The Caffeine Chronicles: Maltby Street Market

Borough Market is lovely but on Saturdays, no matter what time of year it is, it is very crowded, not helped by unwitting tourists trying to drag buggies and/or suitcases and/or bikes through the mêlée. Fortunately, Borough's less well known little sister, the Maltby Street market, has a lot of the same kinds of vendors but without the chaos. Thus far, anyway. As an added bonus, Maltby Street is even closer to my new abode than Borough. The only downside is that most of the vendors are only open on Saturdays, usually between 9 and 2, so today has been my first opportunity to check it out.

The Little Bread Pedlar and Coleman Coffee

The shops and stalls are located in a series of small industrial estates and tiny warehouse/retail stores located under the railway arches near Maltby Street and Druid Street, running from Tanner Street down to Dockley Road. I headed out in search of Monmouth Coffee (yes, a branch where you don't have to queue for 20 minutes), but was waylaid by The Little Bread Pedlar, a lovely bakery and purveyor of fine caffeinated beverages. On offer this morning, were a selection of pastries and some delicious looking brownies. Although I was planning to bake brownies this afternoon, I couldn't resist. They deliver their sweet treats by bike (natch), and if you've ever had a great brownie in an independent espresso bar in central London, there is a high probability it will have been one of LBP's.

A fine macchiato

In the same unit, Coleman Coffee, a sarth-east London roaster, is served. You can buy bags of beans or ground coffee, as well the usual drinks to take away. I tried the macchiato, of course, and it was great. Rich, creamy and flavoursome. The perfect complement to my brownie, in fact. There is a little room for perching outside the unit, but it was a bit drizzly this morning so I walked on and eventually found Monmouth, tucked away around the corner. It was a refreshing change to see a branch of Monmouth with only four people inside (including the baristas) and I'll definitely back both to pick up some ground coffee and for a Saturday morning macchiato treat.

Other Maltby Street temptations (Monmouth is top-right)

And with a butcher, a baker and an ice-cream maker, among other vendors, there are many other reasons to return to Maltby Street soon.

Coleman Coffee and The Little Bread Pedlar. Unit 5, Dockley Road, London, SE16 (Tube: Bermondsey). Maltby Street website.