5 best foodie walking tours in London

There’s no better way to get to the heart of a place than through its collective stomach. Get to know the cuisine, and you understand the culture – and few cities in the world tell their story through food quite like London. From sizzling street food stalls and centuries-old pubs to cutting-edge bakeries and artisan cheesemongers, London’s neighbourhoods each serve up their own distinct flavours — and the best way to explore them is on foot, one bite at a time.

There are a huge range of different food walking tours available around London, ranging in price, theme and location, all offering an expert deep-dive into a gourmet aspect of the city. Making the journey by foot – compared to sitting on a tour bus, for example – allows you to absorb the sights and smells going on around you, and to connect to the people as well as the place. Plus, having an expert guide on hand to point out things you might not notice or to provide historical context is the difference between mere meandering and discovering a place properly. Choose your tour well, and you’ll get access and insight, skip long queues and learn a lot more than you otherwise would. In a city like London, there’s a food tour for everyone, from cheese lovers to baking enthusiasts. Here’s a taste of 5 of the best.

5 of the best food walking tours of London

A Cheesemonger’s Tour of London

Best for: history buffs and cheese lovers

Can a single taste of cheese change your life? Ned Palmer is living proof that it can. His cheese walking tour of London begins with a taste of Gorwydd Caerphilly, the fromage that launched his career as a cheesemonger. The tour combines the history of London with an expertly guided cheese tasting to finish. It's as fascinating to Londoners who'll learn more about their home city as it is to tourists.

A historian at heart, Palmer tells the story of London’s journey as you walk. You'll learn about the city's genesis as a Roman settlement, through to the medieval period, Tudor times, the age of empire, the Industrial Revolution and right up to the modern era – each punctuated by a local Southwark site and characterised by a particular cheese.

From the London Bridge starting point, you won't be short of unique sights: walk past Sir Francis Drake’s The Golden Hinde (the first English sailing ship to round the globe), the moody ruins of the Bishop of Winchester’s Palace, The Clink (a former prison where unlucky cheesemongers were locked up for the crime of ‘forestalling’) and The George Inn, which, says Ned, “may have been Shakespeare’s local”.

Finishing at The Blue Maid pub, we taste six iconic British and Irish cheeses. Highlights include Spenwood, a sheep’s cheese made in Berkshire which Palmer explains resembles something the Romans might have made, and Lincolnshire Poacher, a cheddar-Alpine hybrid, a “post-modern” cheese born of the Covid era, all matched with three excellent ales. As we taste, Ned demonstrates how professional tasters assess cheese through sight, touch and smell. A tour as pungently memorable as the best cheese.

Cost: £65pp (2 hours; max 10 people)
Book: A Cheesemonger's Tour of London, Airbnb

A Taste of Borough Market

Best for: Curious gastronomes

When in London, a visit to Borough Market is a must – and even if you’ve visited before, you’ll be amazed at what delicious things you’ll encounter on each new visit. Celia Brooks is American by birth, a Londoner by choice, and her company is one of just two to run ‘official’ Market tours. She’s been running them for 23 years, knows the market like the back of her hand and is on a first-name basis with stallholders. The tour starts with hot drinks, nibbles and introductions before heading into the fray, with a brief orienteering session and a sweep through history (it’s long – there’s been a market here since Medieval times).

“Borough Market is a place where you can talk to the producers and really feel their passion,” says Celia. There are about a dozen stops, personalised “as much as possible”. We get to skip the queue at Humble Crumble for their Insta-worthy desserts, warm ourselves with hot apple juice at craft cider purveyor Cider House, and sample three cheeses at the Trethowan Brothers stall – they make that Gorwydd Caerphilly (see above) and Pitchfork Cheddar. At Food & Forest we nibble English cobnuts and walnuts, at Alpine deli we try charcuterie from Italy’s South Tyrol region and at Shellseekers fishmongers we sample gravlax and oysters (a glass of English sparkling wine optional). The scallops on the beautiful display are hand-dived by the owner, Celia says. The tour finishes with cheese, charcuterie and a relaxing glass at Bedale’s wine bar.

Cost: £110 pp for adults (3 hours; max 12 people; children welcome). Tours run alternate Fridays (10am-1pm) and must be booked in advance.
Book: A Taste of Borough Market, celiabrooks.com

Secret Indian Food Tour: East London

Best for: Indian food explorers

We know we’re onto a good thing for this tour when our guide Rakesh introduces himself as a Delhi-born former chef – and for the next three hours, his food passion becomes ours. On this guided food walking tour of East London you'll be immersed in the rich world of Indian cuisine (from ingredients to dishes), skipping tourist traps and discovering local, authentic spots.

Our group of four meets at Aldgate East station and, turning into a rain-slicked Brick Lane, we gather under neon lights proclaiming ‘Welcome to Banglatown’ as Rikesh paints a picture of the area’s history. Before the Bangladeshi community settled here in the 1970s, this was home to French Huguenot, Irish and Jewish communities, and each has left their mark.

Like the crowds that throng Brick Lane, we’re here for the food. At Zaman Brothers mini market, Rikesh shows us the spices, rice and pulses that form the backbone of so many dishes, before we stop at Café Grill to sate our hunger with pakora, kala chana (black chickpeas) and sweet mango lassi. Moving north, we pass striking street art before our next repast of lamb saag, channa dal, rice and naan while Rikesh quizzes us on Indian spices, passing around samples of turmeric, garam masala, cumin, fennel and cloves.

The counter at Madhubon Sweet Centre is piled high with deep-fried, sugar-dripping jalebi and plump ladoo. We finish our tour with grilled lamb chops and pitch-perfect Peshwari naan at the raucous Lahore Kebab House, where we’re ushered into the kitchen to see naan breads being baked in the fire-roaring tandoor. Rakesh promised we wouldn’t go hungry. He wasn’t wrong.

Cost: £89.99pp (3 hours; max 12 people).
Book: Secret Indian Food Tour: East London, secretfoodtours.com

The Great Notting Hill Bake Off Tour

Best for: Families and film fans

This is the perfect London food tour for a sweet tooth: a walk through the iconic Notting Hill, punctuated by stops at five incredible bakeries. The two-hour tour is a sweet and savoury foray into Britain’s baking culture, combining traditional treats with contemporary creations.

Our group of four starts trad at Cheeky Scone, with a classic clotted cream and jam number, then we sink our teeth into a spot-on steak and Guinness pie wrapped in golden shortcrust at Notting Hill Bakery. It was formerly owned by pioneering chef Sally Clarke who opened it in 1984 and “set the trend for artisanal bakeries”, Pip tells us.

Notting Hill offers plenty to see in between each bakery: Portobello Market, elegant pastel-coloured houses – and that famous bookshop where Hugh Grant meets Julia Roberts. It's like walking through a living film set – and our tour guide Pip also points out Alice’s Antiques (established 1887) on Portobello Road, which was Mr Gruber’s Antique Shop in the film ‘Paddington’.

As we wander, Pip also shows us the oldest cinema in England, and blue plaques dedicated to George Orwell and Bob Marley. The vibe at Chai Guys Bakehouse is decidedly contemporary, serving spice-laced, milky chai alongside a ‘fusion-bake’ combining crisp croissant pastry with a samosa filling of spicy potatoes and peas. We finish at Moi et Toi. At night, it’s the well-regarded Indian restaurant Empire Empire but by day it’s a funky café serving Monmouth coffee and a range of loaf cakes, Bundts and tarts.

Cost: £66 adults, £59 adolescents, £56 children (2 hours; max 12 people)
Book: The Great Notting Hill Bake Off Tour, eatingeurope.com

Misfits of Covent Garden

Best for: Young adults, groups of friends

Discover the hidden wild side of Covent Garden on this walking tour which aims to show the incredible stories of the lesser-known local community. It is not strictly a food tour, but you'll still learn plenty about food as you discover local history (plus, you won't be short of places to go for dinner afterwards).

Our guide Charlotte meets us outside Covent Garden tube with a bright-yellow umbrella and a smile. Originally from New Zealand, Charlotte tells our group of four that she and her business partner set up Rebel Tours in 2021 to tell the stories about London that often go neglected. Over the next two hours, we hear tales of virtue and vice, famine and fortune – and food, even if it’s not strictly a food tour. The Piazza, we learn, was once the kitchen garden of Westminster Abbey, eventually evolving into an emporium of world trade centred around a grand Italianate square. We hear of Nell Gwynn, who rose from being an orange-seller to the most prominent actress of her time, and the consort of King Charles II.

At Seven Dials, we are encouraged to imagine these sleek streets as they were in 1751, when the area was a cramped and squalid haven for the poor and outcast, as depicted in William Hogarth’s infamous ‘Gin Lane’ engraving. “During the Gin Craze, thousands of gin shops popped up all over London – and the Seven Dials was the heart of it,” Charlotte says. For a taste of what it was like, opt for one of the two gin upgrades and finish the tour with a sloe gin and a visit to a pub that was a gin palace back in the day (standard upgrade), or a mini-tasting of two additional gins at a local gin parlour (premium upgrade).

Cost: £19pp (2 hours; max 15 people). Optional gin upgrades from £15pp
Book: Misfits of Covent Garden, rebeltours.co.uk

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