Home › Food tours › London
Food tours in London: what to eat and which tour to book
London eats two ways at once. There is the British core: fish and chips, pie and mash, the full English breakfast, the Sunday roast in a pub, sausage rolls and Scotch eggs from a market stall. Around it sits one of the widest spreads of immigrant cooking in Europe: Bangladeshi curry on Brick Lane, Jewish bagels in the East End, Cantonese buns in Chinatown, Turkish grills in Dalston, Caribbean food in Brixton. Markets such as Borough, Spitalfields and Maltby Street are where most visitors taste both sides in one go, and prices are high by European standards, so knowing where to eat matters.
Use this page to decide what to order and where. The dishes and areas below say what each part of town does well and when markets run. The tours are real listings on GetYourGuide and Viator; prices were seen in US dollars in search results and are converted roughly to pounds, so confirm the current price, times and group size on the booking page before paying.
What to eat in London
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish and chips | Battered cod or haddock, deep-fried, with thick-cut chips; usually with mushy peas, tartare sauce, salt and malt vinegar. | Neighbourhood chippies and pubs; market stalls at Borough Market. Takeaway is cheaper than eating in. | roughly £10–14 takeaway, £16–22 sit-down in a central pub or restaurant (about €12–26) |
| Salt beef bagel salt beef beigel | Hot, thick-cut salt (brined) beef with English mustard in a dense, boiled East End bagel; a Jewish East End tradition. | The 24-hour bagel bakeries at the top of Brick Lane. | roughly £8–10 (about €9–12); plain bagels well under £1 |
| Pie and mash pie, mash and liquor | Minced beef pie with mashed potato and 'liquor', a green parsley sauce; old working-class London food, sometimes served with jellied or stewed eels. | The few surviving traditional pie and mash shops in south and east London, such as around Tower Bridge Road and Bermondsey. | roughly £5–9 (about €6–11) |
| Full English breakfast full English / fry-up | Eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, grilled tomato, mushrooms, toast and often black pudding, with tea. | Greasy-spoon cafés across the city, especially in east London and around markets; hotel versions cost much more. | roughly £9–15 in a café (about €11–18) |
| Sunday roast | Roast beef, lamb, pork or chicken with roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, eaten in a pub on Sunday afternoon. | Pubs in residential areas; book for popular gastropubs. | roughly £18–28 a plate (about €21–33) |
| Curry curry (e.g. chicken tikka masala, biryani) | British-South Asian curry is part of everyday London food; the Bangladeshi curry houses of Brick Lane are the best known, but quality varies a lot. | Brick Lane and Whitechapel; also Tooting and Southall for Indian and Pakistani cooking. | roughly £10–18 a main (about €12–21) |
| Sausage roll and Scotch egg sausage roll / Scotch egg | Sausage meat baked in puff pastry; a boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, breadcrumbed and fried. Classic market and pub snacks. | Bakery and pie stalls at Borough Market, bakeries and pubs everywhere. | roughly £3–6 each (about €4–7) |
| Afternoon tea afternoon tea / cream tea | Tea with finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and small cakes. A cream tea is just scones and tea. | Hotels and tea rooms in the West End for the full version; cafés for a simpler cream tea. | cream tea roughly £8–15; hotel afternoon tea usually £50–90 per person (about €60–105) |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Borough Market (Southwark)
London's best-known food market beside London Bridge: British cheese, cured meat, bakeries, oysters, and hot-food stalls with everything from sausage rolls to raclette. It gets very crowded at lunchtime and on Saturdays.
Brick Lane and Whitechapel
The Bangladeshi heart of London: curry houses, sweet shops and grocers, plus the 24-hour bagel bakeries at the north end. Sunday brings street-food stalls in the old Truman Brewery.
Old Spitalfields Market
Covered Victorian market hall in Spitalfields with a ring of food stalls and restaurants; a common starting point for East End food walks.
Maltby Street Market (Bermondsey)
Small weekend market in railway arches along Ropewalk, about 15 minutes' walk from Borough; fewer tourists, good street food and bars.
Chinatown and Soho
Gerrard Street and around for Cantonese roast meat, dim sum and buns; Soho for small restaurants, regional Indian, and late-opening bars.
Brixton
Brixton Village and Market Row arcades with Caribbean, African and other cafés and counters, alongside the street market on Electric Avenue.
Food tours in London compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London: Borough Market Food Tour with 6+ Authentic Tastings | 3 hours | from about £90 per adult (seen as $122) | — | First-timers who want classic British food in one daytime walk. | Check dates |
| London Borough Market Food Tour with 10+ Tastings | 3 hours | from about £100 per adult (seen as $133) | max 10 | Small-group fans; listed as wheelchair accessible. | Check dates |
| Eating London: Borough Market Food Tour with Tastings | — | from about £85 per adult (seen as $115) | — | Early risers who want Borough Market without the lunchtime crush. | Check dates |
| London East End Food Tour: 10 Year Anniversary | 3.5 hours | from about £90 per adult (seen as $121, varies by group size) | small group (size unknown) | First-timers who want food plus East End history and street art; a filling lunch. | Check dates |
London: Borough Market Food Tour with 6+ Authentic Tastings
On GetYourGuide · run by Secret Food Tours
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- from about £90 per adult (seen as $122)
- Included
- 6 British dishes plus a 'secret' dish, including fish and chips and sausage rolls, and British cheeses with cider or local beer.
- Suits
- First-timers who want classic British food in one daytime walk.
- Starts
- Borough Market / London Bridge
London Borough Market Food Tour with 10+ Tastings
On GetYourGuide
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- from about £100 per adult (seen as $133)
- Group size
- max 10
- Included
- 10+ tastings from vendors in and around Borough Market; English-speaking guide.
- Suits
- Small-group fans; listed as wheelchair accessible.
- Starts
- Borough Market area (check listing)
Eating London: Borough Market Food Tour with Tastings
On GetYourGuide · run by Eating London (Eating Europe)
- Price
- from about £85 per adult (seen as $115)
- Included
- Early-access tastings at Borough Market before the crowds, with market history.
- Suits
- Early risers who want Borough Market without the lunchtime crush.
- Starts
- Borough Market
London East End Food Tour: 10 Year Anniversary
On Viator · run by Eating London (Eating Europe)
- Length
- 3.5 hours
- Price
- from about £90 per adult (seen as $121, varies by group size)
- Group size
- small group (size unknown)
- Included
- Tastings in Spitalfields, Brick Lane and Shoreditch, including bagels, Brick Lane curry, fish and chips and a warm crumble, plus a cheese shop and pub stop.
- Suits
- First-timers who want food plus East End history and street art; a filling lunch.
- Starts
- Old Spitalfields Market, Commercial Street (per the operator's GetYourGuide listing)
Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through them TonyPlan earns a small commission — the price you pay is exactly the same.
Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
London street food lives in markets rather than on the pavement: Borough and Maltby Street, the Sunday stalls around Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Brixton. Expect £8–14 for a main-sized portion, card payment almost everywhere, and long queues at lunch. It is the cheapest way to eat well in a costly city.
Sit-down meals
Pubs are the default for British food, especially the Sunday roast; many serve food only at set hours. Popular restaurants book out days ahead at weekends, and a discretionary service charge of about 12.5% is often added to the bill. Lunch set menus are much cheaper than dinner.
Cooking classes
GetYourGuide lists cooking classes in London for scones, pasta, pizza, Mexican and Southeast Asian food, usually 1–3 hours. Few teach British dishes beyond baking, so a scone or baking workshop is the most 'local' choice; check what you will cook before booking.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | £30–45 (about €35–52): café breakfast, market lunch, pub or curry dinner |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | £60–90 (about €70–105): two sit-down meals with a drink |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | £150+ (about €175+): tasting menu or hotel afternoon tea plus a good dinner |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Very easy. Most menus mark vegetarian (V) and vegan (VG) dishes, the South Asian restaurants of Brick Lane, Tooting and Southall have deep vegetarian menus, and markets have plenty of plant-based stalls. Watch for lard or beef dripping in some chips and pastry, and gelatine in sweets.
Halal: Easier than in most European cities. Whitechapel and Brick Lane, Edgware Road, Tooting and parts of east London have many halal restaurants and butchers, and plenty of curry houses and grill shops are halal. Ask in pubs and British restaurants, where pork and alcohol are common.
Gluten-free: Awareness is good: UK law requires allergen information, and staff must tell you if a dish contains gluten. Many places offer gluten-free fish and chips on certain days or with a separate fryer, but ask, because batter and chips often share oil.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Touts outside Brick Lane curry houses offering '20% off' or free drinks to pull you in; the discount is usually on inflated prices and quality varies widely. Ignore street touts, read recent reviews before you go, and compare the menu prices yourself.
- Paying service twice: a discretionary service charge (often 12.5%) is already on the bill, and the card machine then prompts for a tip. Check the bill for 'service charge'. If it is there, decline the extra tip on the card reader, or ask for the charge to be removed if service was poor (it is optional).
- Overpriced, mediocre restaurants around Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden with picture menus and staff at the door. Walk a few streets into Soho or Chinatown, or eat at a market; avoid anywhere that needs someone outside to bring customers in.
- Market stalls at Borough priced by weight or with no price shown, leading to a much bigger bill for cheese, meat or seafood. Ask the price before the stallholder cuts or weighs anything.
Top tours & activities in London
Rent a car in London
Compare rental cars from local and international companies, with free cancellation on most bookings.
Compare car rentals in LondonPlan the rest of your London trip
Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
Do I need to tip in London?
In restaurants, a discretionary service charge of around 12.5% is often already added to the bill; if it is, you do not need to tip more. If it is not included, 10–12.5% is normal for table service. No tip is expected in pubs when you order at the bar, at market stalls or takeaways. On food tours, guides appreciate roughly £5–10 per person if you enjoyed it.
Which food tour is best for a first visit?
For a daytime overview, a Borough Market tour gives British classics like fish and chips, sausage rolls and cheese in about three hours. The East End tour around Spitalfields and Brick Lane adds history, bagels and curry and works as lunch. If you have an evening free instead, an East End or Soho dinner in a curry house or small restaurant is a good do-it-yourself alternative.
When is Borough Market open and when should I go?
Borough Market is open most days, roughly 10:00–17:00, with shorter Sunday hours and fewer traders on Mondays; check the market's website before you go, because hours change. Weekdays before 11:00 are the calmest. Saturdays and weekday lunchtimes from about 12:00 to 14:00 are packed, especially around the hot-food stalls.
How much should I budget for food per day in London?
London is expensive. A careful day with a café breakfast, a market lunch and a curry or pub dinner costs roughly £30–45. Two sit-down meals with a drink each run about £60–90. Tasting menus and hotel afternoon teas push a day past £150. Supermarket meal deals (sandwich, snack and drink) at around £4–6 are the classic way to save at lunch.
Should I book food tours in advance?
Yes for weekends, school holidays and December, when popular small-group tours fill several days ahead; book about a week ahead in summer. Small-group tours are often capped at about 10–12 people, so the most popular start times sell out first. Most GetYourGuide and Viator listings allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before, so booking early carries little risk.
Is London street food safe?
Generally yes. Food businesses are inspected by local councils and rated from 0 to 5 under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme; many stalls and shops display the green sticker, and you can look up any business on the Food Standards Agency website. Allergen information must be provided on request.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.