Most visitors to the heavily touristed Borough Market would not realize they were walking past a location used in many films in recent years - including Harry Potter.  Adjoining Borough Market is the Market Porter Pub - unique for several reasons - first, in additional to ‘normal hours’ it opens at 6 am - 8:30 am Mon-Fri primarily to serve the real working trade from the adjacent Borough Market, and second, it was transformed into the ‘Third Hand Book Emporium’ in ‘Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban’.

In fact, this area - Stoney Street and Park St - has been widely used for filming and should be visited with this in mind.  These streets were not only used in the Harry Potter film (the building next door to the pub was converted into the ‘Leaky Cauldron’) but they were used in the following films:  “The Young Americans” (with Harvey Keitel), “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells” (a Guy Ritchie film), “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (with Renee Zellweger), “Entrapment”, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” and “Howards End” (with Anthony Hopkins).

The Pub is a ‘real ale’ pub, with a constantly changing variety of small crafted ales.  For those frustrated with the ubiquity of certain beers at the large brewery owned pubs around town, this Victorian street corner pub is a pleasant change.  An upstairs restaurant is open for lunch, with wooden floors and traditional pub feel.  Bar food is also available. One unique way to enjoy the Borough Market area without the tourist crowds is to pre-book (required) their breakfast on a weekday (served from 7am -8am). For £19.95 you get a glass of sparkling wine, and either a full English Breakfast or Eggs Benedict.  Follow this with a walk through the market as it prepares for the day, and then along the southbank for a perfect morning escape (for bookings call: 020 7407 2495).

Pub hours: open Mon-Fri 6am - 8:30 am, and then 11-11pm.  Sat 12 - 11pm, Sun 12 - 10:30 pm.

Located at: 9 Stoney Street, Borough Market, SE1 9AA

Closest tube: London Bridge

(note: the picture of the Third Hand Book Emporium is from www.london-se1.co.uk website).