Food halls and street food markets in London for a date: where, when and what to expect

Why a food hall works for a date

The hardest part of a first dinner date is often the restaurant: one of you is vegetarian, the other does not eat fish, nobody wants to commit to three courses with someone they have just met. A food hall or street food market removes most of that. You can each order from a different counter, eat at a shared table, and leave after one plate or stay for another. Splitting the bill is simple, because you have each paid at the counter.

There are trade-offs. Food halls are loud at peak times, shared tables mean sitting near strangers, and seating can be scarce on a Friday night. Outdoor markets are weather-dependent, and many close by late afternoon. The places below are chosen because they are durable institutions or organisers with published hours, not because of any single stall; traders change, so this guide names the halls and markets, not what to eat in them.

Hours and details are from each venue's own page, read on 27 October 2026. Where a page left something out, such as the nearest station or step-free access, we say so rather than fill the gap.

Evening food halls: Mercato Metropolitano and Seven Dials Market

Mercato Metropolitano calls itself London's first sustainable community food market and runs three London sites. The largest is at 42 Newington Causeway, SE1 6DR, in Elephant and Castle, which it describes as one of London's largest sustainable community food markets, spanning 17,000 square feet. It is open seven days a week, including bank holidays: Monday to Wednesday 12pm to 11pm, Thursday 12pm to midnight, Friday 12pm to 1am, Saturday 11am to 1am and Sunday 11am to 10pm. Those late Friday and Saturday hours make it one of the few food halls where a date can run on after dinner without moving venue. The page gives no station or access information.

Mercato Metropolitano Mayfair is in St Mark's Church on North Audley Street, W1K 6ZA, a Grade I-listed church that the company says has operated as a food and cultural venue since 2019. It spans three floors, with a rooftop terrace, bars and restaurants in the crypt and a first-floor gallery with more seating. It opens at 9am every day, closing at 11pm Monday to Thursday, midnight on Friday and Saturday and 10.30pm on Sunday. A third site, at Wood Wharf in Canary Wharf, has operated since May 2022; its homepage gave no hours.

Seven Dials Market, on Earlham Street in Covent Garden, WC2H 9LX, describes itself as not just another food hall, with 21 independent traders, two bars and two private event spaces. It is open Monday and Tuesday 12pm to 10pm, Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 11pm and Sunday 11am to 9pm. KERB, the street food organisation, lists it as one of its food halls and says it is open seven days a week. Being in the middle of the West End, it works before or after a show, a gallery late or a walk through Covent Garden. Its page names no station.

• Mercato Metropolitano, Elephant and Castlefood hall

  Elephant and Castle, SE1

  42 Newington Causeway; 17,000 sq ft; open daily including bank holidays, until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

• Mercato Metropolitano, Mayfairfood hall

  Mayfair, W1

  In Grade I-listed St Mark's Church, North Audley Street; food venue since 2019; three floors with rooftop terrace and crypt; opens 9am daily.

• Seven Dials Marketfood hall

  Covent Garden, WC2

  Earlham Street; 21 independent traders and two bars; until 11pm Wednesday to Saturday, 10pm Monday and Tuesday, 9pm Sunday.

Daytime grazing: Borough Market and Maltby Street

Borough Market, next to London Bridge station, is the obvious daytime choice. It is closed on Mondays and open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, with different times over the festive period and bank holidays. The market says visitor numbers can be high at peak times, particularly Saturday afternoons, so a weekday or Sunday gives you more room to talk. Its visit page does not describe seating, so expect to eat standing or walking at busy times.

On access, Borough says its public spaces are on one ground-floor level, with mixed surfaces including some cobbles, and passageways from about 1.5 to 4 metres wide. Accessible toilets with emergency pull cords are in four locations during trading hours, and no radar key is needed. Nearby lines include the Jubilee and Northern, and National Rail.

Maltby Street Market, under railway arches in Bermondsey, says it was established in 2010. Its homepage gives the address as Arch 46, Ropewalk, Maltby Street, SE1 3PA, though the footer also lists 41 Maltby Street. It trades Fridays 5.30pm to 9pm, Saturdays 10am to 5pm and Sundays 11am to 4pm. The Friday evening session is the useful one for an after-work date. The page does not name a station; use TfL's Journey Planner.

• Borough Marketfood market

  Southwark, SE1 · Nearest: London Bridge

  Closed Mondays; Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm; busiest on Saturday afternoons; four accessible toilets.

• Maltby Street Marketstreet food market

  Bermondsey, SE1

  Under railway arches on Ropewalk; established 2010; Fridays 5.30pm to 9pm, Saturdays 10am to 5pm, Sundays 11am to 4pm.

East and south-east: Spitalfields and Greenwich

Old Spitalfields Market publishes separate hours for each part. The street food kiosks on Lamb Street are open Monday to Sunday, 10am to 3pm, so this is a lunch plan, not a dinner one. The traders' market runs Sunday to Friday 10am to 6pm and Saturday 11am to 5pm, the shops 10am to 6pm daily, and the restaurants Monday to Friday 10am to 9.30pm and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm, with each restaurant's own page giving exact times. A street food lunch followed by an hour browsing the stalls under the canopy is an easy weekday date.

Greenwich Market says it was established in 1737 and is open daily from 10am to 5.30pm, with over 120 shops and stalls across two sites. Its street food area, the Cutty Sark Street Food Market, runs from Saturday 14 March to Sunday 29 November 2026 according to the market's page, so it is a spring-to-autumn option with about a month left; the page did not say which days of the week it trades. Pair it with a walk in Greenwich Park or along the river.

• Old Spitalfields Marketcovered market

  Spitalfields, E1

  Lamb Street street food kiosks daily 10am to 3pm; traders' market Sunday to Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 11am to 5pm.

• Greenwich Marketcovered market

  Greenwich, SE10

  Established 1737; open daily 10am to 5.30pm; over 120 shops and stalls; Cutty Sark Street Food Market 14 March to 29 November 2026.

KERB and the weekday lunch markets

KERB describes its work as incubating and accelerating street food businesses. It runs outdoor weekly lunch markets, food halls including Seven Dials Market and Corner Corner in Canada Water, a sports bar in Old Spitalfields Market and a food offer at the National Theatre.

The two KERB pages we read did not agree. The homepage names lunch markets at King's Cross, Paddington, the Gherkin, St Katharine Docks and West India Quay, with no days or times. Its markets page lists different sites with times: Francis Road in Leyton every Saturday 10am to 4pm, with local produce alongside street food; the Gherkin, 30 St Mary Axe, on Thursdays 11.30am to 2pm; Fleet Place near Blackfriars on Tuesdays to Thursdays 11.30am to 2.30pm; Cowcross Yards in Farringdon on Wednesdays and Thursdays 11.30am to 2.30pm; and White City Place in summer only. Because the pages conflict, check the market's own listing before you go.

Most of these are weekday lunchtime markets in business districts, with six to eight traders. They suit a lunch date if you both work nearby. For a weekend, Francis Road on a Saturday is the one aimed at a neighbourhood crowd.

Other food halls and street food spaces

Pop Brixton, at 49 Brixton Station Road, SW9 8PQ, describes itself as a creative space curated for local independent businesses and the community, with street food vendors, independent bars and start-ups, and calls itself a driving force for social change in Lambeth. Its homepage gave no opening hours, so check before you go. It sits close to Brixton Village and Brixton Market, covered in our guide to food by neighbourhood.

BOXPARK describes itself as the home of the fan, with street food, live sport and events, and names sites in Shoreditch, Camden, Croydon and Wembley. With live sport as part of the offer, it suits a date if you both follow the sport. Its homepage gave no hours.

Camden Market says it has more than 1,000 shops, stalls, bars and cafés, including North Yard and Hawley Wharf by the canal. The page we read appeared to be an out-of-date notice about reopening, so we give no hours; check the market's site on the day.

• Pop Brixtonstreet food and community space

  Brixton, SW9

  49 Brixton Station Road; street food, independent bars and local start-ups; opening hours not published on its homepage.

• Camden Marketmarket

  Camden, NW1

  More than 1,000 shops, stalls, bars and cafés including North Yard and canal-side Hawley Wharf; hours not confirmed.

Before you go

• Check the day. Borough Market is closed on Mondays, Maltby Street trades only Friday evening to Sunday, and Spitalfields' street food kiosks close at 3pm.
• Go off-peak if you want to talk. Borough says Saturday afternoons are busiest; weekday evenings at food halls are usually easier to find a seat.
• Individual stalls set their own hours and change, so confirm a particular trader on its own page.
• Check access with the venue. Borough lists level public spaces, cobbles and four accessible toilets; Mercato, Seven Dials and Maltby Street pages give no access details.
• Seasonal markets close. Greenwich's Cutty Sark Street Food Market was listed until 29 November 2026, and KERB's White City market runs in summer only.

Questions people ask

Which London food hall is open latest?

Of the ones we checked, Mercato Metropolitano at Elephant and Castle, open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays and midnight on Thursdays. Mercato Mayfair is open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and Seven Dials Market until 11pm from Wednesday to Saturday.

Is a food hall a good idea for a first date?

Often, yes. You can each order what you like, pay separately at the counter and leave after one plate. The trade-offs are noise, shared tables and scarce seating at peak times, so a weekday evening tends to be easier than a Friday or Saturday.

Is Borough Market open on Mondays?

No. Borough Market's own page says it is closed on Mondays, open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, with different times over the festive period and bank holidays.

Where is there street food on a Friday evening?

Maltby Street Market in Bermondsey trades on Fridays from 5.30pm to 9pm. Indoor food halls such as Mercato Metropolitano and Seven Dials Market are also open on Friday evenings, until 1am and 11pm respectively.