Derby Market Hall Review

DISCLOSURE – THIS EXPERIENCE WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST/S FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.

Reviewed by Sheridan Brown

On Saturday 24th May 2025 – at 11am, the newly refurbished Derby Market Hall will reopen its doors to the public. After more than seven years of closure, the grand reopening (almost 159 years, to the day, since it first opened) is the culmination of a £35.1m restoration project designed to breathe new life into this Grade II listed building – and contribute to the regeneration of Derby City Centre. The building was designed by Derbyshire engineer, Rowland Mason Ordish. You might also recognise his work in St Pancras station. Incredible care and attention have been paid to the process of restoration – using heritage materials and trades to ensure that it protects the authenticity of this beautiful building.

Today, along with my sister, I was extremely lucky to be included in a small party to have a tour of the building, and a sneak peek of what would be on offer.

Derby Market Hall is very much part of our growing up story. Weekly visits, along with our mother, involved buying meat, veg and fish, pikelets, hardware and haberdashery items. In 1981, I even had my wedding flowers made up by one of the florists trading there.

We knew our memories of this work-a-day market may be a bit rose-tinted – but we were not prepared for the bold, fresh and innovative re-imagining of this iconic space. And we loved it!

As we entered the building, through Osnabruck Square, we were overwhelmed by the space, light and airiness of venue before us. The beautifully restored ornate iron and glass roof soars above the pale flagstone floor; the lofty windows flood the space with light. From certain positions, the Guildhall clock-tower can clearly be seen through the glass. The iron-balustraded balcony still stretches around each side. Gone are the old tightly packed market stalls – replaced by a much more open plan and flexible space where traditional butchers and bakers, can sit side by side with artisan makers, pop-ups and stylish small traders.

And then there is the food and drink! We were treated to a culinary tour of the world. Arranged in an arc around a central seating area – at the Market Place end of the Hall – there is wonderfully cosmopolitan range of small street-food outlets and bars. Including several award winners, the food outlets provide a myriad of tasty sweet and savoury dishes. I’ve never eaten Venezuelan, West African or Sri Lankan food before – nor sampled masala chai – but I was blown away by the quality and tastiness of the food we were offered.

There were several opportunities to chat with the food traders – and what struck me was their love and passion for the food they made. I really got the impression that these were culinary entrepreneurs and had been cherry picked for the quality of their food and their drive to do well. They were all lovely, and interesting, and I left absolutely rooting for their success.

Near the food court tables was a small stage on which musical performances are to be laid on to entertain visitors. It was really easy to imagine the atmosphere and buzz of the place as people gather to enjoy after work drinks, a girly lunch or a pre-theatre/gig/event meal (Vaillant Live and Derby Theatre are both a 6-minute walk away – and The Quad is 1 minute across the Market Place!) Apparently, you can use the QR code at your table to browse the food and drink menus, order (from multiple outlets) and pay, and be notified by text when your food is ready to be collected.

We also browsed the range of pop up stalls, offering an eclectic range of handmade items. Again the artists and makers loved chatting about their craft and were very happy to show us their wares. There were some lovely unique items on display and I felt that prices were very reasonable.

I was very impressed to see how the building had been adapted to make it fully accessible. From level, step free access, lift between floors, a Changing Places toilet and blue badge parking in Osnabruck Square – all care has been taken to ensure it is a venue that anyone can enjoy.

From our tour I came to understand that the Market Hall has been designed as a multi-purpose, community-centred space. If you were expecting a replication of the old Market Hall, you may be disappointed – but if you can open your mind to a place where retail, food, creativity and community energy can come together – you might, like me, be very pleasantly surprised.

I get the feeling there is still some evolving to do in the way that the space is configured and used – the venue needs to grow into itself. It really can be the jewel-in-the-crown that it deserves to be. And it deserves for us to support it and give it that chance.

Rating: 5/5
Grand Opening: Saturday 24th May at 11am

Opening Times:
Mon – Weds – 8am – 3pm
Thurs – Sat – 8am – 10pm
Sunday – 11am – 3pm

For more information, visit www.derbymarkethall.co.uk