Hackney

This market is an East London staple and has been around forever—but it’s possibly better now than it’s ever been. Saturday mornings belong to Broadway for Londoners living from Hackney to London Fields. Dozens of vendors, stores, and stalls sell something for every taste and budget. Come for breakfast, come for lunch, come for groceries. Food and trinkets aside, this is some of the best people-watching in London.

This was once the casual next door restaurant to husband and wife Sam and Samantha Clark's Exmouth Market hit, Moro, but it has since taken on a life of its own, in many ways surpassing its predecessor, and expanding into this new much bigger space in Hackney. Morito is their take on the tapas bar, with a short but excellent list of wines, sherries, and strong cocktails, accompanied by exquisite small sharing plates of everything from padron peppers, to baked cheese, to traditional tortilla. This isn't your typical taperia, though: All the food comes infused with an extra dose of North African flavor and the vegetable dishes, like their crispy aubergine and beetroot borani, tend to steal the show.

Hidden on a residential street in Canonbury, in an old garage with a beautiful old sign to prove it, Primeur feels eons away from London's bustle. On a warm day, the garage doors open and diners get to watch the evening light filter in while snacking on a fantastic Spanish cheese and sipping on one of the natural, mineral wines on their expertly chosen list. And then dive into the short but perfect menu, which changes daily, so much so that it arrives hastily handwritten. Share a few small plates of their ultra-seasonal fare and watch the world quietly go by outside the garage doors. For large groups, there's a private dining room downstairs in the wine cave.

A passion project through and through for everyone involved in this fantastic bakery, E5 is way ahead of the curve, using local, organic flours to bake incredible sourdough country breads, ryes, and perfect pastries. The guys behind E5, founder Ben McKinnon and head baker Eyal Schwartz are both in their second career, having left the sustainability business and neuroscience worlds to delve deep into ancient grains and wild yeasts. What's come out of their impulsive career move is bread that has a cult following among foodies, and a bustling, jam-packed café. Plus, they're magnanimously sharing the knowledge in their weekly bread baking courses.

Karen Collins is on a mission to cure IBS by way of her now legendary fermented chia teff loaf, which has become a go-to not just for those with a serious condition, but for anyone hoping to improve their digestion. The added bonus is that it makes a perfect slice of ultra-nourishing morning toast. Devotees can pick it up via Frame cafés or by subscription. Operating a totally sustainable, zero-waste policy, Happy Tummy Co. delivers weekly orders by bike.

Every single Sunday this East End street morphs into a sprawling outdoor flower market, packed with stalls of wildflowers and potted plants. Columbia Road itself is a great shopping street for home goods, vintage wares, and delicatessens—all the stores open their doors for market foot traffic.

Claire Ptak, who started her career at Chez Panisse, relocated to London several years ago and opened an Americana-inspired bakery on Wilton Way—a particularly friendly, community oriented stretch in Hackney. We've been known to make the trek out to east London just for her irresistible Ginger Molasses cake.

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Though meat, and generous hunks of it at that, is the main attraction at this Middle-Eastern BBQ joint, the array of pickles and vegetarian side dishes are a major highlight here—the Moroccan Spiced Carrots and Blackened Eggplant are pretty great, just to name a couple. In fact, we'd build a meal out of side dishes alone here. We'd also recommend sharing plates with a group and coming ready for a night out as the cocktails, each with their own Middle Eastern twist, are lots of fun as is the music that ramps up as the night rolls on.

Shop owner Pavel Klimzak left an interior design agency to start his store, and he brought many new brands previously undiscovered in the London market with him. Along with more prolific design labels like HAY and Muuto, Pavel is mixing in exclusives from lesser known but equally innovative studios like La Chance and Atipico. We're impressed.