Eat like a local in London — a guide to the best restaurants, markets, and more

Curate the perfect custom London trip with 70 local recommendations for food lovers, from food-focused hotels and tours to culinary classes and souvenirs.

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,” wrote Samuel Johnson in 1777. More than two centuries later, anyone with even a smidgen of appetite would struggle to disagree. Despite Britain’s reputation for cultivating a bland, beige food culture, thanks to centuries of trade, migration, and reinvention, the reality is anything but. Nowhere is this more true than in the capital, where the thing that makes London so appetizing is its diversity. 

From grand Edwardian dining rooms and rickety Victorian pubs to the post-war arrival of Caribbean, South Asian, Turkish, Chinese and Middle Eastern food cultures, much of the city’s culinary identity is not about one fixed time or cuisine, but a delicious accumulation of time and culture. This is a city where, to experience British food to its fullest, one must sample everything from a “full English” rustled up by Londoners of Italian and Turkish Cypriot descent, to thick-crust suet pies, Thai flavours crafted with British ingredients, and gundu dosas as a reflection of the Tamil diaspora. 

So, whether you want to graze your way around a neighbourhood or lock yourself up in a five-star culinary resort, these are all of the classic restaurants, contemporary dining rooms, markets, specialist shops, culinary hotels, and food-focussed outings you need to know.

London restaurants

St. John

No culinary pilgrimage is complete without a visit to the flagship St. John in Smithfield. Founded by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver in 1994, the pair’s pared back, nose-to-tail restaurant radically transformed the British dining scene by stripping away excess and showcasing hearty, traditional dishes via an ingredient-led, less-is-more approach. Regional delicacies and offal sit pride of place on the daily changing menu, from which must-order dishes include bone marrow and parsley salad, devilled kidneys on toast, and eccles cake with cheese. If no tables are available in the Smithfield branch, early birds can sample a smaller selection of plates at the bar – or try St. John Bread and Wine in Spitalfields, which has all the same charm.  

Kiln

In order to understand how London’s food landscape has evolved over the past decade, a visit to live-fire Thai restaurant, Kiln, is essential. Founded by Ben Chapman and the Super 8 Restaurants group in 2016, the fiery, smoky, fast-paced Soho mainstay became the blueprint for a new wave of vibrant, energetic kitchens pushing boundaries with fire and flavor across the capital. The nimble menu takes inspiration from the regions where Thailand borders Myanmar, Laos, and Yunnan, with longtime standouts such as claypot-baked glass noodles tangled with Tamworth pork belly and brown crab meat, and complex ladles of jungle curry reappearing regularly. The restaurant is now walk-in only, with seating downstairs, but the best seats are at the counter, where charcoal-fired woks threaten to singe the hairs off your arms from mere inches away. 

The French House 

Set above the bohemian Soho pub where Dylan Thomas, Francis Bacon, and Lucian Freud once propped up the bar, the restaurant at The French House remains a closely guarded secret among London gourmets. The small, wood-panneled dining room has been instrumental in shaping the city’s culinary history, with influential chefs including Fergus and Margot Henderson, Melanie Arnold, and Florence Knight having spent early stretches of their careers running the kitchen. Today, Neil Borthwick commands the daily changing handwritten menus of decadent French-inspired fare, often including ham hock and parsley terrine, wild Cornish sea bass with sauce vierge and, if you’re lucky, crisp fried calves’ brains. Go for a long lunch before spilling out onto the pavement with a half pint of Breton cider downstairs. Can’t get a table? Keep an eye on Instagram, where staff regularly posts about last-minute availability. 

Rochelle Canteen 

Tucked away in a serene walled garden off Arnold Circus in Shoreditch, Rochelle Canteen is just the place for a long, elegant lunch. Chef Margot Henderson (wife of St. John’s Fergus) is another pillar of the modern British food movement, who made her name conjuring refined yet fuss-free dishes that champion the finest seasonal ingredients. The restaurant is now helmed in collaboration with her son, Hector, and together they deliver a menu of light, bright salads and slivers of cured fish, as well as hearty classics including guineafowl and trotter pie, or braised lamb with mash. If it’s on the menu, the brown bread ice cream is nonnegotiable.  

The River Cafe

Situated to the west of the city in Hammersmith, The River Cafe is the Thames-side institution that changed the way Londoners enjoy Italian food. Unveiled by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray in 1987, the restaurant built its reputation on simplicity, exceptional seasonal produce and a devotion to showcasing lesser-known regional specialties – as well as hosting a who’s who of London society. Its food is bright, generous, and sophisticated, with handmade pasta, carefully wood-roasted fish and meat, exceptional olive oil, and the freshest vegetables steering the regularly changing menu. Those on a budget should look for the weekday set lunch menu, offered seasonally. 

Quo Vadis

Louche, theatrical, and steeped in lore, Quo Vadis is the place to experience the best of British eccentricity. Opened in 1926 by Italian restaurateur Peppino Leoni, the Dean Street institution occupies a building with a typically colourful Soho past: It was once a brothel and later home to Karl Marx, who began work on Das Kapital in one of the upstairs rooms. Today, under restaurateur Sam Hart and renowned chef Jeremy Lee (MBE), it serves delicate yet hearty seasonal British food with the odd French bistro inflection. Lee’s famous trio of signatures includes a smoked eel sandwich with horseradish, any and all flavours of deeply comforting pie, and a leaning tower of featherlight meringues dressed with seasonal fruit. 

AngloThai

At AngloThai, husband-and-wife team John and Desiree Chantarasak have created one of London’s clearest expressions of what a modern, sustainability-minded restaurant can be.  After years of refining their approach through sold-out pop-ups and residencies, the couple opened their first permanent eatery in Marylebone in November 2024, with a tasting menu built around Thai recipes and techniques brought to life through produce from the British Isles. Served in a warm, tactile dining room, the food changes regularly, and diners can expect exceptional ingredients — Blythburgh pork chops, Brixham crab, Exmoor caviar — lit up with chilli, herbs, smoke, coconut, fermentation, and John’s signature curry pastes.

Rambutan 

Loud, generous, and alive with color, Rambutan has the thrum of Borough Market in its bloodstream. Opened in 2023 by British-Sri Lankan chef and cookbook author Cynthia Shanmugalingam, its food is shaped by her own Tamil heritage and the improvisations of British-Sri Lankan diaspora cooking. The result? A vivid, flame-licked menu layered with the flavors of coconut, curry leaves, sambols, rotis, and complex spices. Dishes chop and change regularly, but moreish must-order bowls of slow-braised black pork, Jaffna-style crab curry, and adorable doughnut-like gundu dosas crop up often. If you attend in summer, beg, borrow, and steal for a stool before the bi-fold windows, where the breeze and people watching are simply sublime. 

Noble Rot

Founded by wine importers and the editors of Noble Rot magazine, Mark Andrew and Dan Keeling, this restaurant is, in the pair’s own words, “a shrine to the vine” (the name of their three wine shops). Home to some of the most interesting wines Europe has to offer — which are, crucially, served by staff who know their stuff — the original Noble Rot on Lamb’s Conduit Street invites explorers to venture to a charming, lesser-known part of central London strewn with cozy pubs and chic boutiques. The food is not to be underestimated, either. Classic, seasonal, and grown-up, menus might offer cheesy gougères and radishes with smoked cod’s roe, Mangalitza blood cake with duck egg, or skate wing sizzled in brown butter. Set aside a generous bite of your schedule, because once you’re seated, the hours will undoubtedly wile (and wile) away.

Gymkhana

There is no shortage of excellent Indian food in London, though Gymkhana certainly serves some of the best. While it may be one of a handful of South Asian restaurants in the world to hold two Michelin stars, fear not: There isn’t a tweezer in sight. Inspired by India’s old social and sporting clubs, the dark, sultry Mayfair dining room fitted with leather banquettes and ceiling fans is generous, celebratory, and never stiff. Bold, smoky, and rich with delicately layered spice, the food showcases the diversity of Indian cooking. Expect succulent tandoori masala lamb chops, kid goat methi keema, wild venison biryani, Goan prawn curry, and pork cheek vindaloo to inspire another vacation there and then.

Culinary-focused hotels in London

Claridges

A Mayfair grande dame nicknamed “an annexe to Buckingham Palace,” Claridge’s is the place to stay for a royally British experience. Boasting a polished, vintage feel and impeccable service, rooms and suites range from historic, Deco-designed spaces to more contemporary additions – all of which are defined by the details. The hotel’s Foyer & Reading Room offer the capital’s quintessential classic afternoon tea as well as all-day dining (order the lobster Wellington), meanwhile The Fumoir and Claridge’s Bar promise a taste of old-school cocktail culture and some of Champagne’s finest bubbles. Overseen by Richard Hart (founder of Copenhagen’s Hart Bageri and Mexico City’s Green Rhino, formerly of San Francisco’s Tartine), Claridge’s Bakery opened in January 2026, serving zhuzhed-up takes on British staples such as the Jammy Dodger biscuit. Plus, following a residency here, Dante Mayfair, an outpost of the New York bar, opened as a permanent on-site restaurant in June. 

The Savoy

A plush Art Deco palace situated on the bustle of the Strand, The Savoy was London’s first purpose built luxury hotel, beloved by guests including Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe. It also just so happens to be one the most storied culinary institutions in the UK. The building hosts three of Gordon Ramsay’s best restaurants: British-classic Savoy Grill for unbeatable beef Wellington, The River Restaurant for carefully cooked seafood, and Michelin-starred Restaurant 1890 for refined tasting menus inspired by renowned chef Auguste Escoffier (who was maître chef des cuisines at The Savoy from 1890 to 1898 and invented the Peach Melba dessert here). The hotel is also home to one of the world’s most influential — and London’s oldest — cocktail establishments, the American Bar, as well as a darker, more theatrical alternative, the Beaufort Bar, and Gallery, where you can sip Champagne and enjoy afternoon tea to the tinkle of live piano. 

Rosewood London

Entered through a grand Edwardian courtyard in Holborn near Covent Garden, Rosewood London is a rather magnificent modern manor house. Furnished with 264 rooms and 44 suites, it’s among the city’s more spacious hotels, with glitzy silver and Italian marble bathrooms and a sumptuous, residence-like feel. The main draw for food lovers is Holborn Dining Room, a grand British brasserie known for its intricately decorated pies. Guests and visitors alike can take monthly workshops to make the restaurant’s specialty in the attached Pie Room. Meanwhile, Scarfes Bar – named for the artist Gerald Scarfe, whose humorous caricatures adorn everything from the walls to the napkins – is world renowned for its creative, boundary-pushing cocktails conjured to evoke the best of British eccentricity. Be careful not to fill up on the complimentary chocolates that housekeeping leave beside the lifts. 

The Hoxton, Shoreditch

Vibrant and sociable with slick retro-futurist interiors, the original Hoxton – opened in 2006 and refurbished in 2025 for its 20th anniversary – is a lively Shoreditch hotel within easy reach of East London’s buzzing dining scene. It is also the most food-focused of the city’s Hoxtons with a playful ground-floor Italian trattoria named Il Bambini Club serving pizzas, fresh pasta, and aperitivo, and Llama Inn, which brings a Brooklyn-born take on Peruvian cooking and pisco sours to the rooftop. Guests can order late-night beigels from Brick Lane icon Beigel Bake to their rooms, plus the Hox Shop sells British beers, wines, and snacks at corner shop prices. 

Raffles London at The OWO

Boasting nine restaurants and three bars, Raffles London at The OWO is closer to a self-contained culinary resort than a traditional city stopover. A grand, maximalist, luxury hotel inside Whitehall’s restored Old War Office — where Winston Churchill held office between 1919 and 1921 — it has all the historical intrigue its former life suggests. Highlights from its food and drink offerings include Mauro Colagreco’s hyper-seasonal, Michelin-starred, eponymous restaurant; Saison; Kioku by sushi master Endo Kazutoshi; and the secret subterranean Spy Bar hidden in rooms once used by MI5 and featuring an Aston Martin DB5 from James Bond: No Time to Die mounted behind the bar.

The Connaught

Another palatial Mayfair grande dame, The Connaught is somewhat quieter and, perhaps, a touch less camp than Claridge’s. With its Edwardian architecture, polished contemporary interiors, and cocooning, club-like atmosphere, checking in feels like being granted access to a particularly elegant private members’ club. Its food-and-drink offering is among the most star-studded in the city: Hélène Darroze at The Connaught is the chef’s three-Michelin-starred flagship; The Connaught Grill serves refined flame-grilled fish and sharing cuts of meat; and Jean-Georges offers more relaxed all-day dining. The bars, meanwhile, are destinations in themselves, from the world-famous Connaught Bar, with its tableside Martini trolley, to the wine-focused Red Room and intimate all-rounder, the Coburg Bar.

The Standard, London

Hands up, party people! You’re staying at The Standard. A former Brutalist council building, the bold, bright, playful King’s Cross hotel is deliberately less polished and more youthful than many London alternatives. The food offering is equally fun and fast-paced, with culinary pop-ups (think PaperBoy from Paris and Pecking House from New York) arriving regularly from across the globe. Otherwise, permanent bars and eateries at The Standard include Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’s glamorous, club-adjacent rooftop restaurant, Decimo, which mixes Spanish and Mexican influences with skyline views; Isla, which serves seasonal small plates and low-intervention wine on a tropical, foliage-strewn garden terrace; Double Standard, where pub meets diner comfort food; and Sweeties, which keeps the party alive with creative cocktails well past midnight. 

The Ritz London

Dazzlingly opulent, thrillingly theatrical, and unashamedly fabulous, The Ritz hardly needs an introduction — but it does deserve one. Opened by César Ritz in 1906, the gilded Piccadilly landmark replete with Louis XVI-style interiors is a glorious exercise in old-world grandeur. Naturally, the hotel’s consumable offering shimmers in equal measure. In 2025, The Ritz Restaurant, under executive chef John Williams MBE, won a second Michelin star and was named the UK’s best restaurant in the National Restaurant Awards for its highly refined nods to Escoffier and polished silver service. William Kent House, meanwhile, promises one of the capital’s most memorable afternoon teas, while jewel-box The Rivoli Bar serves cocktails, caviar, and oodles of Art Deco glamour.

Ham Yard Hotel

The Ham Yard is a calm, character-packed oasis tucked away in the bustle of Soho. Owner and designer Kit Kemp’s inviting, cosseting interiors are bright, patterned and playful, making use of fabric walls, bold headboards, and her expansive art collection. While the hotel only has one eponymous bar and restaurant, what it does do, it does it well. Chef Joe Fox’s hearty, comforting, plates of refined modern British and European food are satisfying morning to night, served in the dining room, orangery, on the courtyard, and up on the roof terrace. The afternoon tea — featuring some of the best British pork, apple, and mustard sausage rolls in the country — is more colourful and relaxed than more predictable hotels, and the sublime — if somewhat belt busting — full English breakfast is an absolute must. 

The Culpeper

Less of a hotel, more of a pub with warm, tactile, functional rooms, The Culpeper in Shoreditch is the outlier on this list. A cozy, five-bedroom East End inn, it has a proper boozer on the ground floor and, upstairs, a French bistro which utilizes exceptional British produce from suppliers chosen for their dedication to soil health, native animal breeds, and responsible fishing. Above the rooms, a seasonal rooftop garden with views of the city’s skyline serves a Mediterranean-inspired menu of grilled vegetables, succulent slabs of ethically reared meat, low-intervention wines, and cocktails garnished with herbs grown on-site. The kitchens below also pluck salad leaves and garnishes from the roof, as well as the team’s Deptford farm where a Dutch-style greenhouse provides produce year-round. 

Culinary outings in London

Food tours 

To taste the Caribbean food culture that was popularized in London with the Windrush generation, book a tour of Brixton with Obi Opara of Gorgeous Experience tours. Celia Brooks, the food writer, TV chef, and author behind Gastrotours runs the only official Borough Market tour, as well as a whole host of other explorations of artisanal producers around Kensington, Marylebone, and Notting Hill. David Cotter of Chubby Fellow offers everything from a tour of Soho’s Michelin-starred restaurants to a sample of the south Asian fare available along Brick Lane, dim sum in Chinatown, and even a royal tour of pubs and producers based in Mayfair and St. James’s. 

Cookery schools

Founded by The Great British Bake Off legend, Prue Leith, in 1975, Leiths Culinary School is one of the capital’s most trusted names for anyone serious about improving their kitchen confidence, while Divertimenti on Brompton Road offers a polished programme of classes taught by chefs and celebrated food writers. Borough Kitchen promises practical, small-group classes in multiple neighbourhoods, and the Jamie Oliver Cookery School in Islington and on Oxford Street is a crowd-pleasing choice for beginners and groups. 

Specialist options include School of Wok in Covent Garden for dumplings, noodles, and wok technique; Migrateful, where classes are led by migrant and refugee chefs and finish with a shared meal; Spice Monkey in Crouch End for Indian home cooking; and Mexican Food Memories to brush up on your Mexican skills with Karla Zazueta in her own home kitchen. Committed carnivores, meanwhile, can opt for butchery schooling at The Ginger Pig in Marylebone or Borough Market. 

There are many classes available for aspiring bakers, too. Book Bread Ahead for doughnuts, pastry, and bread; E5 Bakehouse for serious sourdough; and The Dusty Knuckle for a more trendy, east London take on bread, fermentation, and pasta. 

Tea workshops

When in London, one must always make time for a cuppa (pronounced: cup-pa): a British tradition that stretches back centuries. At Postcard Teas in Mayfair, serious drinkers can settle in for intimate sessions exploring single-farm, aged, and small-batch teas, while the famous Twinings store on the Strand brings the heritage factor with a more formal class covering tea history, production, and the six main categories. Bird & Blend Tea Co. in Covent Garden keeps things light with laidback blending sessions and tea mixology. 

The Bermondsey Beer Mile 

A stretch of railway arches in SE1 and SE16, The Bermondsey Beer Mile is where some of London’s best indie breweries and taprooms pour all within wobbling distance. It began around the early 2010s, when producers clustered in Bermondsey’s industrial arches, and has since grown into a tasting trail that’s a lesson in London craft brewing. The essential stops are The Kernel, which helped define the area’s beer scene; Anspach & Hobday for porters, stouts, and classic styles; Southwark Brewing Company for traditional cask ale; London Beer Factory’s Barrel Project for more experimental, barrel-aged and sour beers; Cloudwater for modern pales and IPAs; and Small Beer for lower-ABV drinking at the far end of the route. Go early and eat first. 

Pie and mash shops

Okay, so perhaps some British food culture is beige, but experiencing London’s historic pie and mash shops is, to use a well-worn phrase, a rite of passage. Born from the 19th-century street vendors who fueled laborers and market traders with hot, cheap pies, the first documented shop opened in Southwark in 1844. The go-to order became minced beef pie, a scoop of mash, a ladle of parsley liquor, and a side of stewed or jellied eels. At their height of popularity there were well over 100 pie and mash shops in London, and today, thanks to rising rents and fewer punters, less than 30 remain. To experience it for yourself, try M.Manze on Tower Bridge Road, F.Cooke in Hoxton, or Arments in Walworth. Jellied eels optional. 

Caffs

The great British caff (pronounced kaf) or “greasy spoon” is another institution that must be experienced before the category threatens to disappear entirely. These are not coffee shops or cafés in the Parisian sense but affordable, character-packed places for hearty, filling breakfast or lunch, traditionally frequented by working class Londoners. Caffs are often run by families of Italian or Turkish Cypriot descent, and you’ll find the classic full English featuring sausage, bacon, eggs, beans, tomatoes, toast, and more; bacon baps (bread rolls); bubble and squeak (a mix of fried potato, cabbage, and often other vegetables including carrot and peas); ham, egg, and chips; and jacket potatoes with beans and cheese. 

For the full old-school experience, go to E Pellicci in Bethnal Green, Regency Cafe in Westminster, Mario’s Café in Kentish Town, or Scotti’s Snack Bar in Clerkenwell. There’s also Bar Bruno in Soho which is easy to get to but ever so slightly more modern. Thanks to a fetishization of the traditional caff’s low-fi aesthetic on social media, some often get quite busy, so prepare to queue. Oh, and if you have jet lag, wrap up and go to the Billingsgate Cafe in Billingsgate fish market first thing, where traders dine on scallop and bacon baps for breakfast.

London food markets

Borough Market

Crowded, chaotic, and reminiscent of a maze, Borough Market is a baptism of fire – and a must-visit destination for any epicurean in London. It’s situated in London Bridge; trading has taken place in the area for roughly 1,000 years, with the market in its current location since 1756. Today, it is run by a charitable trust and packs more than 100 vendors selling artisan produce, products, and street food into its Victorian railway-arch sprawl. Needless to say, there are countless things to try, but if you require a must-hit list, venture to Neal’s Yard Dairy for British and Irish cheese, The Ginger Pig for the gargantuan sausage roll, Richard Haward’s for oysters and English sparkling wine, and Monmouth for coffee. 

Maltby Street Market

Maltby Street Market is Borough’s smaller, quieter cousin, hidden beneath railway arches a 15-minute walk away. A narrow weekend ropewalk in Bermondsey, strung with flags and packed with independent street-food traders, it was established in 2010 after food businesses based in the area began selling their produce and imports to local residents. Today, it is best for grazing on street food rather than shopping, with a rotating lineup of vendors selling everything from raclette to empanadas and banh mi. The market runs adjacent to the Bermondsey Beer Mile, a stretch of the railway arches where you can sample pints by local, independent brewers. You’ll also find the St John bakery nearby, as well as excellent coffee by Watch House, and a brilliant, broadly European-style restaurant and low intervention wine bar named 40 Maltby Street, which is a closely guarded secret among locals.

London food stores

Department stores

Harrods and Selfridges, in Knightsbridge and Marylebone respectively, both have excellent, sprawling food halls which get better every year thanks to their fierce competition with one another. You’ll find the best of what Britain has to offer from meat, fish, and dairy products to wine, spirits, patisserie, and, crucially, plenty of niche little artisanal creations you’ve never heard of. Liberty has a smaller selection of spirits, chocolates, and preserves for those who aren’t seeking fresh produce. 

Delis

London is bursting with impeccable, independently owned delis. There are old-school institutions such as Panzer’s in St John’s Wood for smoked salmon, bagels, chopped liver, and babka; Soho’s Lina Stores, whose mint-green shelves have been stacked with fresh pasta, cured meats, and Italian pantry goods since 1944; and Paul Rothe & Son, a Marylebone mainstay which has been feeding Londoners with preserves, pickles, and doorstop sandwiches for more than a century.

Neal’s Yard Dairy is essential for British and Irish cheese, while Paxton & Whitfield, the historic Jermyn Street cheesemonger, does the same with an added dash of old-world charm. R Garcia & Sons on Portobello Road is the go-to for Spanish groceries, while Persepolis in Peckham is a colourful (if slightly chaotic) Persian treasure trove. Plus, there are many newer neighbourhood spots such as Lulu’s, Italo, and De Beauvoir Deli spread across the city which showcase the ever-growing number of new wave London makers. 

Related: There’s a Neighborhood in London With a Whole Market Dedicated to Cheese

Marks & Spencer

Anyone with the faintest inkling of what Marks & Spencer (aka Marks ‘n’ Sparks) is, might think this a jape. However, in recent years, the iconic British retailer’s food halls have only gone from strength to strength. Now, they’re selling a whole host of creative, innovative food and drink items that don’t just chase trends but set them. Look out for a delightfully stinky cheese named Minger (slang for “ugly person” in British), the Big Daddy chocolate bar, and mini Colin the Caterpillar cakes. In short? Think Trader Joe’s, but almost fancy.

Culinary souvenir shops

Fortnum & Mason

Anything and everything you could possibly want you’ll find beautifully packaged in Fortnum & Mason. Founded in Piccadilly in 1707, the department store’s royal connections go way back to William Fortnum’s time as a footman to Queen Anne, and it’s still a Royal Warrant holder (meaning it’s officially appointed to supply goods for the Royal Household) today. From loose-leaf teas in handsome caddies and biscuits in illustrated tins to preserves, condiments, British wine and spirits, silverware (lid for your Marmite jar, anyone?), and crockery, there is a keepsake to suit every palate. Plus, alongside the food halls there’s the exquisite Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, and the Food & Drink Studio, which hosts classes, tastings, supper clubs, and talks with leading names in food and drink.

Books for Cooks

Tucked away on Blenheim Crescent in Notting Hill, Books for Cooks is a passion project devoted entirely to food writing, where shelves are stacked surprisingly high with recipe books, culinary memoirs, chef monographs, and coffee-table tomes. There is a working kitchen at the back, where recipes from the books are tested and served to patrons on a first-come, first-served basis.

London food festival

Meatopia

It might sound like a bro-fest, but Meatopia is fun for anyone and everyone who loves to eat flame-licked fare. The four-day event — usually held in east London’s Tobacco Dock in either August or September — brings together roughly 75 live-fire chefs from the UK, Europe, and beyond to each cook a dish over wood or charcoal. Despite the name, meat, fish, seafood, and veggies all get the barbecue treatment, while live bands and DJs encourage visitors to boogie the day or night away.

More London travel

• The Best Pastries in London
• Why London’s Hotel Bars Are the Best There Is
• Where to Eat the Best Indian Food in London

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