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Please note, this review refers to an earlier iteration of the Walthamstow Village Market, which has since closed and relaunched as E17 Village Market. Time Out Food & Drink Editors, July 2017.
Up until only the end of July 2015, Walthamstow Village had almost everything it needed to qualify as the quintessential London yuppy destination. Almost. It had a brewery, a distillery, an organic fruit-and-veg shop, quaint pubs, tapas restaurants and more home décor shops than you can throw an Eames chair at. But it was still lacking that certain special something: a street-food-cum-farmers’-market.
Happily, E17 Village Market has arrived to answer residents’ prayers. It’s 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 the brilliant 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, all battling for attention. 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.
Honestly, it was a joy. It makes you wonder how Walthamstow Village ever survived without it, and how it’s taken so long for someone to make it happen. A pot of delicious raw salmon, black rice, avocado and pickled ginger was a perfect weekend lunch. And seriously, if you haven’t had a Deeney’s toastie yet: do it. They put in cheddar and caramelised onions as well. Your waistband may not thank you but your taste buds 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.