The Best Food Tours in London: Our Firsthand Picks and Full Comparison

The best food tour in London for most first-time visitors is Devour’s Ultimate London Food Tour of Borough Market and Southwark. If you’d rather your food came with beer and a few hundred years of history, their Historic Pubs food tour around Fleet Street is the one to book. We’ve taken both. I also lived in London for a couple of years, Jess lived in the UK for seven, and between us we’ve eaten a frankly heroic amount of British food, so these recommendations are based on tours we’ve actually eaten our way through.

A good food tour solves the two problems every visitor has with British food: knowing what to order, and knowing where to order it. You’ll try smaller portions of more dishes than you could manage on your own, you’ll skip the queues (tour companies have arrangements with the vendors they visit), and you’ll get a guide who will happily tell you where they’d eat on their night off. That last part alone can sort out the rest of your meals in London, and is a reason we book food tours in cities we visit all over the world. Even ones we’ve lived in.

London’s food tours cluster in three areas: Borough Market and Southwark for the classics, the East End and Brick Lane for markets and curry, and Soho for evening eating and drinking. There are also pub tours, afternoon tea in all its forms, and a couple of workshops for anyone who wants to fly home able to make their own scones. Prices in this guide are the from-rates we checked in July 2026.

London Food Tours Compared

These are the food tours we recommend in London, with who each one suits best and the current per-person from-price.

Devour lists its prices in US dollars, so we’ve left those as shown; GetYourGuide charges in whichever currency you choose so we’re showing pounds for the UK. Most of these tours run in small groups and the popular dates do sell out, so book a couple of weeks ahead in summer if you can.

The Two London Food Tours We’ve Taken

Both of the tours we’ve done in London are run by Devour Tours, the food arm of Take Walks. We’ve taken their walking tours in cities all over the world. They focus on small groups and good guides, and they haven’t let us down yet.

Borough Market & Southwark Food Tour

This tour is based around Southwark, the part of the city just south of London Bridge, where you’ll find the Shard, Southwark Cathedral, and the world-famous Borough Market with its huge range of food stalls and eateries. If you’re only going to do one food tour in London, this is the area to do it in.

When we took the tour, it ran to seven tastings and a drink stop, and our guide Becki knew exactly which stalls were worth the calories. We had fish and chips from fish! Kitchen, which I’d happily argue serves the best fish and chips in London. There were fresh oysters from Richard Haward’s, a sausage roll from the Ginger Pig that I still think about, plus stops at Brood and Humble Crumble. We finished with cheese and sticky toffee pudding at The Mug House.

All of it was good, very little of it involved walking any real distance, and several stops had us sitting down, which by the sticky toffee pudding stage felt less like a luxury and more like a requirement.

The tour has been reworked a little since our visit. It now runs as the Ultimate London Food Tour: Borough Market & Southwark, with six tastings rather than our seven, and it has added a wander through Leadenhall Market (the Victorian arcade that Harry Potter fans will recognise) along with a seated wine and cheese tasting in a wine bar. The oysters are no longer on the published menu, but everything that made it good is still there: about 3.5 hours, a maximum of 12 people, and not much walking.

Prices start from $119 per person (Devour bills in US dollars). You can check availability and book it here.

Tastes, Tales & Traditional Ales: The Historic Pubs Food Tour

One of the things we love most about London is its historic pubs, many of which have been serving food and drink for literally hundreds of years. You can eat and drink in rooms where London’s historic figures did the same, sometimes beside a real fire.

I should declare an interest here: I’ve been to a lot of London pubs over the years. A lot. So a food tour built around the old pubs of the Fleet Street area, once the home of London’s newspapers, and the area I worked in when I was in London, was always going to be my kind of afternoon.

When we took the Tastes, Tales & Traditional Ales tour, it visited four pubs. First was Ye Olde Mitre, a pub so well hidden that I worked nearby for years without discovering it existed, and where the pork pie alone justified the trip.

Then came The Old Bell, where we had cider with fish and chips, followed by Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a favourite of mine since my London days when it was a regular post-work stop (the suet steak pie there is worth a visit in its own right). We finished at Ye Olde Cock Tavern with a pint of Samuel Smith’s, some breaded whitebait, and the best Scotch eggs I’ve eaten anywhere. I lived above a Samuel Smith pub when I was in London, so that last pint felt a bit like coming home.

Jess doesn’t normally like Scotch eggs, but even she was won over by the freshly made ones. One of the most fun parts of the whole afternoon came at the end, when we played a traditional pub game dating back to the 15th century.

The current version of the tour lists five pubs rather than the four we visited, with four food tastings and four drinks along the way. It still runs about 3.5 hours in groups of up to 12, and prices start from $98 per person. You can check dates and book this tour here.

What British Food Should You Try in London?

Before you choose a food tour, it helps to know what you’re aiming to eat. London is a cultural hub, which means there’s a huge range of flavours on offer, from traditional pub food through to international cuisines such as curries. Most of these dishes aren’t unique to London, but many are hard to find outside the British Isles, so this is your chance.

We think most people would enjoy trying at least some of the following (all of which we’ve tried):

• Meat dishes like meat pies (steak & kidney pie, pork pie), Sunday roasts with Yorkshire pudding, British lamb, gammon, Beef Wellington, hearty stews, and bangers and mash
• Seafood like oysters, salmon, mussels, cockles, kippers, potted shrimp, and of course fish and chips (the fish is usually haddock or cod)
• Breakfast favourites like bacon sarnies, black pudding, Marmite on toast, sausage rolls, and of course the Full English breakfast
• Lunchtime foods like jacket potatoes, cheese and pickle sandwiches, Cornish pasties, and Coronation chicken sandwiches
• Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Indian curries – chicken tikka masala is a British favourite and was invented in the UK
• Desserts (or puddings as we like to call them in the UK) like sticky toffee pudding (my favourite), Eton mess, bread and butter pudding (my other favourite), treacle tart, Victoria sponge, Welsh cakes, and spotted dick
• Pub snacks like Scotch eggs, fried fish bites, and packets of British crisps
• British cheeses – there are over 700 types, including cheddar, Cheshire, and Stilton
• Tea – you can have an English breakfast tea with breakfast, a cream tea (tea, scones, clotted cream, and jam), or a full afternoon tea
• Alcoholic drinks like real ale, Scotch whisky, London dry gin, English cider, and British cocktails such as the Pimm’s Cup

It would of course be impossible to try all of these in one trip. If that list is more overwhelming than helpful, here’s the shortlist of what travellers most often tell us they want to eat in London:

• Fish and chips
• Full English breakfast
• Sausage roll and/or bacon sandwich
• Chicken tikka masala
• Sticky toffee pudding
• A pint of real ale and/or English cider
• Cream tea (tea and scones)

Many of these are exactly what the British-focused food tours above serve, which is no accident.

London Food Tours by Neighbourhood

If you’d rather pick your area first and your tour second, this is how the main food neighbourhoods break down.

Borough Market & Southwark

Borough Market is London’s most famous food market, with a history stretching back around a thousand years on this site. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays), entry is free, and you could happily spend a morning grazing here without any tour at all. A good guide earns their fee by steering you to the stalls worth queueing for, and by feeding you the area’s history between bites.

Our first pick here is the Devour tour above. If their dates don’t work for you, this Borough Market tour with six tastings (from £92) covers similar classic British ground over three hours. If sweets are more your thing, this doughnut and tea walk lets you pick a doughnut at each stop. And cheese lovers are well served in London too: this cheese walking tour with tastings is dedicated to the good stuff.

East End & Brick Lane

The East End is where London’s food history turns multicultural, from the traders of Old Spitalfields Market to the curry houses of Brick Lane. This is the part of town to come to if your idea of essential British food includes a proper curry, which it should.

This East End food tour (3.5 hours, from £89) takes in Spitalfields and Brick Lane with a range of market and street food stops. If you want to go all-in on the curry side of things, this East London Indian food tour (from £92) serves six tastings of the food that made chicken tikka masala a national dish.

Soho

Soho is London’s eating-out heartland, and its food tours lean into the evening. This Soho food tour with seven tastings (from £76) works its way around the neighbourhood’s food spots in the evening, while this twilight Soho food and drinks tour pairs the eating with a stronger drinks focus. Either is a good choice if your daytimes are already full of sightseeing, and Soho is exactly where you’d want to end up in the evening anyway.

Historic Pub and Drink Tours

If the food is really an excuse for the pubs (it’s ok, I get it), London will not disappoint. Our favourite of this type is the Devour historic pubs tour we covered above, but there are several other good options where drinks share top billing with the food. And if you’d rather hunt down historic pubs yourself, CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors is the serious reference for finding the real thing.

• The historic pubs tour with Devour Tours. This is the one we’ve done and really loved.
• This historic pubs walk with beer tasting is the budget pick, from £26. You’re welcome to come along just for the history and skip the beer, though that does seem a shame.
• This historical walking pub tour is another guided option combining London history with its drinking establishments.
• If you plan to buy a London Pass (a sightseeing discount pass), then this pub tour is included with the pass (be sure to reserve your spot). It’s a guided walking tour of four historic pubs, but you do need to buy your own drinks.

Afternoon Tea in London

Afternoon tea took off in Britain in the mid-19th century, and London is still the best place in the world to experience it. The format is reassuringly consistent: a course of savouries including sandwiches, then scones with clotted cream and jam, then sweet treats, all accompanied by a pot of tea (most places will swap in coffee or something stronger if you ask).

We’ve had afternoon tea all over London, including at the Berkeley and at the Ritz, where prices currently start from £95 per person (£73 for children). The Ritz is the dressed-up end of the scale, so check the dress code before you go. Our one universal tip: come hungry. An afternoon tea is a lot of food.

If you’d like to combine your tea with some sightseeing on foot, this guided walking tour visits three of the Royal Palaces and Parks before finishing with afternoon tea, and this tour of London’s National Gallery pairs the art with tea afterwards.

Afternoon Tea Buses & Food Cruises

If you like the idea of eating while London’s landmarks roll past the window, there’s a whole category for you. We’ve done an afternoon tea bus in London ourselves (the photos below are from it), and it’s a fun, mildly silly way to combine sightseeing with cake.

• This afternoon tea bus (from £49) serves a full afternoon tea on a vintage bus while covering London’s major sights
• For families, there are children’s themed versions, including this Paddington Bear afternoon tea bus ride and this Peppa Pig afternoon tea bus ride
• This luxury dinner bus tour serves a gourmet six course meal as you pass some of London’s best-known sights
• On the river, this Thames lunch cruise includes a two course lunch with tea or coffee as you pass Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the London Eye
• This evening showboat cruise includes a four course meal, live music, and the chance to dance your dinner off

Food Workshops & Cooking Classes

If you’d rather come home with a skill than a full stomach (or ideally both), consider a food workshop. Unlike somewhere like Rome, London doesn’t have a huge number of cooking classes, but the ones it does have lean nicely traditional.

You can’t have afternoon tea without scones, and this scone-making workshop (from £60) teaches you the classic version and lets you take your scones home with you. There’s also this traditional pork pie cookery class, which walks you through making your own from start to finish. Having eaten the pork pie at Ye Olde Mitre, I can confirm this is a skill worth acquiring.

Which London Food Tour Is Right for You?

Every tour in this guide is one we’d stand behind, but they suit different visitors. This is how we’d choose:

• If it’s your first trip and you want the British classics, book the Devour Borough Market & Southwark tour. If their dates are full, the Borough Market six-tastings tour is the closest substitute.
• If you drink beer and love history, the Devour historic pubs tour is the obvious pick, with the £26 beer-tasting pub walk as the budget option.
• If curry is the goal, take the East London Indian food tour, or the East End tour for a broader market-and-curry mix.
• If your days are packed with sightseeing, the Soho evening tours let you eat well without giving up daylight hours.
• If you’re travelling with kids, look at the Paddington or Peppa Pig tea buses, or the doughnut walk.
• If you want the least walking possible, the bus and boat tours involve none at all, and the Borough Market tours cover very little ground on foot.

A few practical points apply whichever you choose. If you have dietary requirements or food allergies, tell the operator when you book rather than on the day; most tours can accommodate vegetarians and many other needs with notice, and the Indian food tours are the easiest fit for vegetarians. If mobility is a concern, check the listed walking distance and recent reviews, and contact the operator before booking, as listings don’t cover every accessibility need.

It’s also worth comparing what’s included before judging a tour by its price. Some include all food and drink, others only some of it, and tips are generally not included. And one quirk of the calendar: Borough Market is closed on Mondays, so if Monday is your only free day, look at the East End or Soho tours instead.

London Food Tour FAQs

Is a London food tour worth it?

For a first visit, we think so. You’ll try more British dishes in an afternoon than you’d get through in several days of restaurant meals, the portions are sized so you can actually finish the tour, and a good guide doubles as a personal recommendation engine for the rest of your trip.

We’ve taken two food tours in London ourselves, and both changed where we ate for the rest of that stay.

How much does a food tour in London cost?

The big food walking tours mostly cost between £76 and £92 per person at July 2026 prices. Budget options exist, like a historic pubs walk with beer tasting from £26, and the afternoon tea bus starts from £49.

Devour’s two London tours list at $98 and $119, as they bill in US dollars. Workshops like scone making start from around £60.

How long do London food tours last?

Most of the walking food tours in this guide run 3 to 3.5 hours, including both of the Devour tours we took. Check individual listings for exact timings, and note that the Soho tours generally run in the evening.

Which London food tour is best for traditional British food?

The Devour Ultimate London Food Tour of Borough Market & Southwark is our pick, with fish and chips, sausage rolls, and a British breakfast among the six tastings. The Borough Market tour with six tastings on GetYourGuide covers similar ground if the Devour dates don’t work.

Are there vegetarian or vegan food tours in London?

Most London food tour operators can cater for vegetarians, and many can handle vegan and other dietary requirements, provided you tell them when you book. Don’t leave it until the day.

If you’re vegetarian, the Indian food tours are the easiest natural fit, since so much of the cuisine is vegetarian to begin with.

Do I need to book a London food tour in advance?

Yes. The good tours run in small groups (Devour caps theirs at 12 people) and popular dates sell out, especially in summer and on weekends.

Booking a couple of weeks ahead is usually enough, but for a specific date in peak season, or afternoon tea at the Ritz, book further out.

Further Reading for Your Visit to London

That’s it for our guide to food tours and food experiences in London. Before you head off, here are some more of our resources to help you plan your time in the city. We hope you find them useful!

• We have detailed itineraries for 1 day in London, 2 days in London, 3 days in London and 6 days in London
• We have a complete guide to where to stay in London, which covers all the neighbourhoods and a whole range of price points
• If you plan on doing much sightseeing in the city, you will likely save money with a London Pass. See our complete London Pass review here to see if this might save you money on sightseeing.
• We have a guide to getting around London, and a guide to using the Oyster card in London.
• If you’re flying into one of London’s six airports, see our guide to getting to London from the airport.
• We have a detailed guide to what to pack for London, to help you prepare for your trip.
• We put together some tips on finding the best Photography Locations in London
• For the Harry Potter fans amongst you, take a look at our guide to finding Harry Potter in London
• We have suggestions for Things to Do in Kensington, in case you wanted to focus more on a specific region of the city
• If you enjoy military museums, take a look at our guide to London’s best military museums and memorials. Also see our Winston Churchill in London guide.
• We have detailed guides to visiting the Tower of London and the London Eye, which include information on planning your visit and how to save money on these popular attractions
• Thoughts on visiting Stonehenge from London as a day trip
• Other good day trips from London include Oxford and Cambridge. See our guide to Oxford in a day as well as things to do in Cambridge for ideas.
• The Rick Steves London guidebook (June 2026 edition), always an excellent source of relevant information for planning your trip
• Thinking about heading to Paris from London? We have a detailed guide to the best way to get from London to Paris to help you plan

And that’s it! We hope you found our guide to food tours in London useful, and as always, if you have any questions, just pop them in the comments and we’ll answer them as soon as we can!