One of the entrances to the food court takes you right to BAO.
What can you tell us about Market Halls?
If you're unfamiliar with them, they were the one of first in London to really kick off the current crop of food halls, originally starting with a place in Fulham (which is sadly no longer there). The concept remains pretty similar today to the original Market Hall - bring together a group of good traders, either already established restaurants or street food, all under one roof, backed up by bars. Since then, of course, they've grown to add locations on Oxford Street and Victoria while other food halls like Arcade and Seven Dials Market have also proved very successful.
And where's the latest?
Location is everything when it comes to a contemporary food court. Market Halls learned this the hard way with their original Fulham opening, but their second in Victoria could not have been in a better position - directly opposite the entrance to Victoria station. This latest opening follows that approach, opening in a brand new building just beside Paddington station.
Although it's in an incredibly handy position, right now it can be easy to miss it, particularly if your commute takes you directly from the train to the tube (and vice versa). To find it, head out the main Praed Street entrance and you can't miss it at the bottom of this brand new building:
At the foot of this big new development by Paddington, you'll find Market Halls.
It's been a while since we've been out that way, so we didn't even know this huge building was going up. But regardless, it's an extremely handy place either to meet up after work or for a quick bite before getting on the train back home. There haven't been many new openings this side of Paddington (most of the new restaurants have been near the canal) so it's a real game-changer for the area.
What's on offer inside?
There are seven food traders and two bars (one upstairs, one downstairs) it's probably the smaller of the three Market Halls right now, but there's also a lot of room for alfresco dining around here, so we'd be expecting something to happen on the terrace later in the spring.
The traders here all have previous openings, although some have brand new approaches just for this Market Halls outpost. Here's what we managed to try out:
BAO - The Taiwanese restaurant is ever-reliable either as a restaurant or a food stall, so they fit right in here. Various bao buns are available, as is their fried chicken and the set menu of one bao bun, fried chicken and fries for £13.95 is a pretty decent deal (and perfect for lunch). The bubble tea here is also well worth trying.
The classic pork bao bun and fried chicken bao bun, you can't go wrong with these (£9 for both buns).
From the Ashes Parrilla - BBQ specialists From the Ashes have been appearing as pop-ups and residencies across London for a few years. Here at Market Halls, they're trying something new, an Argentinean-inspired grill. Buns are available here (like steak or chicken and chorizo) but we'd strongly recommend the following:
Grilled picanha steak, chilli pickles, chimichurri sauce and fries (£16) - given the limitations of the small kitchens, this was an excellent steak. Top fries too.
Chicken thigh skewers, jalapeno mayo (£5 each) - fantastic skewers and highly recommended (plus you should use that mayo with the chips).
Breddos Tacos - One of the leading restaurants responsible for finally giving London decent tacos, Breddos continue to do great work. Tacos (including baja fish, Yucatan chicken or conchita pork pibil), various cheesy snacks and guac are all available here.
Quesa Birria - 15cm corn tortilla, beef birria, mozzarella, onion, coriander and consommé for dipping (£8) - the must-have option.
Fried halloumi taco with hot honey, coriander, jalapeño, pico de gallo (2 for £9) - the very good veggie option
Black Bear Burger - Black Bear are way up there among London's top burger slingers, easily delivering some of the best in the city. You'll find their classic burgers here and they're also backed up by their sibling venture 20FT Chicken, with fried chicken burgers, wings and tenders. We'd strongly recommend the following burger, but also want to give a special shout out for their excellent slaw.
The excellent miso bacon burger from Black Bear (£11.90)
Farm Girl - If you're after something a little more on the healthy side of things (as well as coffee), the sandwiches and salads at Farm Girl will be what you're after. For us, considering we visited on Pancake Day, there was only one option.
Pancakes with butter and maple syrup (£11) - great pancakes, but we felt they could be a little more generous with the syrup.
But that's not all?
That's all that we were able to make our way through on one visit, but there's more besides. In addition to the above, you'll also find:
Gopal's Corner - The Roti King offshoot serving up Malaysian street food (and you'll also get a front row view of them making the rotis fresh).
Souvlaki Eatery by Opso - A brand new spin-off from the Greek restaurant in Marylebone which has souvlaki, gyros trays, salads and pasta bowls on the menu.
And what about drink?
Market Halls Padidngtoan has a new drinks menu that the other Market Halls will be getting soon, with plenty of options for beer, wine and cocktails. The cocktails start at around £12 with the marmalade martini proving popular on our visit while wines start at £27 a bottle. There are lots of non-alcoholic beer, cocktail and spirit options too.
Overall thoughts
The newest Market Halls continues to do what they do best, bringing together a great and varied collection of food vendors, all at very reasonable prices, backed up by plenty of drink options (and even a live entertainment stage). Given the quality of the vendors, you'll easily find something to your taste here and it's incredibly useful for anyone either close to or passing through the station. This will do very, very well.
More about Market Halls Paddington
Where is it? 1 Paddington Square, London W2 1DL
How to book: Mainly walk-ins, but you can book spaces for six or more online.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @markethalls
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Market Halls. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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