The old railway arches of Union Market provide a naturally airy space. The listed building, complete with its ‘to the trains’ sign, conjures up images of whistling steam trains and bustling crowds.
Now, though, the space is home to a food market and restaurant with the focus on traceable, natural and affordable food. There are rows of cheeses, fridges full of turkeys and steaks, and heaving baskets of vegetables, and its proximity to Fulham Broadway station makes it easy to stop off on your way home.
But tucked away at the back there’s also a small restaurant space, serving up produce from the market on rustic wooden tables. As well as a dinner menu, there’s a small-ish brunch menu– just what you might need after a large Saturday night.
The tables are laid with green bottles filled with flowers and organic tomato ketchup and this is definitely not marketing itself as a greasy spoon. For £9 you can have a full English breakfast, with ‘full’ being the operative word. Two sausages straight from the butcher’s table ten feet away, likewise two thick rashers of bacon and black pudding, as well as two fried eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, a hash brown and a stack of toast on a plate the size of a bicycle wheel.
It’s a breakfast and a half.
The meat is very good quality, which is what you’d expect from a place championing organic produce, but the hash brown was very oily which was a bit off-putting. It also came from a packet, which given the standard of the other components was a bit lax.
Very dip-able eggs and tasty mushrooms were also slightly spoilt by cold toast - cold from the off. Saying that, the coffee was excellent, and frankly the issues were minor given how good value this plate of food is. We were full until dinner, and that’s quite a feat.
The menu also boasts pancakes with fruit, eggs benedict, muesli, and a wonderful looking cheese and ham croissant which the table next to us ordered.
It’s clearly a popular place – the staff were run off their feet and turning away customers on a Sunday morning – and it couldn’t be more convenient for the tube.
If you want a decent fry up in this part of London, you could do a lot worse than Union Market, and you can pick up the ingredients for dinner on your way out.
Breakfast for two with coffee is around £20
Rhiannon Bury
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