Billingsgate Market: Wholesale Seafood in Canary Wharf, London

Canary Wharf is one of London’s newer financial districts, filled with office towers and modern buildings. While it doesn’t have the scale of Wall Street, it’s still considered quite modern by London standards. Many major UK banks have headquarters here, and the area has good public services, shops, and plazas.

But I wasn’t here for shopping or banking. I came for Billingsgate Market, a well-known wholesale seafood market in London. Restaurants and supermarkets often buy their stock here, but it’s also open to the public. I heard the seafood was affordable, so I got up early—really early—and took the bus at 5 a.m. to check it out.

Yes, 5 a.m. You read that right. Billingsgate Market opens from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., but most of the good stuff is gone by 6 or 7. Since the Underground wasn’t running yet, I took the bus. (Note: The Jubilee Line runs 24 hours on weekends. Check TRANSPORT FOR LONDON for updates.)

When I saw the big “BILLINGSGATE MARKET” sign, I knew I was in the right place. Right across the street is a public art installation called the Traffic Light Tree—a sculpture about 8.5 metres tall with 75 lights, created by French artist Pierre Vivant. It used to reflect the stock market status but now runs on a random pattern controlled by a microcomputer.

Inside the market, staff in reflective vests help direct people, so it’s easy to find your way. There’s also a large car park if you’re driving. Note: You can’t bring personal shopping carts inside—leave them outside to avoid crowding and collisions.

As I walked in, I was hit by bright lights and the strong smell of seafood. It immediately reminded me of the fish markets back in Taiwan. Boxes of seafood sat on beds of ice, with prices clearly marked in pounds. Wet floors, busy vendors—and instead of Mandarin, everything’s in English, surrounded by locals and vendors.

If you’re hungry, there are a few small cafés offering breakfast, including English and seafood-style options at reasonable prices.

I came with a long grocery list from my friend—prepping for a big Lunar New Year seafood dinner. Since I don’t know much about seafood or their English names, I used Google images to figure things out. Luckily, I still recognized lobsters and crabs!

After spending over an hour browsing and buying, I left with two big bags—probably over 10 kilograms of seafood. Just the crabs alone weighed around 5–6 kg. If you plan on shopping in bulk, bring a cart—or someone strong to help carry everything.

Back home, I unpacked everything:

Crabs: These crabs were bigger than my hand. I bought the smallest ones available, but even those were large. They were alive, but not very active. Still, super cheap—£2.5 per kg. I got 9 for £13.4. We steamed them, and the meat was sweet and fresh, with a bit of natural saltiness. Only downside: the shells were really hard.
Boston Lobsters: I bought two live ones for £24.6 total—also the smallest available. I stared at them so long I even gave them names. Unfortunately, I didn’t know they shouldn’t be kept in freshwater—they died a few hours later 😞 But we were going to cook them anyway. The lobster meat was firm and flavourful, though there wasn’t much to go around since they were small.
Scallops: 12 for £11. A good deal. We cleaned them, added some sauce, butter, and cheese, then baked them. The juice inside made them rich and tasty—definitely a highlight.
Frozen Scallops: 1 kg for £16. I bought these by mistake—meant to get fresh ones. (FYI: Iceland supermarket sells similar ones for £12.)
Fresh Scallops: If you want fresh (not frozen), it’s around £24 per kg.
Squid: 1 kg for £9. I meant to buy cuttlefish but couldn’t tell the difference. Still decent.
White Prawns: 1 kg for £8.5. Lots of stalls sell prawns; some go for £9 or £10 per kg, so it’s worth comparing prices.

That was all I bought—6 types of seafood for a total of £82.5. Since we were feeding 9 people, that’s less than £10 per person—not bad for London. Of course, seafood is still more expensive than in Taiwan. When I showed my dad the prices, he just replied: “About 20% more expensive than Taiwan.”

Here’s what we made for our Lunar New Year feast: Steamed crab and lobster, Vermicelli with white prawns, Creamy scallops, Baked scallops with cheese, Three-cup squid, Stir-fried spinach, Grilled chicken wings, Plus a pot of miso soup with lobster (not pictured).

Wishing everyone a happy Lunar New Year! 🧧🎉

📍Billingsgate Market
Trafalgar Way, London E14 5ST, United Kingdom