World’s End Market, despite its name and the feeling of many
Chelsea residents is not at the end of the world, just the end of Chelsea. When
I first moved to London, I actually lived across the street so walking to
Worlds End Market was not only a fond trip down memory lane, it also reminded
me there is an amazing Oxfam near by.
When I arrived at the restaurant Wednesday during lunch, it
was fairly empty but that just meant I had my choice of seat. So I nestled into
the corner near a window and spied the staff kitted out in grey shirts and
burgundy braces. The whole place felt a
kind of hipster/Hoxton, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing when everything else nearby is so Sloaney.
After two seconds into looking at the menu I knew what I
wanted. Buffalo mozzarella with artichoke and pesto to start and the truffle
burger as a main. I tend to have menu blackout when I see cheese and truffle so
I really couldn’t even tell you what else looked good. But here is a picture of the menu anyway.
My starter arrived just as I noticed the music was sounding
a little too W lounge for my tastes, and almost as soon as I thought of it, the
music changed to the song from Romeo and Juliet where Claire Danes and Leo
start flirting so all was forgiven. I probably
would have preferred burrata to mozzarella but it was still fantastic without
being too filling.
I asked for my burger to be medium well and that was my
bad. It came cooked like a brick. I probably should have stuck with the
suggested medium. The burger had a delicious bun and actually only used truffle
oil slightly disappointing if I’m honest. But, 80% of taste is smell, right? I
found the caramelized onions to be too much and far too sweet with the brioche
that it mostly drowned out any truffle or mushroom taste that was left. However,
I was pretty stoked that it came with both fries and salad.
That was, until I had a fry. On a scale of 1 – Fresh
McDonalds fries I’m going to have to give these a 4. They looked fresh cut but
were lip and fairly soggy. The ketchup was essentially marinara sauce. Heinz
and crispy fries are an absolute must if you’re going to serve a burger so
World’s End Market, get on it.
After my meal I had a little walk around to get a better
look at the seafood. Then just about
crapped myself when the lobster I was taking a picture of walked towards me.
The seafood is fresh, I’ll give them that.
Overall, World’s End Market is a nice addition to a
relatively forgotten part of Chelsea. I’m not sure I would go out of my way to
dine there again, but if they sort out the fries, I may give them another
chance.
What to wear: It’s fairly casual, I had on jeans, Marc Jacobs flats and a white t-shirt.
Address: 459 Kings road, London SW10 0LR
Phone:020 7352 2150
To book: http://www.theworldsendmarket.com
Labels: Burger, cheese, Chelsea, hipster, Kings Road, London, lunch, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, seafood, World’s End Market