What Is Seven Dials Market?
Opened in 2019 by London-based streetfood innovators KERB, Seven Dials Market is the West End's answer to Mercato Mayfair. An incredible array of vendors from around the world sell delicious produce there, beneath the cast iron beams and brick arches of what once was Thomas Neal's Warehouse.
The building having formerly been used to store bananas and cucumbers, the two sections of the market are fittingly called Cucumber Alley and Banana Warehouse.
Cucumber Alley sells locally produced snacks and desserts made by chefs from India, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and more. Expect to find dumplings, naan, pork buns, waffles, pancakes, soft serve, the list goes on.
Looking for something more substantial? Pop over to Banana Warehouse for a sit-down meal, and maybe a drink or two. Here, you can choose between the tastes of Tel Aviv, Bangkok, New Delhi, Gujarat, the Filipines, Hydrabad and New York, to name a few of the cuisines on offer. And you can enjoy cocktails made using East London liquor and beers brewed at the nearby Gipsy Hill brewery.
To top it off, you can finish your meal with an expertly picked selection of cheeses served off of the world's first cheese conveyor belt, courtesy of Pick and Cheese.
Where Is Seven Dials Market?
Seven Dials Market is on Earlham Street, one of the seven roads sprouting from the area's central monument.
Seven Dials itself was originally designed by Thomas Neale, who was given the land by William III in 1690. It was laid out in triangles so as to minimise rental costs, rent having then been determined by the length of a building's front rather than its square footage.
Originally, the area was meant to have six dials/streets, the design having been inspired by a six-sided star. A seventh was later added however, creating the seven dials we know today.
Over the years seven dials has had mixed fortunes. Neale initially intended it to be a fashionable address for London's wealthy but by the 19th century it had become a notorious slum. So notorious in fact that the central monument was at one point removed to discourage mischief.
Today, Seven Dials is a trendy neighbourhood with many interesting and eccentric shops. It is well worth a visit if you haven't been, and be sure to stop off for a bite at Seven Dials Market whilst you're there.
Interested in finding more places like this? Try one of our Treasure Hunts in London - untangle cryptic clues as a team, as you are taken on a journey to the most unique, unusual and bizarre corners of London.
