London: Mercato Mayfair food hall

What a great meal we had at the gorgeous Mercato Mayfair!  When my mum first sent me a link to this food hall in an old church, it looked like the sort of stunning instagram photo that is hard to imagine being part of my life.  It joined our long list of plans.  I feel so amazed and lucky to have been there.

We arrived at Mercato Mayfair on a dark rainy night after a morning at Highgate Cemetery, followed by a late lunch at Whiskers and Cream.  It was a busy end to a busy day.  The tall three-story columns on the facade were impressive, as was the entrance hall.

The food hall is run by Mercato Metropolitano.  Their commitment to sustainability is impressive.  It includes supporting small traders, community building, reuseable plates and cutlery, locally sourced food and reducing landfill waste.  As well as running four "markets " (or food halls), there are also cookery classes, community activities and distribution of free meals.  The crypt of the church is a community space for charities and not for profits.

We went past the lobby stalls and down this hallway with a black and white tiled floor, walls of plants and a carved wooden doorway.

Among the plants were memorial plaques such as this one to John Bryant, headmaster, helper and friend.  I could not imagine how he would react to seeing his former church today.

Then finally we were in the church.  I had imagined that people sat at pews and ate but there were tables and chairs where I assume there once were pews.  I love old churches but have never seen one converted to a food hall like this.  Honestly I felt a little conflicted though some might argue that it is consistent with the history of welcoming and embracing the community.  The building with its high arched ceiling and stained glass windows commands awe and admiration.

St Mark's Anglican church was built in the 1820s.  In 1834, Edward Thomas Daniell, an artist associated with the Norwich School of Artists was appointed curate.  During World War II it was known as the American church due to its proximity to the US Embassy and was attended by Dwight Eisenhower, Eleanor Roosevelt.  A royal wedding was held there in 1949.  The marriage of nephew of the reigning King George VI brought the royal family there.  It was a church of aristocrats, artists, foreign statesmen, soldiers and royals.  But in 1974 when the congregation dwindled, it was deconsecrated and fell into disrepair.  Thank goodness the building was listed as significant by Historic England and has found other uses to keep it part of the community, though not everyone was happy.

We wandered around the food vendors downstairs, as we considered what to eat and looked for a seat.  It was really busy downstairs so we headed upstairs.  We passed this bar with impressive backlighting of the bottles.

The bottles were impressive but overshadowed by the beauty of the stained glass window.  The food was interesting but the building was the star.  We looked at the food offerings upstairs and were pleased to find a seat overlooking the downstairs seating.

We also had a great view of the wonderful arches on the blacony opposite us. The downside of sitting upstairs was that we decided we wanted to order from downstairs so there was a lot of walking up and down the stairs.  When we climbed the stairs to look around the balconies, it was the first of five climbs.

Sylvia stayed with our table and I went downstairs to place her orders.  She had quickly decided to have the pasta and pizza.  The pasta counter had fresh pasta set out so people could see the different styles of pasta.  Sylvia had decided on the spinach and ricotta ravioli with sage butter.

Next I ordered her a Margherita pizza which came in a big round.  Note the religious artwork behind the counter.

Before I climbed the stairs for a second time, I headed to the Altar Bar where I bought a Fentimans cola.  I was slightly uneasy about a bar on the altar and even tables to dine on the altar.  Then went back up the stairs with my bottle and two buzzers (which lit up and buzzed when the meal was ready).

I left the buzzers with Sylvia while I headed down the stairs order her a iced matcha latte at the Matcha Metropolitano stall in the entrance hall.  It had some interesting drinks like matcha lemonade, matcha affogato, and matcha beer and food like matcha brownies, matcha cheesecake and matcha cookies.  

While ordering I was asked if I wanted syrup in the latte.  I had to check by text.  Then Sylvia, after confirming no syrup, was texting to let me know that the buzzers were lighting up and making noises to let her know the orders were ready.  So I headed up the stairs for the third time, leaving the matcha people to make the drink.  Now I had a drink, a pasta and a pizza to bring upstairs.  I had to enlist Sylvia's help.  She came with me to collect her iced matcha latte.  I picked up her ravioli and pizza and headed up stairs for a fourth time.

I still had not had a chance to decide what I wanted to order.  I was tempted by the Pad Thai and Malaysian street food.  In the end I went downstairs to Steamy & Co where I chose the Spicy miso ramen with miso mushroom broth, fried tofu, sweetcorn, pickled ginger, spring onions and chilli oil.  Once I had checked it was not too spicy I ordered it along with some Crispy veg fun guo dumplings.

I waited for my order and then took the ramen and dumplings up the stairs for the fifth time.  Finally we had all our food and drinks.  I could now sit and relax and enjoy the view.  And we tasted each other's meals.  Sylvia loved the ravioli.  She said it was one of the best she had ever had.  The pizza had a very thin base with a lovely soft puffy crust.  And she said the iced matcha latte had great flavour.  I loved my ramen.  It had lots of flavour and vegies.  The tofu had a fantastic crispy coating that was softening in the broth.  The crispy dumplings were also really good, though I found the dipping sauce quite intense.

We were too full to try the gelato, so at the end of our meal we had a walk to look around a bit more.  This is another view of the Altar Bar.  The food hall was so busy that it was hard to get a clear view to take photos so taking them from upstairs was quite useful.  And there was the added detail of the balcony designs.

I also took a photo of the beautifully painted altar from upstairs.

We also went to look at the rooftop terrace which was too wet for many people, other than a handful of smokers, to sit there.

I also liked this view of the tables through the arches.

Then we were ready to go and find a bus back to our hotel.  This is an elegant bunch of flowers from the entrance hall florist.  Though each component of the meal was not too expensive, together it was not a cheap meal.  But this was Mayfair, which anyone who has played the traditional London Monopoly knows it is an expensive suburb.  And it was worth the cost to dine in such a grand historic building.

Mercato Mayfair
St. Mark's Church
North Audley St
London W1K 6ZA
Open 7 days a week for coffee and breakfast, lunch, tea and drinks
https://mercatometropolitano.com/