Market on Main – not just for hipsters

July 19, 2015 No comments Article

When most people think about going to the Pretoria CBD they see big red stop signs.

Traffic, hooting taxis, people everywhere, no parking signs and mountains of noise instead of real mountains.

Most people wouldn’t go to the city centre to relax on a lazy Saturday morning.

But in the middle of this hustling and bustling is a little gem.

When taking a walk down Helen Joseph street you will come across a sign saying “012 Central”.

Take a walk over the walkway and enter a place that will definitely entice your senses.

According to their Facebook page, Market on Mains goal is “to encourage inner city lifestyle, and provide a relaxed and creative space for makers to trade, and for locals and visitors to spend their weekend leisure time.“

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Entering the market you will faced by a mixture of aroma. About 20 gourmet food stalls with the yummiest food. I recommend going hungry so that you can try more than one dish on the same day.

My favourites are Balkan Burgers and Abrah Kebabrah’s kebab buns.

Balkan Burgers make a fold-over burger – a patty made with real meat, topped with raw cabbage, tomatoes, onions and a special sauce. The cabbage sounds weird but it works really well with the other flavours.

You can check them out at Balkan Burger.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Abrah Kebabrah sells ‘kebab buns’, which, like the name implies, are buns topped with a free range chicken kebab and some yummy sauces, fresh rocket and grilled onions. The staff are also really friendly and offer you free organic iced tea, how can you resist?

Check them out at Abrah Kebabrah.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

Apart from these stalls, you can eat almost anything that comes to mind, from real Mexican tacos to Mozambican prawns to fresh oysters to Indian lamb curry. The choices are really endless.

After looking at all the food and possibly having had made a food baby, you might need something to gulp it all down with. What better choice than Pretoria’s own Capital Craft Beer Academy?

Photo: Andrea Küsel

The atmosphere at Market on Main is really great. The decor is hipstery and modern. But don’t think that only hipsters are allowed here, young and old can have a great time.

There’s a little sitting and dining area with tables made out of rough wooden planks as well as a little lounge area with couches made out of cool drink crates.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

To add to the atmosphere there is a live band entertaining the masses. This week’s edition of Market on Main featured ‘Von Beck’, an indie chill out band.

On their Facebook page they describe their music as “rustic, free and nuances of emotional experiences underline each and every song.”

You can check them out at Von Beck.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

To feed your (possible) shopping addiction, there are also a few pop-up shops where you can buy new and second hand clothing, sunglasses, hats, jewellery and lots more. I saw a really cool Pierre Cardin jacket there if anyone is interested.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

They have really cool bathrooms too.

Photo: Andrea Küsel

The location for the market, 012 Central, has interesting scenes and small details that make the overall look of the place really cool. There’s an outside parking lot with beautiful graffiti.