upgrade the tuneage, grab a coffee, buy some bread and then agonise over where to have lunch before buying some real meat and veg to see me through the week. By then the sun may be setting and who knows what might happen when you stumble out into Electric Avenue or Coldharbour Lane


Anyway, I generally walk thorough Borough Market on my way to and from work every day and I like it a lot, but it's not the real deal. If you want an evolving, authentic experience of what's happening in London in terms of music, culture and food I would recommend you jump on the Victoria Line and get yourself to Brixton Market. Some might say it's not for the faint hearted but perhaps that's why we love it ..


P.S. When I mention stalls I mean small self-contained spaces which are like a baby shop. In modern money they would be termed a unit!!

Love, love, love the store, stalls, and hawkers of Brixton Market. It's the only 6 blocks in London where I don't constently feel like I am getting ripped off.

Great place for fresh meat, fish, and veg.
You'll be hard pressed to spend more than 20$ for a week's worth of grocery.

I've fallen for Brixton Market. I'm all gooey eyed. I think it's the best market in London.

This has been a strange and slow process.
When I first met Brixton Market, I thought "hmm down at heel".
I felt uncomfortable. Where are my well painted signs? My comforting downlighters? What IS this thing that they're selling me?

But in the two years I lived here I've seen Brixton market's true charms. I want a market where I can get all the worlds vegetables for a pound. Where my lunch can be organic or Columbian, Maderian, bajan, and not aimed a easily seduced tourists. Where a nice man will sell my homemade pickles and I can become an expert on Jamacian Patties. Where I can buy a plastic sock dryer and sourdough bread. Where London's best pizza is next to a chinese supermarket. I want my easy cultural bounderies expanded.

Yup, I'm turning down the overblown charms of Borough, and crazy bed eyes of Camden. These were the easy choices of my youth, when all I wanted was style and a cheap good time. I'm sticking with Brixton, a real reflection of life in London.
Soon it'll be the last true market left. Best get there quick.