I've been buying and selling out of London for years now, and people ask me the same question all the time: where do you actually go to find good things? Not the tourist version - the real circuit, the places where dealers themselves shop. Here's my guide if you’re looking to buy things in person in London.
Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road is the front runner for many people, and it's obvious for a reason - it's the largest antiques market in the world, running the better part of a mile and a half through Notting Hill. It's open Monday to Saturday, but Friday and Saturday are when it's at full stretch, with the antiques section concentrated toward the Notting Hill Gate end.
The trade-off with Portobello is volume. You'll wade through a lot of decorative reproduction and general "vintage" to find the genuinely good pieces, and prices for anything eye-catching get tourist-adjusted fast. Go early, go with time to spare, and go knowing roughly what you're looking for - it's not the place for a leisurely browse if you actually want to buy well.
Bermondsey Antiques Market
This is the one most Londoners in the trade will tell you about, somewhat reluctantly, because it's genuinely good. Bermondsey Market runs every Friday, 7am until early afternoon, and it has a serious reputation among dealers - this is where a lot of stock changes hands before it ever reaches a shop window.
Get there early. The best pieces move within the first hour, sometimes changing hands between traders before the market has properly opened to the public. It's not a polished experience - no signage, minimal shelter, cash is still king with a lot of stallholders - but if you want to understand how the London antiques trade actually works, this is it.
Grays Antique Market
Grays, in Mayfair on Davies Street, is a different experience entirely. It's an indoor market of individual dealer stalls under one roof, open weekdays, and it leans toward jewellery, silver, watches and small decorative objects rather than furniture. If Portobello and Bermondsey are about the hunt, Grays is about connoisseurship - the dealers here tend to specialise deeply in one category and know it inside out. Good for building relationships with specialists if you're collecting something specific.
Alfies Antique Market
Alfies, on Church Street in Marylebone, is worth the trip on its own. It's a former Edwardian department store behind a striking Art Deco façade, spread across several floors and around 35,000 square feet, home to somewhere between 75 and 100 independent dealers. It's strong on 20th-century design, decorative art, vintage fashion and lighting - open Tuesday to Saturday. If you only have time for one indoor market, this is the one I'd send people to.
Buying well, wherever you go
A few things I'd tell anyone starting out, regardless of which market they head to:
Ask questions. A good dealer wants to talk about what they're selling - provenance, maker, period, condition. If someone's cagey about basic details, that tells you something.
Look at the condition honestly, not hopefully. A repair or replacement isn't always a dealbreaker, but it should always be reflected in the price, and you should always be told about it upfront. If you are planning to resell then this is going to affect your resell value (or even your ability to sell it on) so keep level headed no matter how much you love it.
Buy the piece, not the story. It's easy to get swept up in a good anecdote about a maker or a previous owner. The piece has to earn its place regardless of the tale attached to it.
If you can't get to the markets
Not everyone has a free Friday morning for Bermondsey, which is exactly why I started Madden & McHugh. I do the market-hopping, fair-visiting and provenance-checking so you don't have to - every piece in our current collection has already been through that filter. It's the same eye I'd bring to a stall at Alfies, just delivered to your door.
If you're after something specific — a particular period, maker or style — get in touch. I'm always sourcing, and I'd rather point you toward the right piece than have you take a punt on the wrong one.