9 Elms Market/ Covent Garden market

How has this not been reviewed yet? Or is it hiding under a different name? 9 Elms Market, or Covent Garden Boot Sale as it is also called, is gangster fabulous. My boyfriend heard that there was a Brazilian food truck there selling genius Pastel, which is like a tasty hot pocket of pastry, deep fried and filled with delicious meats and cheese, so we ventured out to the Sunday market to find it.
This place is genuine South London, proper Londoners going about their business with their families, not yuppies and hipster tourists with massive SLRs. It is completely real and not gentrified and homogenous. We rubbed shoulders with geezers and Del Boys and just people looking for some good jerk chicken. The place is huge with hundreds of stalls selling everything from car boot sale crap, to iPhone cases and flat screen TVs. We passed a pop up auction block with guys selling TVs and sound systems to a baying audience. Looks… uh legal. Everything looked vaguely like it had fallen off the back of a truck, but if you are in need of a TV and have no morals, it’s the place to go.
There’s a lot of food stalls selling some tasty stuff and not the usual fare you are getting at London markets these days. You can get a rack of ribs for 7 quid or a whole roast chicken. How about a fish head or some Jamaican stew? We stuck with the Brazilian Pastel and grabbed a caramel churro to go. I loved this place, it’s a bit dodgy and a bit sketch but if you are sick of the tourists and the too-​cool-​for-​school hipsters, this is a genuine slice of London. A fantastic day out.

the new stuff is fake, I learnt the hard way. Stick to the used items,

The Sunday Market here needs to be seen to be believed. Literally hundreds of stalls ranging from clothing, building equipment, toys, household goods and electronics, bustling with crowds of people seeking out bargains.
On Sunday there’s no food to take home (that’s saved for Mon — Sat, and the market is really a wholesale market then) — though plenty of places to pick up a bite to eat as you wander around — anything from jerk chicken to curried goat to burgers.
It’s a great place to bag a bargain — although as other commenters have said, it’s best to have your wits about you and to use a bit of common sense when buying there.
It can be a bit tricky to find — your best bet is to go to the Sainsbury’s on Wandsworth Road and walk through to the back of the car park, where there’s a little cut-​through to the market. Though WATCH OUT — don’t park in the Sainsbury’s car park or you will find yourself with a fine from the store.
The whole market site is up for redevelopment by the market owners (a planning application is due to be submitted in 2010), and whilst there’s plans for a food market for the public, it looks likely that the Sunday Market in its current form will be no more — go while you can!

I’ve been to this market many times since moving to Vauxhall and have never had any trouble. I like it as it’s huge and fascinating with lots of bargains to be had. Many of the people attending are recent immigrants and there’s plenty of unusual items on sale.
It’s not a food market. I mainly go there for cleaning products, building gear, DVDs and games. Though there’s lots of clothing stalls too. If you do want food then there’s Polish, Iranian, Chinese, British, Carribean and so on scattered throughout (not in any one area).
As with any very crowded area it pays to keep your wits about you. If you’re going to buy something then get the price before handing over cash.
This market used to be good for pirated DVDs but I couldn’t find any when I last visited (1 Mar 2009).
The person who tried emailing the market company. Lots of companies don’t respond to (or even read) email. You should call or write to them with your concerns.

I just reviewed Borough market, saying it’s a great place to take visitors to. This place is too, but right at the other end of the spectrum.
You can get curried goat from the food stands here. It feels like many of the goods on sale are perhaps not as legitimate as they might be. Some of the clientèle are fairly scary. But, you can get some great stuff, and the experience is like being in a far-​flung foreign land.
Think it starts shutting up in the early/​mid afternoon.