In my last post about our walk in Kensington, I mentioned that the Fun Seekers Meetup Group then proceeded to the Maboneng Precinct for lunch at Market on Main. Maboneng is a rejuvenated inner city neighborhood of Johannesburg, just to the east of the CBD (Central Business District). It is considered to be a young and hip area with a whole host of restaurants, bars, art (both galleries and street) and many unique shopping boutiques. The Market on Main is part of Arts on Main and is held every Sunday from 10am-3pm (there is also a Night Market on the 1st Thursday of the month). Market on Main has been on my Must-Do list since we arrived in Jozi 6 months ago and I was excited to finally get the chance to check this out.

Heading to Market on Main

Street Art in Maboneng

More Cool Art in Maboneng

Market on Main is a gathering of a large variety of both local food as well as design vendors. Upon arriving we immediately took a stroll past the food stalls to scope out the most enticing lunch items. From Paella to Mexican to Ethiopian to tasty sweet treats and much much more, the choice was going to be tough.

Arts on Main Complex

Market Stalls

Fresh Coconuts for Drinks

That’s a Lotsa Paella

Something Meaty

Red Velvet (8???) Layer Cake

Koeksisters (pronounced Cook Sisters). A very traditional and extremely sweet South African dessert. One little bite was enough for me but the Frenchie managed a whole one.

“My” Revenge, I regret not buying this hot sauce but I will be back.

And what did I choose ? Well it was a difficult decision between Mama Mexicana and Little Addis (Ethiopian) but Little Addis won me over with their vegetarian Injera platter. This consisted of 6 different veg items, all served on traditional Ethiopian sponge bread (there is also a non-veg version available). I hadn’t had Ethiopian food in quite some time and while not the best I have ever had (lacked a bit of flavor in some of the items) it was pretty good.

Veg Injera Platter

Market on Main gets extremely crowded so if you are going with a group, it would be wise to get there early to secure seats if you want to relax at a table. There is also a large courtyard and what is really cool is that there are outside staircases and balconies where you can also hang out and watch the crowd below.

View  from the courtyard

And the view from above

Rooftop terrace. People were actually having lunch in that car.

More terraces in the background, such a fun place to hang out

We weren’t much in the mood for shopping but we did take a quick stroll through the galleries and there is one special one I want to mention. This is a project called iwasshot in joburg. You can read more about them on their website, but the principle is to give youths from high-risk neighborhoods the opportunity to learn photography and earn some money. They have done some great work and I think this is a terrific project.

iwasshot in joburg

I really enjoyed our afternoon at Market on Main and I am sure it will not be another 6 months before we get back there again. I found the whole Maboneng Precinct to be lively and colorful and I think this is a great place to visit for tourists and locals alike. I’ll leave you with a few more parting shots of the neighborhood, cheers.

Fox Street in Maboneng

Before I die I want to…

See you soon Maboneng