Resident’s Guide: what locals do in Borough and Southwark
Although Borough in Shakespeare’s days may have been a place of destitution and disrepute, today it has it all: a world-class museum, restaurants and bars, stunning architecture and plenty of quirks in between. It’s a quintessential destination for a weekend amble and an evening out alike. It’s also where our HQ is based, so we’ve got to know the thrills well, and have put together this rundown, a guide to what you can do in Borough and Southwark.
SEE
1. Tate Modern
The modern art museum housed in the former power station opened in 2000 and has since become the sixth most visited museum in the world. And rightly so. Though it has a small and important permanent collection, the Tate Modern is more renowned for its temporary exhibitions: always audacious and sometimes on an enormous scale, from Andy Warhol retrospectives to bird’s-eye-views of art in Weimar Germany. Keep an eye out for the Tate Lates: every last Friday of the month, the museum is open until 10pm, which makes the visit yet more beguiling – and best finished at the terrace bar.
2. Jerwood Space
The Jerwood Foundation is a philanthropic association promoting the arts around the UK, and was established in 1977 by Alan Grieve for the businessman John Jerwood. Jerwood Space is the foundation’s art exhibition centre and hosts a year-round programme, with a strong focus on emerging artists. It’s a low-key gem.
3. Crossbones Garden
The area of London around modern-day Borough and Bankside used to be a rather seedy place until the 19th century – and even then. Many of the residents were poor, single women or prostitutes and it’s believed that their remains lie at the origin of the Crossbones Garden: a post-medieval burial ground for those couldn’t be buried at a proper graveyard. The garden has seen fluctuating interest and often faced closure; today, fortunately, it is well looked after, variously decorated by volunteers and has the support of the Bankside Open Spaces Trust. It welcomes visitors between 12pm and 2pm from Wednesday to Friday.
SHOP
4. Borough Kitchen
Borough Kitchen is the sort of shop that makes you realise you had needs you never even knew of: ‘Of course I should get a cast-iron barbecue’; ‘How did I ever live without this flour dispenser?’; ‘A kitchen without a tajine-dish is no kitchen’. And you needn’t fight the urges – everything here is a fine investment. It is a tour de force of cookware from the best artisans in the UK and beyond.
5. Cubitts
Cubitts plugged the gap in eyewear market by offering fashionable, high-quality glasses in both ready-to-wear and bespoke styles at affordable prices, with every frame made in the company’s King’s Cross workshop. It’s a conscientious brand narrative that, justly, has been a hit with London’s young creatives.
6. Monmouth Coffee Company
Sitting on a vibrant crossroads in Borough Market, Monmouth is a choice place for a flat white and some people watching from one of the benches outside. All the coffee is single-origin – as it has been since the company’s founding in 1978 – and can be bought both ground and whole-bean too.
7. Neal’s Yard Dairy
British cheese – a bit like the isles’ output of wine, say – is still neglected in comparison to its more famous rivals from continental Europe. This is nothing short of a travesty: the UK has a rich cheese heritage, with almost 2,000 variants in existence, their delectable taste surpassed only by their sonorous names – Ticklemore, Ogleshield and Durrus come to mind. Neal’s Yard Dairy has been at the forefront of the culture since 1979. It’s a sensory experience just to pop into the shop. And if you’re feeling lost in all the choice, do ask the knowledgeable staff for a tip – as well as a taste.
Read our feature with Neal’s Yard Dairy
EAT
8. BAO
BAO serves a small, robust and warming menu of Taiwanese classics such as beef short-rib in a rice bun (the famed ‘bao bun’), spicy fried chicken, and glazed and pickled tofu. Although bao buns are ubiquitous and trendy in London nowadays, BAO was the pioneer behind their modern popularity – starting with three friends at an east London market stall in 2013 – and continues to do them best.
Read our feature with chef and co-founder of Bao, Erchen Chang
9. Padella
No rundown of London’s restaurants is complete without Padella: a no-frills offshoot of the Italian restaurant Trullo in north London. Its reputation is equal parts fame – for the creamy cacio e pepe and dangerously well-priced negronis – and infamy – for its excessive popularity and frankly ridiculous queueing system, which could have you waiting several hours for a table: there are no reservations and the lengthy queue outside is merely to put your name down, after which there could be another infinite abyss. (Opt for a weekday lunch to avoid such an outcome.) Still, it’s all water under the bridge once you sit down and hear the sizzle from the open kitchen.
Read our feature with chef and co-founder of Trullo and Padella, Tim Siadatan
10. Anchor & Hope
This dark and cosy pub is more a restaurant than a south London boozer. Scribbled on a blackboard is a regularly-changing menu that blends the finest British ingredients with a wondrous breadth of continental recipes: seven-hour grilled harissa lamb, anyone? It is also surprisingly inventive: on our honour, the snail and bacon kebab is better than it sounds. Those working nearby ought to visit in for a weekday prix-fixe menu.
11. Pizarro
Spanish restaurants abound in London but most are tapas bars and limit themselves to – albeit tasty – simple, slap-up dishes. José Pizarro’s flagship restaurant on Bermondsey High Street, on the other hand, gets to the complex heart of Spanish cooking. The Ibérico pork fillet, sold by weight, is enough to compel a return visit: it’s of such a high quality that it can, contravening all cardinal rules of cooking pork, be served rare.
DO
12. Borough Market
Borough Market is the beating heart of south London. Some come here to shop for hard to find ingredients; some for a hearty lunch at one of the market stalls; and others to simply soak in the cheerful atmosphere. The space is split into two areas: the fresh-produce stalls – girdled by a circuit of bars, restaurants and shops – by the south entrance; and the food market closer to Southwark cathedral, offering everything from Egyptian kushari to Valencian paella.
13. Bridge Theatre
The small, intimate riverside theatre, which opened in 2017, is the venue of choice for those who are after something a little off the beaten track. Unlike its larger rivals, the Bridge Theatre stages newly written plays – with the occasional classic sprinkled here and there – as well as taking gambles on one-actor pieces, whilst still managing to attract big names.
RELATED ON THE MODERN HOUSE
Our guide to Walthamstow: the Wetlands, a neon nirvana and family-run restaurants
Resident’s Guide: a walking tour of Regent’s Canal
Where to shop in Kent and Sussex: the best grocers, delicatessens and farm shops
To market, to market: the best local food markets in London
Resident’s Guide: our area guide to Clifton, Bristol, from architecture to restaurants
A local’s guide to Peckham, from restaurants to galleries
Resident’s Guide: how to spend a weekend in Hampstead
Resident’s Guide: what to do in Camberwell
Resident’s Guide: the best restaurants in Clerkenwell, plus what to see, shop and do
A Resident’s Guide to what to see and do in Bath, Somerset