When in Borough Market, be sure to pay a visit to these absolute gems for foodies...

Akara

Located on Stoney Street in Borough Yards, Akara is a more relaxed version of its fine-dining sibling, Akoko. Akara specialises in black-eye bean fritters, a street food dish popular throughout West Africa - and an a la carte menu showcasing traditional flavours from the region, with other street food dishes, sharing plates, and barbecued meat and fish. Dishes include labu aged beef, dibi lamb, nokoss sea bream — each seasoned with varying spices used throughout West Africa, from Ghana to Togo to Benin — and roast aubergine dressed in chilli oil and a “signature” rice dish, edesi isip, which originated from southeast Nigeria, and a bean, cucumber and lime salad. Expect a cool, calm and contemporary space, with natural textures of pale wood, exposed brick and white limestone illuminated by the soft glow of moody lighting. 

Kolae

Kolae is a Thai restaurant in Borough Market from Andy Oliver and Mark Dobbie, founders of Som Saa - the cult east London restaurant. Based around a Southern-thai cooking technique where ingredients are marinated in a coconut-curry style paste before being grilled before guests in the open kitchen. Highlights from the menu include: fried prawn heads with turmeric and garlic; kolae mussel skewer with calamansi lime and Southern gati curry of minced prawns and betel leaf. The 75-cover restaurant, is split across three floors, and includes an al fresco courtyard and a plant-laden private dining room at the top of the building. The design blends industrial chic with some exotic foliage. 

Sollip

This low-key Korean-European is from husband and wife team Woongchul Park and Bomee Ki, who met while training at Le Cordon Bleu. She was an expert pastry chef at The Arts Club, he manned the pans at The Ledbury, and – after popping to South Korea to open the first fine dining restaurant on Jeju Island - the couple returned to London to focus all of their attention on Sollip, their first solo venture. The name translates from Korean as ‘pine needle’, an ingredient used to control flames and smoke in traditional Korean cooking). In the daytime, Sollip acts as a Korean grocers selling a small selection of condiments in cutesy glass jars, with products up for grabs including various types of homemade kimchi and some seasonal Jangajji too (a medley of pickled vegetables). In the evening, the space transforms into a restaurant for traditional and contemporary Korean dishes, with some drawing on European influences. Choose from the likes of braised beef short rib with cured cucumber, black truffle and butter rice or opt for fish instead with the catch of the day served in a white beef broth with Chinese cabbage on the side.

Mei Mei

A Singaporean food stall and kitchen counter from the former Pidgin chef. The Singaporean-born chef who competed on MasterChef in 2011, went on to win a Michelin star at the Hackney based restaurant Pidgin. Styled on the Kopi Tiams in Singapore - the dining spaces popular throughout Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia that combine an all-day coffee shop with food vendors - it has just 12 covers for counter-top dining (plus grab & go options) from an open-plan kitchen, where you can watch the chefs at work. On the menu, Hainanese chicken rice takes pride of place as well as some of Elizabeth’s signatures like the ox cheek rendang curry and nasi lemak, a Malaysian breakfast staple. Vegetarian and vegan options are available alongside daily specials. 

Camille

An intimate restaurant serving simple, seasonal French-inflected food, from the team behind the much-loved Ducksoup in Soho and Little Duck in Hackney. The casual bistro-style dining space features a small bar and window counter seating and a terrace facing right onto Borough Market. Camille draws on the down-to-earth atmosphere of a classic bouchon or cave-à-manger in Lyon or Paris. The kitchen is headed up by ex-St John chef Elliot Hashtroudi cooking dishes such as tete de veau schnitzel & dandelion; cep stuffed chicken wing; veal sweetbreads & Montpellier butter and confit leeks & Lincolnshire poacher. Like their other restaurants there's a weekly changing menu of wines by the glass featuring small independent wine-makers with a keen focus on French wines.

Oma - opening Spring 2024

A Greek-inspired new comer from David Carter, the co-founder of the popular Manteca. Oma, which loosely translates as the Greek word for “raw,” is an homage to the “sun-soaked shores and landscapes of the Greek isles,” together with the “bold, distinctive flavours of the Levant.” Found off Bedale Street - discover a daylight-flooded dining room looking out onto the terrace on the left, and into the open kitchen on the right. Design cues are inspired from the rugged landscapes of Greece, colour schemes of eucalyptus, stone and dark wood, and lots of natural materials used throughout. Nick Molyviatis, former Head Chef at Kiln, and Jorge Paredes, Ex-Executive chef at Sabor, oversees an open plan, live fire kitchen, as well as a seafood bar serving crudo, ceviche and tartare. Expect dishes such as hung sheep’s yoghurt with salt cod XO sauce; yellowfin tuna with clementines and aged soy and lamb belly with date molasses amongst classics and clay hot pots. 

Café François - opening Autumn 2024

A modern French canteen drawing inspiration from Parisian cafés, Californian delis, and Montreal bistros - from the Maison François team. Discover a menu of typical, affordable brasserie dishes such as Toulouse sausage with lentils, Vadouvan curry of monkfish, and whole lobster frites for sharing. The two-storey space overlooks Borough Market - on the ground floor is a deli counter and rotisserie, while on the first floor there's an open kitchen, visible through a glass wall, and two additional dining rooms. Both wine and cocktails stick to the café’s broader ethos with international and sustainable wines and classics cocktails.