a few weekends back charley and i grabbed the opportunity to have a long-overdue catch up in our own neck of the woods for once, and headed up to crystal palace for brunch at a spot that's been on my go-to list for far too long: crystal palace market. i'd booked a table for 1:30 easily enough online, but only realising the breakfast menu finished at 12:30 on a sunday, so we'd have to forego the classic brunch options for their a la carte menu instead. with burgers and a range of seafood options offered, i was happy to give it a try anyway.
i went with the veggie burger - beautifully cooked halloumi, shitake mushrooms, homemade mayo, and a big slice of tomato, with a side of sweet potato fries instead of the standard offering. charley chose the same burger, but with the classic fries option. there was even a side salad alongside the burger, which - for £12 on a very hot sunday in may, i was more than happy to spend on a meal with two sides! especially as i didn't even manage to finish both sides.
in all honesty, the burger was delicious. like, a truly tasty burger. i was surprised, really, as - other than the mayo there was nothing to add any extra flavour to the burger, but the halloumi itself was seasoned perfectly, and paired with the shitake mushrooms, there was enough of a salty, earthy taste going on anyway to not need anything else. the creamy mayo was sweet and the cheese was of course salty, and i think i ate that burger in about four mouthfuls - i couldn't stop eating it. the sides were unremarkable, and i mean, there are only so many ways to describe sweet potato fries, right? they're great.
we were in-and-out of the restaurant in under an hour, totally full of halloumi and happy with our choices, and pleased as punch that we finally got around to trying it out. crystal palace is really upping its game as far as the gastro pub and modern british cuisine culture goes, and it's an area i look forward to spending more time eating my way around, too!
what's your favourite dish from the crystal palace market's menu?
