by Lucie Bright
Eat: The Black Lion Farmers’ Market, Hammersmith
Saturday morning strolls by the river in Hammersmith have become even more enticing with the arrival of a farmers’ market at the Black Lion pub, and the transformation of the pub’s skittle alley into a pleasant ‘coffee and pantry’ stop.
The farmers’ market is open from 9am to 1pm every Saturday in the beer garden. In addition to locally made treats, you’ll find produce brought in from Somerset and Cambridgeshire—there’s organic veg from Wild Country Organics; artisan cheese, organic meat, and raw milk from Gilcombe Farm; freshly baked breads, cakes and pies; and beautiful bouquets from Little Lake Flowers. When we visited it was drizzling, but on a sunny day this’ll be a lovely spot to relax at the picnic tables, enjoy a coffee and pick up some ingredients for supper. There’s a small playground across the path, too, where younger children can play while parents enjoy sweeping views of the river.
Skittle Alley Coffee and Pantry is open from 8am to noon Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays, offering freshly ground coffee, fine teas and organic juices—to enjoy at one of their tables or to take away—plus light breakfasts, bread, pantry goodies and cooks’ essentials. They’ve whitewashed and tarted up the long, thin space, and it’s light and airy with lots of bespoke touches, such as the delicate wall-hung plates hand-decorated in Cape Town (and available to buy, should one of the designs catch your fancy). While we waited for our coffees we eyed up the Doble & Bignall ‘bean to bar’ chocolate on the counter, which has wrappers decorated with delicate illustrations of tawny owls, ravens and cuckoos. Don’t forget your shopping bag!
The pub itself is very welcoming to children, who are allowed in at all times (“as long as they’re not drinking,” the lady behind the bar said, perhaps unnecessarily), and as it was raining we stopped off there for a pub lunch. They take their food seriously at the Black Lion. Their meat comes from Macken Brothers in Turnham Green, crab and fish are delivered twice a week from Cornwall by ‘Charlie the Fish’, their gluten-free sausages are made on-site, and their cheese comes from artisan cheesemakers Norbury of Surrey. And that’s not to mention ‘Big Bertha’, the indoor charcoal barbecue oven. But it’s not remotely pretentious, and no one will raise an eyebrow at toddlers pottering about or making a bit of noise. The kids’ menu had two choices when we visited—fish and chips or chicken and chips. This was fine with our party, who wolfed theirs down and particularly enjoyed the ice cream cone that came as part of the deal (honeycomb flavour gets a thumbs up).
So whether it’s a farmers’ market, some posh coffee, a pub lunch or a river walk—or all of the above—that gets your family’s vote on a Saturday morning, the Black Lion’s the place to be.
About the Author:
Lucie is a native west Londoner who lives near Shepherds Bush. She’s a copywriter and would-be novelist with two children, a son and a daughter. When she’s not washing uniforms or forgetting to pay for school lunches, she loves to read books, walk in the park and hang out at charity shops and car boot sales. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.
