Where to eat in London: dishes, markets and places worth booking
London is easy to eat well in once you know what to order: fish and chips, pie and mash, a Sunday roast, a Punjabi grill in Whitechapel. This guide covers those dishes, the markets worth a morning, and nine places confirmed open, from a pie and mash shop in Bermondsey to a pub in Fulham. Book the dinners and walk in for the rest.
The short answer
- Best area to eat
- Soho and Covent Garden for choice, Smithfield for English cooking, Whitechapel for Punjabi grills, and Borough and Bermondsey for markets.
- Order this
- Fish and chips, pie and mash with parsley liquor, a Sunday roast, a Punjabi grill in Whitechapel, and a cooked breakfast in a proper café.
- When to eat
- Lunch is about 12 to 3 and dinner about 6 to 10 or 11, and many kitchens close in between. Sunday roasts are served from lunchtime.
- Book or walk in
- Book Rules, St. JOHN, Bocca di Lupo and the Harwood Arms. Walk in to E. Pellicci and Gordon's Wine Bar, which don't take bookings.
- Cheap and good
- M. Manze for pie and mash, E. Pellicci for breakfast, and the stalls at Borough Market, Maltby Street Market and Broadway Market.
- Tipping
- Tipping is optional. Many restaurants add a service charge, so check the bill first, and add nothing at a pub bar or a café counter.
What to eat in London
- Fish and chipsBattered cod or haddock with thick chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce. Every neighborhood has a shop, and a sit-down place such as The Seashell of Lisson Grove also cooks plaice, salmon and sea bass, grilled if you prefer.
- Pie and mash with liquorA minced beef pie, mashed potato and a green parsley sauce called liquor, the traditional meal of London's east and south. M. Manze on Tower Bridge Road serves it, with eels and a vegan pie as well.
- Sunday roastRoast meat with potatoes, vegetables and gravy, served from lunchtime on Sundays. The Harwood Arms in Fulham serves roasts all day on Sunday, and takes bookings up to 90 days ahead.
- Full English breakfastEggs, bacon, sausage, beans and toast with strong coffee or tea, still cooked in family cafés. E. Pellicci on Bethnal Green Road has fed its neighborhood for over a century and closes at 3pm.
- Punjabi grillsLamb chops, dry meat, mixed grill and dhal, the Whitechapel speciality. Tayyabs, family-run since 1972, is open every day from noon to 11:30pm and lets you bring your own bottle.
- Salt beef bagelHot salt beef with mustard and gherkin in a bagel, a staple of the Jewish bakeries around Brick Lane in the East End.
- Game, oysters and piesAutumn and winter are game season. Rules in Covent Garden, serving since 1798, lists classic game cookery, oysters, pies and puddings.
- Nose-to-tail cookingOffal and the cuts other kitchens skip, cooked simply. St. JOHN in Smithfield listed roast bone marrow with parsley salad, pig's ear, and lamb offal and mash on its lunch menu for 6 October 2026.
- British puddingsSticky toffee pudding, golden syrup sponge, and apple crumble with custard at Rules, or Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese at St. JOHN.
Where to eat in London, by neighborhood
Soho, Covent Garden and Chinatown
The most choice in the city, and the easiest to get wrong. Bocca di Lupo on Archer Street cooks Italian food, Rules on Maiden Lane has served since 1798, and Gordon's Wine Bar by Embankment station is walk-in only. Chinatown's Gerrard Street is a few minutes from Bocca di Lupo.
Smithfield, Clerkenwell and Farringdon
The old meat-market district, and where English cooking is most at home. St. JOHN on St John Street is the reference point, and Farringdon station has the Elizabeth line and Thameslink for getting there.
The East End: Whitechapel, Brick Lane, Bethnal Green and Hackney
Punjabi grills in Whitechapel, bagels and curry houses around Brick Lane, cafés such as E. Pellicci on Bethnal Green Road, and Broadway Market in Hackney on weekends.
Borough, Bermondsey and the South Bank
Borough Market for lunch (closed Mondays), Maltby Street Market under the railway arches at Bermondsey from Friday evening to Sunday, and M. Manze's pie and mash on Tower Bridge Road. London Bridge station is next to the market.
Marylebone and west London
The Seashell of Lisson Grove for fish and chips in Marylebone, and the Harwood Arms in Fulham for the Sunday roast and autumn game.
Places worth a booking or a queue
-
St. JOHN
£££Restaurant · Smithfield
OrderRoast bone marrow and parsley salad, then Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese
Nose-to-tail cooking since 1994, in a former smokehouse. The menu changes daily, and the lunch menu for 6 October 2026 listed both dishes.
- Book
- Book on the website, by phone or by email. Menus go online at 11am for lunch and 5pm for supper.
- Closed
- Sunday evening
Confirmed open: stjohnrestaurant.com
-
Rules
£££Restaurant · Covent Garden
OrderSteak and kidney pudding with oyster, or game in season, and sticky toffee pudding to finish
Oysters, pies and game on Maiden Lane since 1798, and the menu still reads that way.
- Book
- Book through SevenRooms on the website. It is open seven days a week, with last reservations at 10pm on most nights.
Confirmed open: rules.co.uk
-
Bocca di Lupo
£££Italian restaurant · Soho
OrderFried artichoke alla giudia, then the tagliata
Italian cooking on Archer Street, a few minutes from Chinatown, with the kitchen open at lunch and dinner every day and the bar open later.
- Book
- Book a table on the website. The phone line is open 10am to 6pm daily.
Confirmed open: boccadilupo.com
-
The Seashell of Lisson Grove
££Fish and chip restaurant · Marylebone
OrderCod or haddock with chips, or the plaice grilled
A sit-down fish and chip restaurant with cod, haddock, plaice, salmon and sea bass, and grilled, gluten-free and halal options.
- Book
- Book on the website or walk in. Open 12 noon to 10pm Monday to Saturday and until 7pm on Sunday.
Confirmed open: seashellrestaurant.co.uk
-
Tayyabs
££Punjabi grill · Whitechapel
OrderLamb chops and dry meat, with karahi tarka dhal
Family-run since 1972 and open every day from noon to 11:30pm. You bring your own bottle.
- Book
- Book online or by phone.
Confirmed open: tayyabs.co.uk
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M. Manze
£Pie and mash shop · Bermondsey
OrderA pie with mash and liquor, and eels if you want the full tradition
Pies are made fresh in the shop each day, the potatoes are peeled and cooked on site, and the eels are prepared on the premises.
- Book
- The website has no booking page, so walk in. The Tower Bridge Road shop closes at 5.45pm Monday to Thursday and 2.45pm on Sunday.
Confirmed open: manze.co.uk
-
E. Pellicci
£Café · Bethnal Green
OrderA cooked breakfast and strong coffee
A family-run café on Bethnal Green Road that has fed the neighborhood for over a century.
- Book
- Walk in; the website says walk-ins only, with takeaway. Open 8am to 3pm Monday to Saturday.
- Closed
- Sunday
Confirmed open: epellicci.co.uk
-
Gordon's Wine Bar
££Wine bar · Embankment
OrderA glass of port or sherry from the barrel, with cheese or a homemade scotch egg
Founded in 1890 on Villiers Street, with more than 15 cheeses and a terrace on Watergate Walk.
- Book
- No bookings: arrive early to claim a table. Open 11am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 12 noon to 10pm on Sunday.
Confirmed open: gordonswinebar.com
-
The Harwood Arms
££££Pub · Fulham
OrderThe Sunday roast, or game in autumn
A pub that cooks British produce with a focus on game and wild food, and serves roasts all day on Sunday.
- Book
- Book online or by phone; reservations open up to 90 days ahead, and the largest table is eight.
- Closed
- Lunch, Monday to Thursday
Confirmed open: harwoodarms.com
Food markets in London
- Borough MarketLondon's best-known food market, next to London Bridge station. Come hungry for lunch, cheese and fresh produce, and expect Saturday afternoons to be the busiest.Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm; closed Monday, with changes at Christmas and on bank holidaysSource: boroughmarket.org.uk
- Maltby Street MarketStreet food and independent traders under the railway arches in Bermondsey, with raclette, steak, tacos and more. The Friday session is evenings only.Friday 5.30pm to 9pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 4pmSource: maltbystreetmarket.co.uk
- Broadway MarketHackney's street market, with food stalls on Saturdays and Sundays and shops that trade on the street every day of the year.Market on Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm; the street's shops trade seven days a weekSource: broadwaymarket.co.uk
How London eats
- Meal timesLunch is roughly 12 to 3 and dinner roughly 6 to 10 or 11. Many restaurants close the kitchen in between: St. JOHN serves lunch until 3pm and dinner from 6pm, and Pellicci's closes at 3pm. A Sunday roast is a lunchtime meal that runs into the afternoon.
- ReservationsBook dinner at the well-known places ahead of time, and a Sunday roast too. The Harwood Arms takes bookings up to 90 days out. Gordon's Wine Bar and E. Pellicci take none, so arrive early.
- Service charge and tippingTipping is optional. Many restaurants add a service charge to the bill, so check it before you add a tip. At a pub bar or a café counter, nothing is expected.
- PubsIn most pubs you order and pay at the bar, then find a table. Many serve a Sunday roast from lunchtime, and kitchens close before the bar does.
- Tap waterAsk for tap water. Licensed venues have to give free drinking water to customers who ask, where it is reasonably available, so you do not need to buy a bottle.
- Bringing your ownA few places, such as Tayyabs, let you bring your own bottle. Check the restaurant's own website before you rely on it.
Signs of a place to walk past
Photographs of every dish on the board outside, especially on the streets around Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.
Someone on the pavement calling you in.
A menu that spans many cuisines, with nothing the kitchen is clearly proud of.
No prices on the menu, or a charge you only find on the bill.
Eating in London: questions people ask
What food is London known for?
Fish and chips, pie and mash with liquor, the Sunday roast and the full English breakfast are the traditional answers. The modern answer is wider: Punjabi grills in Whitechapel, salt beef bagels around Brick Lane, Italian cooking in Soho and nose-to-tail cooking in Smithfield.
Where is the best place to eat in London?
Soho and Covent Garden have the most choice, and Smithfield and Clerkenwell have the most English cooking. Whitechapel is the place for Punjabi food, and Borough and Bermondsey for markets. Pick the area near where you will be, because crossing London for dinner takes time.
Where can you eat well and cheaply in London?
M. Manze for pie and mash and E. Pellicci for breakfast cost least of the places in this guide, and the stalls at Borough Market, Maltby Street Market and Broadway Market make good lunches. Tayyabs, The Seashell of Lisson Grove and Gordon's Wine Bar are the next step up.
Do you need to book restaurants in London?
For dinner at Rules, St. JOHN, Bocca di Lupo and the Harwood Arms, yes, and a Sunday roast is worth booking too. Gordon's Wine Bar and E. Pellicci take no bookings, so arrive early.
How much do you tip in London?
Tipping is optional. Many restaurants add a service charge to the bill, and if it is there you do not need to add a tip. At a pub bar or a café counter, nothing is expected.
Is Borough Market worth visiting?
Yes, for lunch. It is open Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays, and Saturday afternoons are the busiest. Go on a weekday if you want space, and try Maltby Street Market at the weekend.
Is tap water free in London restaurants?
Yes, on request. Licensed venues have to provide free drinking water to customers who ask, where it is reasonably available, so you do not need to buy bottled water.