Market Halls are the new kids of the block making lots of noise. Having opened a branch in Fulham earlier this year and seeing the massive success that it became, they quickly grabbed up an even bigger space attached to Victoria Station.
Housing over 11 kitchens, a bar and a coffee place across two stories Market Halls Victoria Is a multi-kitchen experience. Plus, according to their website there will be a 100 person drinking roof terrace launching in Spring next year (2019).
Rhys and I managed to make it over on their ‘preview’ day before their official opening and see what all the fuss was about;
How it works:
The concept is simple – Turn up and there is a menu on every table showing you what all the various kitchens offer, Go up to their indicidual stations (which are spread out across the two stories) and order at their counters, receive a little buzzer and return to your table and wait for the buzzer to go off when your foods ready to go collect. Simplepimples!
This is perfect for groups of people that all have different tastes or are in the mood for something different.
Within Market Halls Victoria there is:
Baozi Inn- Serving up colourful dim sum dumplings, Rice & Noodle dishes and various Chinese teas.
Nonna Tonda – Serving handmade pasta including tagliatelle, Rigatoni and a Butternut squash ravioli with sage butter.
Bun Shop- Serving British savoury steamed buns with meat and veggie fillings ( welsh rarebit and mushroom please!)
Squirrel – The resident health food joint that can advise customers on what to order to support their personal health goals with a menu including avocado on toast, wraps, jacket potato’s, smoothies and weekly changing soups/stews.
As well as the above there’s Super Taco’s which serves , you guessed it, taco’s!, Koya Ko serving Japanese udon noodles and small-plate specials, Gopal’s Corner serving authentic Malaysian Roti’s and banana leaf rice dishes, Fanny’s Kebabs with a range or meat and veggie wraps as well as sweet potato fries and various flatbread ‘snacks’, Flanks – a British eatery serving up lots of meat-based dishes using unusual cuts, Kerbisher & Malt serving fresh daily fish and chips and Monty’s deli serving various sandwiches and bagels so, as you can see – LOTS of choice!
What we ate:
The one issue with the multi-restaurant concept is trying to decide exactly what to have! Unfortunately as today was just a special ‘preview’ day for Market Halls Victoria, the beautiful, bright, rainbow steamed dumplings that I’d spotted online and definitely wanted to try weren’t available. Instead we ended up getting an alternative dumpling the ‘ Chengdu Jiaozi- A prawn filling with spinach juice dough.’
Disclaimer- Although I’m plant-based and haven’t eaten meat since 2005 , I do have the very occasional seafood ( I don’t eat a lot of ‘fish’ at all but I do have the occasional Prawn or calamari when out).
The dumplings were served in a sweet-hot oil ‘sauce’. I loved the mix of sweet and spicy although the spice blew my mouth off – BUT, that being said – I don’t handle spice well at all and I’m sure people who love a bit of spice would have been in love! The prawn filling was lovely and simple. There’s nothing worse than getting a dumpling and it being filled with so many herbs and spices that it’s overwhelming for the senses! The simplicity of the prawn filling worked in harmony with the sweet-hot sauce.
As my main I chose the vegan Vegetable & Sambhar banana leaf rice dish from Gopal’s corner which came with two vegetable dish elements, rice and a lentil Dhal. Once again the various spicy elements blew my feeble mouth off but they were all absolutely delicious. The two vegetable dishes comprised of a green bean dish and a second one that I’m not actually sure what it was but it was my favourite element of the meal- If anyone recognises what it is please tell me!
Rhys chose ‘hunters chicken’ from Flanks with a glazed chicken with bacon smoked cheese and a whipped mash. For obvious reasons I can’t tell you how his tasted but he was blown away and says it’s one of the best meals he’d eaten out in a while – especially the fresh home-made ‘proper’ gravy.
Final Thoughts:
I think Rhys and I can both agree that we’ll be back here in the future. The atmosphere was welcoming and the hustle and excitement of the newly-found location was lovely to be a part of. The food was all delicious and the staff were polite and friendly. Although there are a lot of staff milling about ( to clean tables, help with any queries etc.), there was no awkward feeling of being hovered over. I’m excited to see what the other Kitchens have to offer – I especially can’t wait to get my hands on the butternut squash ravioli from Nonna Tonda so I’ll keep you updated!
The actual system of non table-service and having to go up and order food and then go to collect it is always a challenge for me as someone with social anxiety but this is a very friendly environment and makes the experience easier.
In terms of vegetarian and Vegan options – you’ll definitely find something here to try. There isn’t a huge amount of Vegan options in terms of mains but there are a few options at least and hopefully we’ll see more Vegan specials and offerings to come.
Price:
£25.85 (around £13 p/person) for the two mains and dumplings – an average of between £7-10 per main and around £4-6 for small-plates.
To Visit Market Halls Victoria:
Mon-Fri 7am- 11pm, Saturday 10am-11pm , Sunday 10am – 10pm
191 Victoria Street, Victoria, London , SW1E 5NE
https://www.markethalls.co.uk/market/victoria
Till next time,
