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A Taste Of London In 44 Hours

We packed a lot of eating and walking into our taste of London in 44 hours. Highlights were the Borough Market, Portobello Road and the Tate Modern.

Daryl in a London Phone Booth
London Calling!

London called, and we answered. Our visit was short and left us wanting more. But that’s okay – we got a sampling of London’s food scene in just 44 hours. It wasn’t a lot of time but we somehow made it work.

London doesn’t have a long history of culinary excellence. The late comedian Bill Hicks referred to London as the land of fairies and elves and as a place where you can eat boiled pizza. Our goal was to find out if things had changed.

Discover our London food favorites.

Day One In London

On day one, we strolled down Portobello Road in Notting Hill where we ate Ginger Pig meat pies at the cocktail bar Portobello Star. Not surprisingly, the pies went down quite easily with some beer and cider.

Colorful Tea Pots on Portobello Road in London England
Portobello Road Tea Pots
Vintage Cameras on Portobello Road in London England
Portobello Road Stand
Ginger Pig Meat Pie in London England
Ginger Pig Meat Pie
Pint of Beer in London England
Cheers!

We walked a lot, as we always do, and saw Piccadilly Circus and Big Ben.

Peek of Big Ben in London England
First Peek of Big Ben
Big Ben in London England
Big Ben
Parliament on the Thames in London England
Parliament on the Thames

We ended the day by meeting friends for some vegetarian curry before we crashed due to jet lag.

Indian Nan in London England
Nan

Day Two In London

Day two started late due to jet lag but was full nonetheless. We started by grazing our way through the Borough Market, a world-class emporium right at the London Bridge tube station.

One of the best food markets in London, Borough Market is over 1,000 years old but has come into its own during the past ten years. Cheeses, meats, vegetables and all kind of treats now abound in a wonderfully overwhelming way.

Borough Market Entrance in London England
Borough Market Entrance
Borough Market Map in London England
Borough Market Map
Raclette at Borough Market in London England
Raclette
English Muffins at Borough Market in London England
English Muffins in England
Tomatoes at Borough Market in London England
Tomatoes
Juice at Borough Market in London England
Juices
Ostrich Eggs at Borough Market in London England
Ostrich Eggs
Meat Pies at Borough Market in London England
Meat Pies
Daryl Enjoys Meat on a Stick at Borough Market in London England
Daryl Enjoys Meat on a Stick
Curry Vats at Borough Market in London England
Curries
Oyster Shucker at Borough Market in London England
Oyster Shucker
Wild Oregano at Borough Market in London England
Wild Oregano
Greedy Goat Ice Cream at Borough Market in London England
Mindi Enjoying Greedy Goat Ice Cream

We also visited Neal’s Yard Dairy right near the Borough Market to check out some of the finest cheese produced in Great Britain and the world. We were pleasantly surprised to bump into DiBruno’s cheesemonger, Matt Shankle. Since DiBruno’s is just blocks from our house in Philadelphia, it truly is a small world.

Neal's Yard Dairy in London England
Neal’s Yard Dairy
Cheese Shower at Neal's Yard Dairy in London England
Cheese Shower
Cheese Counter at Neal's Yard Dairy in London England
Cheese Counter
The Rake in London England
The Rake

After some tasty Kernel beers at the Rake (said to be the smallest pub in London), we got our art on at the Tate Modern where we saw the special Edvard Munch exhibit.

Tate Modern Art Exhibit in London England
Tate Modern Art

The Tate Modern didn’t charge admission (except for the special exhibit) at the time of our visit. This museum is one of the best free attractions in London along with museums like the British Museum and the National Gallery.

Shard Building in London England
View of the Shard Building from the Millennium Bridge

A short, drizzly walk over the Millennium Bridge took us to Fleet Street’s Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a pub that was rebuilt in 1666 and was frequented by Charles Dickens, for a couple of pre-dinner pints of Samuel Smith beers from the tap.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Sign in London England
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Sign
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub in London England
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub

We met up with friends and awesome hosts Gregg and Sylva at a neighborhood spot called the Mitre. We ended our too-brief visit with fish & chips, braised lamb shoulder and sticky toffee pudding.

Enjoying Sticky Toffee Pudding at Mitre in London England
Enjoying Sticky Toffee Pudding

There are two things we know for sure. London’s food scene is happening and we’ll be back soon.

London Planning Checklist

Hungry For More In London?

Check out the iconic London food favorites that you don’t want to miss.

About The Authors

About The Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on their website 2foodtrippers. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers a unique taste of the world.

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Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Funding
We self-funded our trip to London.

Original Publication Date: October 5, 2012

Catherine

Thursday 27th of July 2017

Wow you fitted a lot in! Coffee and cake have transformed in London too next time there are some excellent cafes to be found near the museum's.

Shobha

Wednesday 14th of October 2015

If you only had a couple of days in London, you definitely picked two great things to do - Borough Market and Neal's Yard. I've been in London now 17 years and the food scene is definitely happening! Not so much when I got here but in the last 10 years - very much so!

Emma

Wednesday 22nd of October 2014

I only discovered Borough Market a couple of months ago. I'd heard great things about it and I wasn't dissapointed! There's so much food there and I can't wait to go back on my next visit :)

Emily

Tuesday 12th of August 2014

No post about London would be complete without the word 'drizzle'! It's a shame you didn't have longer, but I'm pleased that London left you wanting more :)

Claudia

Tuesday 12th of August 2014

I have lived in England for 8 years. I used to occasionally shop at the Borough market - I could even find Sardinian produce there :)