Broadway Market - People Watching and Brilliant Food
There's a growing set of people who refer to parts of East London as the market district due to the popularity and growth of all kinds of street markets inthe area. Broadway is a hidden gem among a host of pretenders. Well, okay, maybe not so hidden any longer, but still brilliant.
With Regent's Canal at one end, and London Fields at the other, broadway market was a 'high street' from the turn of the last century. A final stopping off point for horses and carriages on their journey in to London from Essex and other points in the East
In the 80s and 90s the street was run down and the community of store owners (some of whom traded here for 50 or more years) was begining to disband. The final straw was when a large property developer wanted to take over and redevelop the street when Hackney council was parcelling off parts of the land in 2005. Of course, that never came to pass (thankfully) due to the valiant efforts of a group of volunteers who staged a dramatic lock in over the winter. More on the history of the market at its wikipedia page.
These days, the area really comes alive on Saturdays, between 11am or so and around 4 in the afternoon, with the street being taken over by market stalls - mostly brilliant food stalls featuring cuisine from all over the word. but there's a smattering of hand made craftsy stalls (think Etsy style) and of course the 'mandatory' hipster cool retro and vintage stalls selling all manner of curiosities from the years gone by (mostly clothes though)
All Photos: Sunil Malkani
More:
See what's what from the horse's mouth so to speak at the broadway market website
Check out location maps, reviews and comments on google local for Broadway Market