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Eating Like a Local in London

There's a large gap between how tourists experience London's food and how Londoners actually eat. Here's how to close it.

Go to Where People Live

The best food in London is almost never in the places tourists are concentrated. Tooting in South London, Peckham, Green Lanes in Haringey, Southall in West London, Edgware Road — the areas where specific communities have built their food cultures over generations serve food that restaurants in tourist areas can't replicate at any price. Getting on a bus or Overground for 20 minutes pays off enormously.

Eat at Lunch

Londoners eat their best restaurant meals at lunch — set menus, lower prices, the same kitchen. The "meal deal" culture in office districts (Canary Wharf, the City, Soho) makes weekday lunch one of the best-value food windows in London. Many serious restaurants that would feel intimidating or expensive at dinner are straightforwardly accessible at lunch.

Know Your Supermarkets

Marks & Spencer Food, Waitrose, Whole Foods and Borough Market's permanent shops are where food-focused Londoners shop for quality. The M&S Food Halls (in most Tube stations) for prepared foods and quality ingredients are worth knowing about even as a visitor.

Pub Lunches

A pub lunch — pie, fish and chips, a ploughman's, a Sunday roast — eaten in an actual neighbourhood pub with a pint of ale or cider is one of the most authentically London food experiences. The best pub lunches are in locals' pubs rather than gastropubs marketed at visitors: look for places with regulars at the bar and handwritten specials boards.

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