Chelsea Farmers Market

As all others have stated — it’s not a Farmer’s Market. Just the old location of one (presumably).
We ate at the café-​type-​restaurant. Overpriced and not particularly special.
At the same time, a hilariously bad low-​budget and/​or student film was shooting scenes behind us. Eeeep.

Lets explain how a Chelsea Farmers Market looks like… No — you will not find fresh vegetables and stalls there. Instead the market is formed by different businesses arranged next to each other in a square. If you need to know which restaurant I recommend, I always opt for the Spanish place — where you can eat a proper steak, half a chicken with fries or a big spanish sausage. On a very hot Sunday afternoon we ordered sangria to cool down.
There are two other places I visit. The organic food shop, which has a very deep selection, especially if you look for a special marmalade.
In a white wooden hut you will find a book shop which has a wide selection of manly art, design, architecture and fashion. Here and then I find an interesting book — there is nothing as good as flicking through newly printed books.
This place is ideal to just love and live on a Sunday afternoon. If there is one place I recommend to visit in summer in Chelsea it is this one. I suggest you go there with a group of friends and just chill out. Also, I discovered lots of Greek and Spanish people hang out around there –hot.

When I think of a ‘Farmers Market’, I think stands with fresh, free range eggs, guys slicing ham that they’ve cured themselves and home-​made lemonade stalls. Maybe it’s just me. Due to this long-​held idea I think this ‘Farmers Market’ might be a bit misleading — Chelsea Farmers Market is not a Farmers Market in the true sense of the word. It really is not even a ‘market’ — just a collection of businesses in a pseudo-​market environment.
That aside, it is a gorgeous little place with lots of shops to peruse and local services to get those little tasks done (ie. drycleaning, alterations, etc)/ The supermarket is pricey but has a great organic selection of pretty much everything. Worth a visit if you’re in the area.

A bit of a misnomer, Chelsea Farmers Market is an eclectic collection of small businesses — just off bustling Kings Road — in permanent but shed-​like buildings. While you can find plenty of plants and gardening things at The Chelsea Gardener, as well as a large selection of fruit, veg, meat, breads and other wholesome products at Here (an all-​organic supermarket), you’ll also encounter a pizzeria, an upscale alfresco see-​and-​be-​seen restaurant (The Market Place), an Argentinian restaurant (El Gaucho), a pet grooming/​accessories shop, dry cleaner, bookshop etc etc. It has become a slightly «trendy» destination but is still great for lazy weekend wandering.

I didn’t notice this place for ages even though I passed the entrance twice a day on the way to and from work. It’s something to do with the low, chalet-​style buildings which house the shops, businesses and restaurants — they’re just so un-​flashy, un-​Chelsea.
So in the end I was brought here because someone recommended the alterations place to me I think it’s called Leo’s. It’s run by an old Italian guy, the service is good and he is a big character. Expect to wait in a queue, listening to stories of his grandchildren.
Upon exploration, the other shops in here are also great. I found a rare bound copy of The Book of Tea in the bookshop. I have been looking for one for years, randomly asking places. This is definitely the sign of a good bookshop. The organic /​wholefoods shop is also good, as is the tobacconists and, although all I had was a takeaway sandwich from the restaurant, its was yummy.
I like and miss Chelsea Farmer’s Market, despite the severe lack of real farmers.