Camden Market: what to eat, when to go and how to get there
Free to walk into, open every day, and best before the weekend crowds fill Camden Lock Place and Chalk Farm Road.
By Only Camden Editorial
Open daily, 10:00 to 19:00, free to enter. No booking, no ticket, you only pay for what you buy. Camden Market's official site gives its address as Camden Lock Place, NW1 8AF, and says traders are independent businesses, so individual opening times vary.
What it actually is
Camden Market is not one market. Wikipedia describes several adjoining markets, often lumped together as Camden Market or Camden Lock, and lists six distinct ones. The official site covers Camden Market (Lock and Stables) plus Hawley Wharf, which sits at Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AA, beside the Regent’s Canal. Visit London lists vintage, craft and vinyl stores, street food stalls and a microbrewery, and at Hawley Wharf a Curzon cinema.
A bit of history
It started small. On 30 March 1974 a weekly Sunday crafts market near Camden Lock began growing into the large complex of markets you see now. A three-storey indoor market hall designed by John Dickinson opened in 1991 on the site of that first outdoor market. From October 2006 another indoor hall was built in a yard between Camden Lock Market and the Stables Market. A large fire hit Camden Lock Market shortly after midnight on 10 July 2017. The Stables Market is the one with plenty of clothes stalls.
When to go
- For atmosphere: weekends. Sunday has long been the biggest trading day.
- For room to browse: a weekday morning, early.
- For dinner: the Hawley Wharf food halls are listed as open 11:30 to 23:00 daily, and one local guide rates them better in the evening.
One travel blog says the market does not really get going until around midday, so there is no prize for arriving at 10:00 on a Saturday except elbow room. The official page also carries a second set of hours for some venues, so check it before planning around a late finish.
What to eat
The West Yard and Stables end has the densest choice of street food, according to the unofficial Camden Markets guide. Visit London picks out a few:
- Yorkshire Burrito: a Sunday-roast-style Yorkshire pudding wrap. Messy, so find a wall to lean on.
- Chin Chin Labs: liquid-nitrogen ice cream and a “Killer Hot Chocolate”. Pudding sorted.
- Pino’s Warung: Indonesian.
- Dragon Tenders: Caribbean-inspired chicken.
- Zala Grill: Middle Eastern.
The official food page also lists Bunhaus Korean, Pizzagram, Mamas Msemen (Moroccan), German Doner Kebab and Avila London (Venezuelan). Stalls change, so look before you queue.
Budget: one unofficial guide puts quick street food at £6 to £10 and a full meal at £15 to £20. Treat that as a rough guide, not a price list.
Getting there
Camden Town (Northern line) is about five minutes’ walk, and Chalk Farm (Northern line) is about the same. Camden Town is reportedly sometimes exit-only on busy weekend afternoons, so Chalk Farm is the smarter bet, and it is closer to the Stables end. Camden Road is the nearest Overground station. Buses are the 24, 214, 274 and 393.
For after: the towpath
Walk it off along the Regent’s Canal towpath. Camden Lock, Hawley Lock and Kentish Town Lock are all close by, and Camden Lock itself began life as a wharf with stables, just north of the twin Hampstead Road Locks. Check the Canal and River Trust for any towpath closures before you set off.
Official details and hours: Camden Market. More on what is in the area: Visit London. History: Wikipedia.
