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Hungry but strapped for cash? We've got you covered with our cheap eats of the week.
Up until only the end of July, Walthamstow Village had almost everything it needed to qualify as the quintessential London yuppy destination: a brewery, a distillery, an organic fruit-and-veg shop, quaint pubs, tapas restaurants and more home decor shops than you can throw an Eames chair at. But it still lacked that special something: a street-food-cumfarmers'- market.
Happily, Walthamstow Village Market has arrived to answer residents' prayers. Itís run by the people behind Dalston Food Market, and if it goes well, it will be here to stay. When we visited on its first day, we found not only gaggles of free-running toddlers and hip boho parents but a varied selection of food and produce.
The street food included haggis toasties from Deeney's, ceviche-style Hawaiian food from Poké, pies from My Pie and Thai food from Yum Jungle. There were cheese stalls, fresh-meat stalls, cured-meat stalls and no fewer than two organic veg stalls. It's every London gentrifier's wet dream. Great food to eat right there on the spot, great produce to take home and cook for little Tabitha and Toby, and a lovely atmosphere.
It makes you wonder how Walthamstow Village ever survived without it. A pot of raw salmon, black rice, avocado and pickled ginger was a perfect weekend lunch. And truly: if you haven't had a Deeney's toastie yet, do it. They use cheddar and caramelised onions as well. Your waistband may not thank you but your tastebuds will. For the market to stay, however, it has got to be a success. So let's hope the locals get behind it. I don't think I can get through another Saturday hangover without a haggis toastie and a sack full of organic beetroot.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Walthamstow's first street food market - hooray!
Walthamstow Village Market is at Henry Maynard School, Addison Rd, E17 9LT.