During my week off in April (unfortunately timed with the start of the Easter holidays!), I met up with a friend (Katie) in Camden Market – she had a friend (Erin) staying with her from Montana, USA, and wanted to show her as much of London as possible.
We met early and managed to do a full tour of the outdoor and Stables markets before it got too busy, then stopped by Camden Lock in the West Yard for some food. Without showing my age, I remember the food stalls themselves being metal bars hanging large tarp pieces over them, and mostly just Chinese food available – free tasters were shoved in your face as you walked past, trying to decide if you wanted sweet & sour pork or lemon chicken. Now though, they’ve had a glow-up, with multiple businesses offering a wide variety of international street food, and each one has a sturdy wooden structure with a roof that is far less likely to have rain pouring it – don’t worry though, there’s still plenty of free tasters available!
Our American guest was wowed by the choices available, most of which aren’t easily available within her smaller Montana town, so she did struggle to choose – her highlights were The Cheese Wheel (offering freshly made pasta stirred in a giant wheel of Parmesan) and Stakehaus who handed out perfectly cooked bites of steak that turned out to be provided by HG Walter! Erin eventually settled on Funky Dog, choosing one of the specials, which consisted of a classic frankfurter wrapped in melted cheese, topped with crispy onions, pickles and curry ketchup.
I was in Camden on a Wednesday, and as I knew everyone in the office was tucking into their roast, I had to join them in spirit with Yorkshire Burrito, where I opted for the Easter Special – slow-cooked lamb, mint sauce, roast potatoes, stuffing and greens, wrapped in a fluffy burrito-style Yorkshire pudding. While it would never rival Alison’s perfect roast, it was delicious (even if I had to eat it with a fork!).
Katie is used to cooking for her two little girls, so was trying to pick something she wouldn’t usually eat, but she couldn’t resist The Mac Factory and went straight for the perfectly named ‘Hey Mac-Arena’! The portion may look small compared to mine and Erin’s, but it was deceptively filling – smoky chipotle beef chilli con carne, sour cream, jalapeños, and tortilla chips almost covered the mac & cheese!
When we were finished with our mains, we went hunting for the legendary Donut Man, who had been a permanent fixture right by the iconic Camden Lock sign for as long as I could remember and sold HUGE doughnuts for £2 each. Sadly, he wasn’t there when we went, but he has an Instagram so I’m hoping he is still there on weekends! Instead, we popped into Batch’d in Hawley Wharf, which had a ton of Easter treats like the Crème Egg Brookies and Mini Egg Cookie Pizza – Katie bought a Brookie for her girls to share, and while I was tempted to get some Pink Old School Cake, I couldn’t bring myself to pay £3.65 for one slice!
