Our guide to London for foodies
London's markets
Mercato Mayfair
St Mark's Church, North Audley Street
A Grade I-listed church turned food hall, with fresh pasta, sushi, dumplings, pizza and more, a crypt bar, and a rooftop terrace for when the nave gets busy. Just a short walk from our hotels, it's a great pick for groups who can't agree on dinner, and it's open seven days a week.
Borough Market
8 Southwark Street, London Bridge
London's best-known food market has been trading in some form for about 1,000 years, and it's still the place to graze on cheese, cured meats, bread, oysters and street food from every corner of the world. Come early on a weekday if you can, because Saturday afternoons get very full. (Most of the year it's closed on Mondays, but from late November it’s open every day for Christmas shopping.) Of all the foodie things to do in London, a morning here is the one you're most likely to repeat.
Maltby Street Market
Ropewalk, Bermondsey
This is Borough's smaller, scrappier neighbour: a single cobbled lane named after the rope-makers who once worked here, with food stalls and bars tucked into the railway arches. The traders change often, so lunch might be raclette scraped straight from the wheel or a pressed Cuban sandwich. It's open on weekends – check the opening hours before you go.
A taste of old London
Beigel Bake
159 Brick Lane
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and almost always with a queue. The counter moves fast, so know your order before you get there: we recommend the hot salt beef beigel with English mustard and a gherkin.
M. Manze
87 Tower Bridge Road
London's oldest surviving pie and mash shop has been run by the Manze family since 1902. Order pie and mash with liquor (a savoury, herb-filled sauce), and jellied eels if you're feeling brave. The tiled interior is Grade II listed.
Sunday, the British way
No London food guide is complete without a Sunday roast – and here, you don't need to go far for one.
The Grill at The Dorchester
By one o'clock on a Sunday, The Grill is in full voice, with chefs busily at work in the open kitchen. The beef Wellington for two is carved at your table, but the Aberdeen Angus sirloin and roast Kent lamb have their own loyal fans. Then the pudding trolley rolls round…
Children are welcome and have a menu of their own, which makes this one of our favourite places to eat in London with kids ready for their first proper roast.
CUT at 45 Park Lane
We might be biased, but we think CUT is the best steak restaurant in London. And on Sundays, it serves a roast to match. Hyde Park fills the tall windows, and Damien Hirst's Diamond Dust Psalms glitter on the walls, giving lunch a little more swagger than most. Meanwhile, the grass-fed English sirloin or beef Wellington arrives with a Yorkshire pudding made with Wagyu dripping, cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes.
Afternoon tea
The Promenade at The Dorchester
Finger sandwiches, warm scones, clotted cream and a pot of fine tea, with live music in the background. Afternoon tea is about as British as it gets, and The Promenade is where we'd send anyone trying it for the first time.
Specialist shops
Paxton & Whitfield
93 Jermyn Street, St James's
Dating back to 1797, this Royal Warrant-holding establishment is a stroll away from the hotels. Ask the cheesemongers for a recommendation – and if you’d like to enjoy it straight away, pick up a jar of chutney and your choice of crackers for a picnic in Berkeley Square.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
63 Pall Mall, St James's
Britain's oldest wine and spirits merchant has traded from St James's since 1698, and still holds a Royal Warrant. Its shop on Pall Mall connects to the original building at No. 3 St James's Street, where the giant grocer's scales once used to weigh customers (including Lord Byron, Beau Brummell, William Pitt the Younger, and several royals) are still on display. Ask the team about their own-label whiskies.
Divertimenti
227–229 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge
Divertimenti has been supplying home cooks and professional chefs since 1963. It’s an Aladdin’s cave of cooking treasures, from Japanese knives and copper pans to baking moulds and hand-painted plates – and there's also a cookery school downstairs, if you'd like to learn more.
Daylesford Pimlico
44B Pimlico Road
Daylesford's own organic farm in the Cotswolds keeps this Belgravia shop stocked with items like sourdough and cheddar, seasonal vegetables, meat and fish. There’s a café upstairs for breakfast or lunch, and it's just a few minutes from Sloane Square.
Make the most of your trip with a stay at The Dorchester, or at 45 Park Lane, our boutique hotel in Mayfair. Both look out over Hyde Park, with some of the best places to eat in London close at hand.