Borough Market rewards a visit without a rigid plan. This Borough Market London food tour follows a Saturday route from Monmouth Coffee to Roast, Neal’s Yard Dairy, Bread Ahead and Brindisa, with a duck confit sandwich along the way.

First published on 21 March 2015, the film records a particular moment in the market’s life. It is an archive visit: traders, menus, prices and opening arrangements may have changed since filming.

Arriving at London Bridge

The walk begins near London Bridge station and the Shard before crossing towards the market. Railway lines, covered passages and narrow streets give the approach its character. Once inside, the view fills with produce stalls, counters and people deciding what to eat next.

I visit for three reasons: ingredients to take home, street food to eat while shopping, and the pubs and restaurants around the market. This trip brings those pleasures together through a few old favourites. Even a short shopping list can turn into a much longer lunch.

There are two overlapping parts to explore: the market stalls themselves and the shops, bars and restaurants surrounding them. In the film, Saturday brings the full bustle of traders and visitors. That observation belongs to the 2015 visit, rather than serving as a current opening-hours guide.

Starting with Monmouth Coffee

First comes coffee. Monmouth on the corner of Park Street has a queue stretching outside, but it keeps moving. During this visit, samples help pass the wait. Inside, one counter serves coffee beans and another prepares drinks.

I order a black Americano to carry around the market and choose a bag of whole beans for home. It is a useful beginning to the outing: something for now and something to enjoy through the week.

The same pattern appears throughout the market. A trader can supply ingredients for the kitchen while also preparing something to eat there and then. You can enjoy the visit whether you live nearby or are staying in a hotel with no kitchen at all.

Pork belly and crackling from Roast

After coffee, the next stop is Roast. The film shows its restaurant dining room above the market and the Roast to Go counter below, where roasted meats become takeaway baguettes.

My choice is pork belly and crackling with Bramley apple sauce. It takes the familiar elements of a British roast and puts them into a substantial sandwich to eat among the market crowd. The crisp crackling is part of the appeal.

Choosing cheese at Neal’s Yard Dairy

Next, I return towards Park Street for Neal’s Yard Dairy. A shop full of cheese can be daunting when you know what you enjoy but cannot name exactly what you want.

I ask for one hard cheese, one soft cheese and one blue. The staff ask questions, offer samples and help narrow the choice. Their patience makes it possible to leave with three cheeses I like without pretending to be an expert.

The footage becomes a useful record of the shopping, too. Without it, my explanation at home would be little more precise than “one hard, one soft and one blue”. This is part of the pleasure of buying from a specialist: a conversation can be as useful as a label.

Duck confit and another snack

The shopping pauses for shredded duck confit in a ciabatta roll with a little rocket. The stall sells French produce and, like many traders here, turns some of it into food to eat while browsing.

It is a warming, generous sandwich for a cold day outdoors. By this point, the divide between shopping for dinner and eating lunch has become rather blurred.

Bread Ahead: sourdough and doughnuts

Cheese needs bread, so the next stop is Bread Ahead. The film shows its bakery and market stall, with loaves being sold close to where they are made. I pick up sourdough and doughnuts to take home.

The bakery school also features in the commentary. My girlfriend had enjoyed workshops there and brought home bread and cakes afterwards. That personal connection makes this more than another stop on a list of market names.

A Brindisa chorizo roll to finish

There is still room for one final snack. The route passes Brindisa’s tapas bar and its Spanish food shop before reaching the barbecue counter.

A chorizo roll with peppers and a little salad finishes the food trail. It is another example of a retailer cooking with its own produce, giving visitors a taste of what they might otherwise buy to prepare at home.

A market worth returning to

The challenge is choosing. This visit covers familiar favourites, yet it still leaves plenty unexplored. You could return with a different appetite and follow a completely different route through the same streets.

The market’s roofs and railway arches provide some shelter, but the film also captures the feeling of being outdoors in London. For me, colder weather has its own appeal when there is so much warming food to try.

The final problem is a happy one: I arrive to buy dinner and risk going home too full to eat it. Coffee, cheese, bread and several snacks turn a shopping trip into a day out.