The best eating near Borough Market is on the streets around it. Within two minutes on foot you can have Greek souvla at Agora, southern Thai curry at Kolae, a bistro lunch at Camille or northern Sri Lankan hoppers at Rambutan. Book Oma for a counter dinner. With a little more time, walk to Bermondsey Street for Spanish tapas or towards Bank for Indian barbecue.
The short list
7 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01AgoraSouvla and dips before the lunch rushWalk from Borough Market: about 1 minKind of place: Greek souvla bar, walk-in only
- 02KolaeCrab fat curry when it's onWalk from Borough Market: about 2 minKind of place: Southern Thai, charcoal grill
- 03OmaBooked seats facing the passWalk from Borough Market: about 1 minKind of place: Counter and open kitchen
- 04CamilleTwo-course lunch prix fixeWalk from Borough Market: about 2 minKind of place: French bistro
- 05RambutanEgg hoppers at weekend lunchWalk from Borough Market: about 2 minKind of place: Northern Sri Lankan
- 06JoseCounter tapas without a bookingWalk from Borough Market: about 14 minKind of place: Spanish tapas and sherry bar
- 07BrigadiersPlanned dinner with pre-ordered lambWalk from Borough Market: about 13 minKind of place: Indian barbecue, several rooms
Where can I get a casual lunch right next to Borough Market?
For a casual lunch close to the stalls, go to Agora on Bedale Street or Kolae on Park Street, both a minute or two from the market. Agora is walk-in only and built around pork turning on a rotisserie. Kolae cooks southern Thai food over charcoal, in a coach house under the railway arches.
Agora is downstairs from Oma. Its slow-roast pork is carved and folded into bread with whipped feta or charred greens, and there are dips and puffy flatbreads baked to order. We skip the wrap. Instead we get the souvla with charred flatbread and a pot of smoked aubergine dip, which means more meat per mouthful. The room is full by 12.30, so come before noon or after 2.30.
Agora
Hours: Mon–Wed 12:00–22:30 · Thu–Sat 12:00–23:00 · Sun 12:00–22:00
Address: 4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
Kolae comes from the Som Saa team. Expect coconut curries thick with galangal, proteins grilled over charcoal and serious heat from fermented shrimp paste. The crab fat curry comes and goes with supply, so check whether it’s on before you sit down. The grilled mackerel with turmeric paste is always on the menu and nearly as good. Evenings are loud and joyful. Lunch is calmer.
Kolae
Hours: Mon–Wed 12:00–15:00, 17:00–22:00 · Thu 12:00–15:00, 17:00–22:30 · Fri–Sat 12:00–22:30 · Sun 12:00–21:00
Address: 6 Park St, London SE1 9AB
Which restaurants by Borough Market should I try?
Oma is a counter with an open kitchen, upstairs from Agora on Bedale Street. On Stoney Street, Camille runs as a French bistro at the market entrance, and Rambutan cooks northern Sri Lankan food a few doors along. Rambutan’s evenings book out weeks ahead.
Oma cooks Greek-inflected food from a global pantry: salt cod XO with labneh, tuna ceviche brightened with citrus ponzu, lamb fat bread that arrives glossy and warm. Try for the counter seats facing the pass, where the team explains each plate. Lunch is a good bet too. Service is less pressured then, and the kitchen takes more risks with the specials.
Oma
Hours: Mon–Fri 12:00–15:00, 17:30–23:00 · Sat 12:00–23:00 · Sun 12:00–22:00
Address: 3 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
Camille is from the team behind Ducksoup and Little Duck and is modelled on a Lyon bouchon: a blackboard menu, mismatched bistro chairs in a narrow room and a mostly French natural wine list. Expect pâté en croûte and mackerel with café de Paris butter. The fish of the day follows the day-boat catch. As for the two-course lunch prix fixe, it’s the best-value eating in this part of London.
Camille
Hours: Mon 17:30–22:00 · Tue–Sat 12:00–15:00, 17:30–22:00 · Sun 12:00–16:00
Address: 2-3 Stoney St, London SE1 9AA
At Rambutan, Cynthia Shanmugalingam cooks Jaffna-style food with London’s seasonal produce: crispy kottu roti scattered with egg, slow-cooked lamb curry, hoppers with coconut sambol. We start with an egg hopper, yolk still runny, sambol on the side. If you haven’t booked, weekend lunch gives you the best chance of a table.
Rambutan
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:00–22:15 · Sun 12:00–21:00
Address: 10 Stoney St, London SE1 9AD
Where is worth the longer walk from Borough Market?
Two places justify the longer walk. Jose, a Spanish tapas and sherry bar about 14 minutes away on Bermondsey Street, takes no reservations. Brigadiers, an Indian barbecue restaurant about 13 minutes away in Bloomberg Arcade near Bank station, is built for a full evening. Go to Jose for drop-in plates and a glass at the counter. Save Brigadiers for a dinner you plan in advance.
Jose Pizarro’s first solo venture has a daily blackboard of tapas and 50 Spanish wines, but at the zinc counter it’s cold manzanilla and jamón that do most of the work. The menu follows whatever the suppliers bring in. The cellar also rotates house sherries by the glass that aren’t on the printed list. For the best shot at a counter seat, turn up at 12 or at 7.
Jose
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:00–22:15 · Sun 12:00–21:00
Address: 104 Bermondsey St, London SE1 3UB
Brigadiers, a JKS restaurant, is modelled on an Indian officers’ mess, with several rooms, a bar and a menu arranged by barbecue method: tandoor, sigri, wood-fired grill and smoker. Seekh kebabs cook over live coals. The centrepiece is the sharing lamb shoulder, which has to be pre-ordered at least 48 hours ahead. Cocktails draw on regional Indian spirits.
Brigadiers
Hours: Mon–Wed 12:00–14:30, 17:00–22:30 · Thu–Sat 12:00–22:30 · Sun closed
Address: 1-5 Bloomberg Arcade, London EC4N 8AR
Which places near Borough Market suit lunch, and which suit dinner?
Lunch is the easier meal around Borough Market. Kolae and Oma are calmer at lunch, Camille’s two-course lunch is the value pick, and Rambutan is easiest to walk into at weekend lunch. For dinner, choose Brigadiers, which is built as a full evening out, or Oma’s counter if you book. Agora and Jose work for either, as long as you beat the queue.
Five of the seven are within two minutes of the market, so if the queue at Agora or Kolae is long, you can switch. Book Oma and Rambutan for evenings, order the Brigadiers lamb two days out, and keep the walk-in places for off-peak hours. Several close between lunch and dinner. Check each card for today’s hours before you set off.
