What is the best full English breakfast in London?
We've eaten a lot of fry-ups. Our honest answer: E. Pellicci in Bethnal Green is the standard. It's been open since 1900, the Art Deco interior is Grade II listed, and the food is as good as the history. Expect pork sausages, crispy back bacon, perfectly fried eggs, baked beans, and black pudding if you're willing. It costs under a tenner, the staff will call you love, and you'll feel like a Londoner for at least an hour afterwards.
Is Borough Market worth visiting for lunch?
Yes, genuinely — and we say that knowing full well how crowded it gets on a Friday. The salt beef bagels, the Brindisa chorizo rolls, the raw oysters, the cheese stalls where someone will let you try four different aged cheddars without any pressure to buy — it earns its reputation. Go Thursday morning if you can. The crowds are manageable, the traders are in full flow, and the sensory experience of walking through it is one of the best free things London offers.
Which Michelin-starred restaurants in London are worth the price?
Core by Clare Smyth in Notting Hill is our first recommendation every time. The cooking is technically exceptional but emotionally grounded in a way that a lot of high-end restaurants forget to be. Brat in Shoreditch holds a star and still feels like a real restaurant rather than a performance. Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester is the full luxury experience and delivers on it completely. Book all three well in advance — weeks, sometimes months.
Where should I go for afternoon tea in London?
Claridge's in Mayfair is the benchmark and worth the spend at least once. The room, the sandwiches, the scones with clotted cream — it's the thing being replicated everywhere else, done properly. The Savoy is similarly excellent. If you want something slightly less formal, look at Sketch in Mayfair, which does afternoon tea in a surrealist pink room that sounds gimmicky and is actually charming. Book ahead for all of them.
What are the best street food markets in London?
Borough Market near London Bridge is the best for produce and quality. Camden Market wins on variety and price — Thai, Venezuelan, Japanese, Korean, all within a short walk and most of it very good. Maltby Street Market in Bermondsey on Saturday mornings is the one the food people go to when they're eating for themselves rather than for content. Smaller, less crowded, higher quality on average.
Where do locals actually eat dinner in London?
The neighbourhood restaurants are where the real eating happens. Westerns Laundry in Highbury, Lyle's in Spitalfields, Brat in Shoreditch, and St. JOHN in Clerkenwell — which has been doing nose-to-tail British cooking since 1994 and still hasn't lost a step. The bone marrow and parsley salad at St. JOHN is one of those dishes that makes you wonder why restaurants bother with anything more complicated. Simple, honest, and absolutely correct.
