Breakfast in Camden before the market opens at 10:00

The short version: Camden Market opens at 10:00 every day, bank holidays included, according to its own visitor page. Individual traders can vary. That leaves a clear window from about 08:00 to eat something proper first, and the market itself suggests a 09:00 to 10:00 breakfast slot before it gets busy.

Here is how to use it, from the tube end of Camden Town up to Primrose Hill.

Camden High Street: the early end

Camden Town station is the main tube stop, and two cafés almost next door to each other sit on the High Street, both in NW1 0LT.

Fabler, 88 Camden High Street

A blue-fronted, family-run café and bakery. A listing on thatsup.co.uk gives hours of 07:45 to 16:00 daily, which would make it the earliest opener in this guide, so ring ahead or check before you set out. Breakfast recipes, sandwiches and salads are on offer, and the drinks list includes a spirulina latte. Tripadvisor reviewers mention an English breakfast and a poached egg with avocado. If you want a plate of eggs rather than a pastry, this is the first place to try.

Lumi, 82 Camden High Street

Open 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Sunday, says its own site (phone 020 7693 5493). It is a light café with exposed brick that does brunch, coffee and cocktails, and Tripadvisor shows a 4.9 rating from several hundred reviews. Check the menu for what is on that morning. Prices sit in the ££ to £££ band, so it is a sit-down breakfast, not a quick grab.

Chalk Farm Road: opposite the market

The Lost Elephant’s Kitchen, 15 Chalk Farm Road

Directly opposite Camden Market in NW1 8AG, and open from about 08:00 to 18:00 daily according to its website. Breakfast and brunch are served until closing, so there is no race against the clock. The kitchen leans Southeast Asian, with curries and pho on the menu, which is worth knowing if your idea of breakfast is flexible. Reviews also mention a full English here.

GAIL’s Bakery, 1 Dockray Place, Hawley Wharf

Found at Camden Lock in NW8 8QH territory, strictly NW1 8QH, GAIL’s serves sourdough, pastries, cakes and speciality coffee all day, plus a breakfast menu. The counter is clad in Ketley brick. Phone 020 3696 8688 for opening hours before you go, as Hawley Wharf’s shops keep later hours than the market.

Coffee stops on the way

If you only need a flat white, a few small spots come up in café guides: The Coffee Jar at 83 Parkway, One Shot Coffee at 82 Parkway, Guy Gold Coffee Bar at 85 Jamestown Road and Glass Coffee in Buck Street Market on Camden High Street.

If you are not in a hurry: Primrose Hill

Greenberry Café, 101 Regent’s Park Road

About 15 minutes’ walk from the market in NW1 8UR. The Infatuation lists it under places that are perfect for breakfast and brunch, and SquareMeal calls it a stalwart of the area since 2012, with a green awning and gingham tablecloths and viennoiserie for breakfast. Hours are 09:00 to 15:00 on Mondays and Sundays, and 09:00 to 22:00 Tuesday to Saturday. Hardens calls it a local favourite for breakfast if you can get a table, so go early at weekends. Phone 020 7483 3765.

Later, and by the canal

Pritchard & Ure, in Camden Garden Centre on Barker Drive, NW1 0JW, is the late option: its site lists 10:00 to 16:30, Monday to Saturday, and the kitchen runs Wednesday to Sunday only. Best Coffee Guide says Workshop Coffee is the house roaster. It is a coffee-and-a-sit-down stop, not an early one.

The honest bit about the full English

Camden is not heaving with old-school greasy spoons. The full Englishes worth knowing are café versions, at Fabler and the Lost Elephant’s Kitchen. The market’s own breakfast stalls lean towards pastries, muffins and pancakes, and its journal puts it plainly: not a fry-up in sight.

An easy route

• 08:00: breakfast on Camden High Street, at Fabler or Lumi.
• 09:15: stroll up towards Camden Lock.
• 10:00: market opens at Camden Lock Place, NW1 8AF.

Or go the other way: sit down at the Lost Elephant’s Kitchen on Chalk Farm Road and watch the stalls get ready from across the road.