Wood Street Market
Heartwarming shopping
98-100 Wood St, Walthamstow, E17 3HX
Open every Tue/Wed/Thur/Fri/Sat 10am - 5.30pm & every 1st Sunday of the month
Wood Street Market is one of those places where you feel you have been transported back in time. As you exit the station, a mere 5-minute walk away from the market, you will immediately question if you are still in London, as the surroundings feel instead much more like a backdated coastal town. It’s quaint and sweet, with only the one trendy coffee shop housing only a few customers mid Sunday afternoon. An old lady asked us to help her with her bags, there was a quirky shop selling neon signs that I mistook for a club, there was barely anyone around.
The outside of the market looks like a circus tent but cuter, the interior is structured around a playful U-shaped corridor with a number of traders hoping to get lucky with the eager consumers wafting around. The mix up of items here is truly random: it starts with Vintage attire (we’re talking real-deal Burberry at massively discounted prices, not the synthetic jumper shit they try to flog on Brick Lane for £50 and up), then goes onto a music shop, a costume shop, a blind and shutter shop and some bric a brac antique lots. This isn’t the kind of place you go with something in mind, as it is made for browsing, made for those ‘I never knew I even needed that’ purchases - because, let’s face it… you probably don’t.
The traders are all super friendly, keen to tell you about their goods and the history behind them. I made two purchases for the 'in laws' Christmas presents in Rachid’s Moroccan Corner – a mix of beautiful leather bags and fine handmade ceramics. Rachid seemed genuinely overjoyed that I was interested in two of his plates and we had a nice little natter along the way. In a time where traditional retail is changing so rapidly, I’m quite frankly amazed places like this still exist, where you can not only speak to a human being, but exchange jokes, stories and some element of their personality or life.
If that wasn’t enough, you are then met with the Market Taco Café: Homies on Donkeys. Run by a couple of chirpy lads, this places serves seriously good tacos at even better prices: singles for £3, two for £5 and tortilla chips served with guacamole, refried beans, cheese, sour cream and fresh salsa for £3.50. I went for the chicken and pork tacos, whilst Tom went for the pork and shrimp taco, we shared some tortilla chips. Our food was ready in a matter of minutes, despite the fact we could see right into the kitchen and therefore knew it was being freshly prepared. I would recommend the pork and shrimp, as my chicken number was slightly on the dry side. This, however, isn’t due to the meat itself, but instead due to the fact it had so much of it that the sauce couldn’t quite keep up. Generous portions, lovely service, and a truly community feel – Homies on Donkeys was the busiest part of the Market and makes it a reason to visit in itself.
Overall, Wood Street Market was an original and warming experience. I genuinely loathe every trip to Oxford Street I need to make, so usually order online for collection to minimise the impact. However, this in-shop retail experience was delightful: it felt like an adventure, and it felt genuinely special. If you fancy doing something different on the weekend and experiencing something that may not be around for much longer, then I would seriously encourage you to get off Amazon and take a trip to this odd neck of the woods to purchase your gadgets (and tacos) from those who truly deserve it.
OVERALL RATING: ****
http://www.woodstreetindoormarket.co.uk/
