By Luke Chapman
Welcome to Petticoat Lane, nestled in the heart of East London. This (not so) hidden gem harbours centuries of history just the other side of the border to the City of London.
Having stumbled across it on the way into the City from an event happening at Toynbee Hall, I just knew we had to come back and give it a true One City visit!
(P.S. If you want to watch a version of our visit, check out our reel.)
History
Petticoat Lane is a name known by most Londoners in some form or another. Its history spans centuries, but still continues to make waves around the city to this day. With its roots being traced back to around 1650, the area is a true testament to London and its changing faces.
The area first became known as a post for trading and selling cheap clothes and goods. Since then, various waves of movement have helped shaped the area, notably in the 70’s where migration from Asia helped to create the unique area surrounding Brick Lane.
Petticoat Lane.
What's there?
The area today is filled with food and drink vendors, as well as being surrounded by a range of shops, and of course, the famous street sellers continuing their history, selling fabrics and clothes at bargain prices! Walk around the area for just 10 minutes and your senses will truly come alive. Trust us, just head there and find out for yourself!
What we got
So, to the food! Head to the food market during the week from around 11 and you’ll be faced with one of the biggest decisions of the day, where to even start.
You’ll find a HUGE range on offer, from Souvlaki and burgers, to kebabs, satay, and sambol; there’s everything here. The area is known for its amazing falafel (we love you, Eye Falafel), but when they’re doing offers for a £3 wrap, why not get multiple things and stock up!
We saw a vegan Ethiopian food stall, a Caribbean jerk shack, a build-your-own-noodle place and more, so what did we end up with…
Well, we headed to Satay Street, checked out the Ethiopian offering, HAD to get a doner wrap, and the Chinese was too tempting to resist too!
Oh yeah… and THE PRICES! We didn’t see a single for thing over £10, and you can easily get yourself filled up for a fiver with some fresh and good quality food.
We had a huge bowl of Ethiopian for £7, a packed doner wrap for £6, a noodle box with chicken for £7 and a satay tofu box for £9. Yes there was only two of us, and yes we couldn’t choose.
The moral of this story, is that you need to get yourself down to Petticoat Lane for the cheapest, freshest and best lunch around the Square Mile!
