If you could design the food hall or farmer’s market of your dreams, what would you include? What experiences do you want locals and tourists to enjoy? The smells, the tastes, the sights and sounds – what senses are key? Now imagine that your dream hall is filled with vendors and cuisines from around the world all presented by the local vendors – how many countries would be represented? At Markthal Rotterdam, the Market Hall, one uniquely designed building houses not only luxury apartments but also a large mural “Horn of Plenty” as well as over 100 fresh food stalls and numerous specialty food shops. Your eyes will be fighting your stomach the entire visit.
Lining the inside of the building and spilling out to the sidewalks are restaurants and bars to enjoy the views of the courtyard and market square. Your imagination didn’t dream this much up did it? Now add in a supermarket on the lower level (bring your own bag) and you are set to satisfy any (and all) food cravings at Markthal Rotterdam. It’s best to plan out your visit and wear stretchy pants because there’s just too much to tempt you and you could get full in just a few stalls. The goal is to sample the world’s flavors.
Markthal Rotterdam was opened in 2014 as forward thinking option for a covered food hall. Due to European regulations changing with respect to selling foods outside, the market hall became a great solution. Markthal Rotterdam has an archeological collection on display (I totally missed this exhibit) and they offer guided tours of the market (sign up on their website as the tours are not regularly scheduled).
I’m not even sure where to start (I took over 200 photos!) but the first stall I saw when I entered was the cheese. I realized that this was the middle of the market and I would need to do a circle and then go up/down aisles to get a full understanding of what was on offer. It helped immensely that I had just eaten breakfast on my way to the Rotterdam Cube Houses just yards away so I wasn’t hungry…..at least my stomach said so because my head and heart were dancing with ideas of food…so much food and desserts. Look over there…chocolate…over there custard tarts from Portugal……wait, are they freshly made stroopwafels with nutella?
I spoke with a few vendors (fresh vegetables, oil olive purveyors and the British Pie guy), many of whom have shops elsewhere in the city. Their Markthal Rotterdam stall is a small selection of all of their offerings, if you have time you can visit their shops after the market. While the market was initially designed to serve the local community, folks I spoke with said it’s about 80% tourists (and cruise ship passengers) vs. 20% locals. These were just guesses from their customers and as to why it seemed to come down to “people want to get everything in one place and not go stall to stall”.
As for me, who drives to three supermarkets at home just to get everything, I thought this one place, multiple stalls was much better than my three parking lots, multiple traffic lights and time suck but each culture is different. I wasn’t able to compare costs to see if the foods were more expensive than the supermarket down below. For the most part, the prices seemed reasonable to me, I paid cash (note a few vendors are credit/debit card only) and at no point thought it was expensive.
My Food Highlights at Markthal Rotterdam
Iberian Ham – after my time in Spain, I learned how one can be happy with a just a plate of the thinly sliced ham (and Spanish Cava). I chose a petite sandwich to allow me to leave room for other treats. My attack plan was to sample the market not overindulge at one place.
Portuguese Pastis de Nada – considering I diverted a cruise ship tour in Madeira to the local bakery to find these, chances are anytime I see them, I will eat them. This couple had a simple booth and oven and were turning out fresh custard pastries. I bought a box of two for later.
Olive Oils, Vegetables and Charcuterie at Casa Reinders – in speaking with the founder’s son at Casa Reinder, I learned of the rich history the family has with oils, truffles, mushrooms and other vegetables. He let me sample what I thought was a weed (vegetables are not my forte) but was actually a uniquely thin (and tasty) asparagus stalk.
After having done an olive oil tasting in Barcelona a few years back, I continue to be intrigued by the many types of olive oil, the flavors, the quality and freshness. There are tasting samples at the stand and for tourists (like me and you), small bottles to bring home. Take note of the flavored salts – those are a unique souvenir that you can easily bring home in your suitcase.
The Chocolate Company had so much chocolate, it was overwhelming! As a chocolate addict, there was too much choice, I could not compute. They actually had dairy free chocolate for me (if I was being good that is and we all know I’m bad when it comes to chocolate). The tasting spoons are meant to swirl into a hot beverage but I chose to eat it on its own. With chocolate sauces, truffles, breakaway bars, spoons and other possibilities, you need to add this stall to your visit.
The PieMan Bakery – I was surprised to see an English pie stand in June – those flaky filled treats are best in colder weather and it was his last weekend in the market until the fall. The selection of pies was quite impressive. The fresh ingredients, flaky crusted pies came in a variety of fillings like steak, Thai chicken, lamb, veggie, pulled pork, feta & spinach, curry and a few other flavors for quite a reasonable price. In winter, these would be my go to meal or snack.
Cupcakes & Pastries – somehow, somewhere, my cake sweet tooth was gone during this trip. Normally, I’m all about a red velvet cupcake or other local treat cake. The owner of MoMade makes the cupcakes and desserts for the day, when they sell out, the shop will close. So if you are window shopping the cupcakes to come back later, I would recommend buying your favorite flavor earlier than later. The “American” donut stand made me laugh because I don’t know where one buys those colorful donuts, definitely not at Dunkin Donuts!
Pretty Chocolates – Artistry in chocolate is a tough one – are they really too pretty to eat? My niece would disagree after eating the chocolate high heel treat in London. The shapes and colors are bound to catch your eye and you think they are cookies but are actually chocolate! They are great gifts or special treats for you later in your hotel room, on the train/plane/ship.
Happy Hour (in/outside) Markthal Rotterdam was tempting with the lovely sunny weather. With food and drink specials and bar seating inside and cafes outside, it’s a hard decision to pick just one place. I’d start at the World of Drinks (a liquor store) and go from there!
What country wasn’t represented in Markthal Rotterdam? I’d be hard pressed to figure that out but I welcome you to try. I think they hit all the favorites and introduced me to a few countries I hadn’t visited yet and their cultural foods if I wanted to be adventurous. So go enjoy the market, the food stalls, the specialty shops, indoor and outdoor cafes and happy hours and special events at Markthal Rotterdam. You definitely need a few days to explore it all but if you only have one day then go forth and eat and bring a bag for all the tasty treats to take with you. Remember there are no calories on vacation! At least I keep telling myself that…especially in Rotterdam, quite the surprising food and design city.
