Food choice was fantastic, got locally produced honey from Herne Hill…read more Staff were great, cakes looked awesome but I dint buy any on this trip

We always come here every time we visit London. We always enjoy everything we buy. Make sure to…read morevisit one of their restaurants.

This is an UH-mazing little hole in the wall stuffed to its rafters with a dizzying array of spices…read more- the names of half I am unable to pronounce. Still, prices are reasonable, the server extremely knowledgable and helpful to the clueless, though she'll happily let you poke around and stay out of her hair. We got some dried jalapeño peppers, a shellfish mix, and what was for me, the greatest find. My favorite tipple of all time is the Bloody Mary and when I literally stumbled upon a tin of Bloody Mary mix, it was as if the heavens had opened and were shoving it in my face. How do you turn down an offering from the universe? The answer - you don't. Now all I need to do is get some tomato and vodka alchemy going...

What an amazing place to go and just explore the world of spices!!!…read more I found this while walking on a Saturday afternoon at Portobello Rd in Notting Hill. Love this place!! There so many things you can possibly buy here - in terms of spices. I would definitely stop by here every time if I had a chance to come back to London. Miss you London!!!

Been here several times and it has everything you could ever want...and more...not to mention 80%…read moreyou've never heard of...fantastic place...only other I know like this, though it's very different and the clue is in the name, is Taj the Grocer in Brighton...and that is also a seriously great place to wander around Both highly recommended!

When you need spices to finish off that dish or perhaps be a key part of that dessert, you…read moreinevitably head to the local grocer and find those jars lining a section of shelves. While it is convenient and serves its purpose, it definitely doesn't match the quality of spices you can find at Spice Mountain. In fact, it is worth it to bring some home with you... Hundreds of jars line the walls of its small little spot in the Borough Market. Each filled with spices, herbs, salts, and much more. Coming from exotic locations from around the world, you can definitely tell the difference in quality and be sure to take it home and start using it right away! From the common to unique, you're bound to find the right spice to add to make that dish your making pop even more.

To my vegetarian friends and friends from California, I recommend that you stop reading this review…read morenow. If you do decide to continue, the reason will soon become clear! Fitz Fine Foods is another of my favourite stalls at Borough Market, the foodie paradise of London. It's located in the Green Market where a lot of my favourite stalls seem to be located The reason this stall gets a whole-hearted 5 stars from me is that it's my supplier of fresh foie gras, which is sourced from France. Whole lobes of liver come vacuum packed and cost £27.50. An indulgent treat perhaps but once you've tasted it seared with a crispy shell encasing the richest and most unctuous melt-in-the-mouth delight, preferably offset with something sweet and perhaps a little sour, you know that it's worth every penny Foie gras is my favourite ingredient in the world and Noel Fitzjohn, the stall owner is only too happy to share his cooking tips with you. One invaluable tip that he gave me was that it freezes very well. If you have any leftover foie gras, he recommends that you slice it and he provides little individual freezer bags to put the slices in. These slices cook up brilliantly from frozen Foie gras is also available processed in tins but the fresh stuff is the best He also sells fresh pates and terrines as well as a line of flavoured mustards. When in season, you'll find fresh wild mushrooms and truffles Truly a shop for the gourmet!

The name says it all!…read more Friendly owners, great fresh vegetables, reasonable prices and everything* you need for your Bollywood Friday night-in. *dance moves not included

It was about seven years ago that I was fully introduced to the wonders and flavours of a truly…read moreauthentic Thai meal. I had gone over to my friends house, and she had brought a load of ingredients from Paya Thai Market to make a Thai green curry - my first ever one. I watched as she laid out herbs that I had never seen - kaffir lime leaves, sweet basil. The vegetables too - I had never eaten baby aubergines, or seen them in supermarkets. The meal was so good that I can still remember the taste of the flavours in my mouth as I sit here. Since then, whenever I have wanted to make a Thai curry, I have come here. My favourite discovery at Paya Thai is the red paste, sold in containers. There are no artificial ingredients in it whatsoever, just chilli's and herbs. I still get the baby aubergines here, as well as big bunches of herbs that are always cheaper then in other supermarkets. It is a well stocked market, and does ingredients from all different regions of Asia, so this place can be visited for plenty of culinary reasons. The food is always reassuringly inexpensive, and on my way out, I always make sure I pick up their jumbo sized bags of Thai crackers!

Anytime I need ingredients for a delicious home-cooked Thai dish, I head to Paya Thai Market…read more I really like the layout of the market. Ingredients common to several Asian cuisines are grouped together (fish sauce, for example). All other ingredients are generally grouped together by cuisine. So for example, coconut milk and Thai curry pastes are in the Thai area, while rice vinegar and panko bread crumbs are together in the Japanese section. The selection of ingredient is impressive. The rice section carries a few different varieties of Thai rice including Jasmine and glutenous rice, and Thai curry pastes, including my personal favorite, panang. Also, you can get a pretty good selection of spices for usually no more than 80p per packet. It's an especially good deal considering Tesco will charge about three times the price for a third of an amount of ingredient. The only downside is that Paya does not accept cards for purchases under £10. So if you're not certain how much you are looking to buy exactly, make sure you have some cash on with you.

Another one-off market, held in celebration of the Kingston Food Festival, this Fairtrade-focused…read moreevent took place on Sunday 14th September. It was a real pleasure - on many levels - highlighting local foodie stars including Riverside Vegetaria (who produced the most delicious aubergine dip, as an introductory taste experience of their restaurant delights);Montezumas also did a roaring trade with white and dark chocolate samples to tantalise the sweet-toothed visitor. Neighbourhood allotment growers were on hand to inform, inspire and offer tastes of their freshly-picked produce. I spent a happy time exploring (and sniffing-out) the wonderful fresh herb stall, with myriad varieties (rare and mainstream) for cooking and medicinal purposes. The chocolate mint and lemon balm were especially fragrant I left with some wonderful oregano, and a pretty chilli plant, to enhance my autumn dishes and add to my herb garden repertoire.

I think Julian Graves needs to shake up its image a bit, at least in the Kingston branch. I don't…read moreknow how they look in the other branches, but this place looks a bit tired and old hat; health food shops are the new meccas, they can be cool if they try, but dear old Julian Graves looks a bit like it's still 1974, when the only people who shopped in health food stores were geography teachers and Tom and Margo from The Good Life. Also, I get slightly confused by what kind of shop it actually is. I have always associated it with health food, but it sells nougat, chocolate buttons and the kind of sweets you would find in a Woolies pick and mix. Of course, it sells the huge bags of dried fruit and nuts that it is known for, and has plenty of special offers. I pick up yogurt mixes here - I am making my own yogurt - just like Tom and Margo, but that is usually it. I tried the goji berries here once and they were not as good as other goji's that I have tried, so for now, I will give it a Must Try Harder grade.

Julian Graves is a bit of a strange one. Ostensibly it appears to be very much a healthy food…read moreoutlet but look a little closer and many items are definitely more naughty than nice on the good nutrition front. I was surprised to find that otherwise healthy soya nuts had several (unnecessary) additives, including MSG. It is a handy place to shop for larger bags of herbs and spices which offer better value than tiny supermarket jars. Also good for a wide range of seeds and nuts. If you can be bothered and want to avoid additives, it's worth checking labels here and visiting regularly as they often have good offers that make their prices more competitive.

I have been using this wonderful family supermarket to buy fruit especially Papya. You feel welcome…read moreas soon as you enter the door and the products they sell are of the best quality. I am pleased to recommend all and everyone to this wonderful business as they in my opinion are providing a valuable service to their local community at very reasonable affordable prices.

A welcome addition to the growing foodie enclave in Norbiton 'village'. Fresh fruit and veg welcome…read moreyou in, forming neat rows outside the pristine new shop frontage. Once inside, authentic middle-eastern aromas assail the nostrils and tantalise the visitor into exploring the premises. I was happy to discover the deep sacks of roasted nuts and seeds and helped myself (using the scoop and bags provided) to a small serving of the copious mixed-combo (including almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, peanuts etc.,), reasonably priced at £6.49 per kilo. Amongst the myriad rows of packaged herbs and spices, I easily found the super-fresh black peppercorns (69p) I was seeking and also grabbed a small pack of sesame seeds (39p). The savoury redolence of various green and black olive varieties will no doubt tempt me in the future, as will the fresh slabs of white feta, in brine, I spotted in the fridge. It's early days, so I'll be interested to see if they keep-up their standards of good looks and freshness.