Between visits and now living here, London has given me plenty to eat and drink. Here’s a round-up of the London food, pub and theatre posts on the blog, with links to each one.
Historic pubs
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street was rebuilt shortly after the Great Fire of 1666 and has dark, wood-panelled rooms that have barely changed since. Samuel Johnson and Charles Dickens are among the names linked to it.
Markets and food halls
- Borough Market, next to London Bridge, is one of the city’s oldest and best-known food markets. Go early to beat the lunchtime crowds.
- A Scotch egg at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly. Fortnum’s claims to have invented the Scotch egg in 1738.
- Dim sum at Harrods in Knightsbridge.
British classics
- A full English breakfast, with bacon, sausage, eggs, black pudding, beans, mushrooms and tomato.
- Smith’s, a seafood restaurant whose sign promises it’s “Famous for Fish”.
Restaurants
- Manteca in Shoreditch, an Italian restaurant known for fresh pasta and its nose-to-tail approach to meat. Book ahead.
A night in the West End
Dinner and a show is one of the best London evenings out:
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix Theatre, my first West End show
- High Noon at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Getting in and out
- The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Heathrow Terminal 3 is a great way to start a long flight if you have access.
Tips
- An Oyster card or contactless bank card works on the tube, buses and most trains, with daily fare caps.
- Many pubs stop serving food earlier than the bar closes, so check kitchen hours if you’re planning dinner.
- Popular restaurants and West End shows book up, especially at weekends, so reserve ahead.
Day trip from London: the Harry Potter Studio Tour
If you have a spare day, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour at Leavesden, near Watford, is an easy trip out of London. Photos of the sets, the Great Hall, Diagon Alley and the giant Hogwarts model are in my post on the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
A March 2024 visit, day by day: A Week in London brings together Smith’s, Borough Market, Fortnum & Mason, a full English and the Virgin Clubhouse, plus Tower Bridge and the flight home over Greenland.
For a Bombay-style lunch in East London, see Dishoom Shoreditch: The Lunch Spread and a Hunterwali’s Julep.
