Mercato Metropolitano in Elephant & Castle

Elephant and Castle is probably the last place you’d call a foodie destination, but last night I found a reason to head to this forgotten bit of London’s zone 1. Elephant and Castle is now home to a Milan style food market called Mercato Metropolitano.

Mercato Metropolitano is the brainchild of Andrea Rasca, a former economist who was looking for a change of career and felt the world needed more food. The new London foodie market is based off another Italian food market in Milan, which has proven quite popular indeed. I missed the one in Milan when I was there earlier this year, so all the more reason to head to Southwark and have a look.

The market is not inside the shopping centre or near the Elephant & Castle market, which is probably a good thing. I know the area is supposed to be up and coming, but it hasn’t quite upped and come just yet. It’ a wee bit away from the tube and train station towards Borough, straddling the railway arches. It’s kind of made up of three parts; First there is the flowery courtyard, with tables and chairs strewn around and a handful of food trucks. Although the latter comprised a German sausage truck and a French food truck, the vibe was pretty Mediterranean. Or maybe it was the sultry English weather.

On the other side, I found a supermarket stocked with all kinds of Italian goodies; think lots of bread, pasta, jars full of sauces, olives etc. There was a wall with wine bottles stacked to the ceiling and a deli counter with lots of anti-pasti on display.

I walked into another outdoor space where punters were enjoying bright spritzes and bubbling proseccos. I headed to the covered sections where I found more stalls selling everything you could possibly think of. Pizzas, pastas, ice cream, mozzarella salads, basically all things Italian.

There were some coffee vendors, bread stalls and vendors of the alcoholic kind.


I went back to the shop I found a pretty good deal; for 8 pounds I bought a glass of Italian chardonnay and 4 mini plates of anti-pasti. I had some salad with a spicy olive oil and balsamico dressing, meat balls with tomato sauce, grilled veggies and a piadino with cheese and ham.

I went back outside and found a spot at a table. I can wholeheartedly recommend this place, and even more if you love Italian food as much as I do.